Welcome to worship at
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church!
PRELUDE “Let Us ever Walk with Jesus” Theodore Beck
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 How Firm a Foundation #796
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: Jeremiah 23:23-29
23 Am I a God
near by, says the Lord, and
not a God far off? 24 Who can hide
in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth?
says the Lord. 25 I have heard what the
prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, “I have dreamed! I have
dreamed!” 26 How long?
Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back—those who prophesy lies and who
prophesy the deceit of their own heart? 27 They plan to make my
people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their
ancestors forgot my name for Baal. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the
dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw
in common with wheat? says the Lord. 29 Is not my word like
fire, says the Lord, and like
a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Psalm 82
1 God stands to charge the divine council
assembled,
giving
judgment in the midst | of the gods:
2 “How long will
you | judge unjustly, and show favor | to the wicked?
3 Save the weak | and the orphan;
defend the humble and needy;
4 rescue the weak | and the poor;
deliver them from the power | of the
wicked.
5 They do not know,
neither do they understand; they wander about in darkness;
all the foundations of the | earth are shaken.
6 Now I say to
you, | ‘You are gods, and all of you children of | the Most High;
7 nevertheless, you
shall | die like mortals, and fall like | any prince.’ ”
8 Arise, O God,
and | rule the earth, for you shall take all nations | for your own.
Second Reading: Hebrews 11:29—12:2
29 By faith the
people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the
Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of
Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the
prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had
received the spies in peace. 32 And what more should I say? For time would fail
me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the
prophets, 33 who through
faith conquered kingdoms, administered
justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of
fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became
mighty in war, put foreign armies to
flight. 35 Women
received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release,
in order to obtain a better resurrection. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging and even
chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned to death; they were sawn in
two; they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and
goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented 38 of whom the world was
not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves and holes in
the ground. 39 Yet all
these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was
promised, 40 since God
had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made
perfect. 12:1 Therefore, since we are
surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight
and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race
that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of
faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne
of God.
Word of the
Lord. Thanks be to God
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Gospel: Luke 12:49-56
The Holy
Gospel according to Saint Luke the 12th chapter. Glory to you O Lord.
[Jesus
said:] 49 “I have come
to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze! 50 I have a baptism with
which to be baptized, and what constraint I am under until it is
completed! 51 Do you think
that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather
division! 52 From now on
five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against
three; 53 they will be
divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter
and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and
daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” 54 He also said to the
crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is
going to rain,’ and so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing,
you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know
how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how
to interpret the present time?”
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O
Christ.
SERMON
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 THE PEOPLE, 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 I want to Walk as a Child of the Light #815
POST COMMUNION PROCLAMATION AND PRAYER
BLESSING
HYMN Congregations Choice
DISMISSAL
POSTLUDE “How
Firm a Foundation” arr.
James Mansfield
Liturgy and hymns printed and streamed with permission through
OneLicense. A-710659
