Eighth Sunday After Pentecost Worship Order of Service
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
PENTECOST 8 – Coronavirus
07-18-2021 10:00AM Zoom Worship
THE OPENING RITE:
L From the weakening clutches of COVID, the continued sting of systemic oppression, and this historic gun violence…
From all the routines and responsibilities of daily living that wear us out…
From the burdens and the brokenness of life that push us down…
From all the noise and the needs and the nonsense that surround us…
Christ says, come away to a deserted place all by yourselves.
C So come, my sisters, come, my brothers to a quiet place, to this time, to keep a Sabbath.
Let us rest from our labors and find renewal for our spirits!
Let us get away, unwind, and slow down, play, laugh, and enjoy!
Let us be restored, refreshed, and revived!
L God calls us to not lose sight of his love and care for us…
God offers us peace and restoration in body, mind, and spirit…
and God strengthens us to show concern and compassion to others.
C We are forgiven to forgive others,
We are healed to heal others…
We are granted new life to enliven others…
with Christ as the cornerstone
of our lives,
of our church,
of our mission – now, always, and forever. Amen.
OPENING SONGS: “THIS IS THE DAY” Tan #108
“IN THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS” Tan #106
PRAYER OF THE DAY:
Let us pray to God to grant us grace and wisdom…
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
forever in the next.
Amen. [Reinhold Niebuhr, 1892-1971, American Lutheran minister and theologian]
FIRST READING: JEREMIAH 23:1-6 [God will raise up shepherds who will truly care in a wounded, wicked world!]
23:1 Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the LORD.
23:2 Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the LORD.
23:3 Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply.
23:4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the LORD.
23:5 The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
23:6 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The LORD is our righteousness.”
SECOND READING: EPHESIANS 2:11-22 [A whole new united humanity, with Christ as the Cornerstone.]
2:11 So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision” –a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands–
2:12 remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
2:14 For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.
2:15 He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace,
2:16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.
2:17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near;
2:18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.
2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God,
2:20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.
2:21 In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord;
2:22 in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.
GOSPEL VERSE:
There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place, and I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord.
There are sweet expressions on each face, and I know they feel the presence of the Lord.
SWEET HOLY SPIRIT, SWEET HEAVENLY DOVE,
STAY RIGHT HERE WITH US, FILLING US WITH YOUR LOVE.
AND FOR THESE BLESSINGS WE LIFT OUR HEARTS IN PRAISE;
WITHOUT A DOUBT WE’LL KNOW THAT WE HAVE BEEN REVIVED
WHEN WE SHALL LEAVE THIS PLACE! (repeat chorus)
THE HOLY GOSPEL: MARK 6:30-34, 53-56 [Nourished by Christ to care for others… and also for ourselves!
6:30 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.
6:31 He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
6:32 And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.
6:33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them.
6:34 As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.
6:53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat.
6:54 When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him,
6:55 and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.
6:56 And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.
THE SERMON: Linda Crawford, St. Peter’s member + seminary graduate
SONG SELECTION: “COME BY HERE, MY LORD”
A CREED OF FAITH (based on today’s Second Reading):
We believe that the Church is a community, not just a collection of individuals.
We are called, gathered, united, empowered, and sent by the Holy Spirit to be Christ’s Body here on earth.
We believe that being Christ’s Body is more than sentimental togetherness.
NO group should be characterized by the quality of their love more than the Church!
Therefore we seek to experience, learn, grow, and practice the real love of Jesus Christ.
We want anger to come more slowly and forgiveness to come more quickly.
We want to remove the barriers between people and erect bridges that join us together.
We want compassion to replace condemnation, and gratitude and grace to replace griping and greed.
We want to be living examples of the GOOD news of Jesus Christ – here, there, and everywhere. Amen.
OFFERING… God is creating a new humanity among us… and a growing community of love through us. What does the Shepherd expect us to give today in a world of sorrow, sickness, searching, and suffering?
OFFERING SONG: “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
THIS IS MY STORY, THIS IS MY SONG,
PRAISING MY SAVIOR ALL THE DAY LONG! [sing the chorus 2 times]
We are God’s people, we are Christ’s Church, called by God’s Spirit into the world.
We have God’s power from heaven above, we’ll share God’s justice, mercy and love!”
OFFERING PRAYER:
Lord God, thank you for making a way out of no way in my life!
During this summer may I dedicate my leisure and my work, my rest and travel, my service and spending, my health and my wealth, my worship and my witness to glorify You and to extend your Kingdom to others. Someone somewhere is in need of your Good News. Amen.
MUSIC SELECTION: Dennis Fortune
THE PRAYERS… We pray for NEW LIFE in the Spirit and for the MISSION of the Church to the world!
THE LORD’S PRAYER
SONG SELECTION: “We Won’t Leave Here Like We Came” Tan #407
THE BENEDICTION… We are sent forth to be and become the BODY OF CHRIST for the world!