Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost Worship Bulletin | 9-1-24 – St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church

Labor Day Sunday.
09-01-2024 10:00AM “Hybrid” Worship

+ We Rejoice in God’s Glory +

THE OPENING RITE:

L Church of Jesus, it is not dirty hands that make a person evil…

C but dirty hearts and minds.

L It is not “sweet talk” with our lips that honors God…

C but sincere acts of obedient love.

L It is not God who shuts us out of the Kingdom…

C but human egotistical pride that shuts God out of our lives.

L Brothers and sisters, we have come together in worship not because of our own goodness, but out of our awareness of our need. Let us humble ourselves in confession.

C O merciful God…

We come here to admit that we have honored you with our lips while our hearts are far away.

It is inside our own hearts that we have discovered the wellspring of the evil that we do

and the neglect of the good that we ought to do.

Please forgive our tired old ways of sin and our pretending that we are righteous.

We pray for your mercy and for a new faith beginning through Jesus Christ. Amen.

L My friends, God loves you too much to let you go! All those who yield to God’s control will discover peace that endures, freedom to live, and wonder-working power. In the name of (+) Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Now place yourself under new management and become genuine doers of the word, not just hearers, not just talkers. Amen.

OPENING SONG: “WE’RE MARCHING TO ZION” Brown #135

THE APOSTOLIC GREETING by the Pastor.

A SONG OF PRAISE:

“Your grace and mercy brought me through,

I’m living this moment because of You;

I want to thank You, and praise You too:

Your grace and mercy brought me through.” [repeat]

THE PRAYER OF THE DAY (together):

O God, you sent Jesus to give us life that is new…

to give us life that is abundant…

and to give us life that is eternal.

Be our strength and give us sincere hearts, that we may

serve you with joy,

obey you with love,

and become doers of the word and not just hearers. AMEN.

+ We Rejoice in God’s Saving Word +

FIRST READING: DEUTERONOMY 4:1-2, 6-9
[Faith that celebrates God’s love and obeys God’s law.]

4:1 “So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.

4:2 You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the LORD your God with which I am charging you.

4:6 You must observe them and perform them, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’

4:7 For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is whenever we call to him?

4:8 And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?

4:9 “But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children–

SONG SELECTION: Stephanie Fluellen

SECOND READING: JAMES 1:17-27
[Faith that is more than kind thoughts and pleasant words.]

1:17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

1:18 In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave birth to us by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

1:19 You must understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger,

1:20 for human anger does not produce God’s righteousness.

1:21 Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.

1:22 But be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.

1:23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror;

1:24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.

1:25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act–they will be blessed in their doing.

1:26 If any think they are religious and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless.

1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

GOSPEL VERSE:

“There is strength in the name of the Lord…
There is power in the name of the Lord…
There is hope in the name of the Lord…
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” [repeat]

THE HOLY GOSPEL: MARK 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
[Faith that is authentic, not phony!]

7:1 Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him,

7:2 they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them.

7:3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders;

7:4 and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash, and there are also many other traditions that they observe: the washing of cups and pots and bronze kettles and beds.)

7:5 So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat with defiled hands?”

7:6 He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;

7:7 in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’

7:8 “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”

7:14 Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand:

7:15 there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”

7:21 For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: sexual immorality, theft, murder,

7:22 adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, folly.

7:23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

THE SERMON: Pastor Neil

SONG RESPONSE: “GOD IS” (Tan #134)

God is the joy and the strength of my life. He moves all pain, misery and strife.

He promised to keep me, never to leave me. He’s never, ever come short of His word.

I’ve got to fast and pray, stay in the narrow way. I’ll keep my life clean ev’ry day.

I want to go with Him when He comes back. I’ve come too far and I‘ll never turn back.

GOD IS… GOD IS… GOD IS… GOD IS… GOD IS MY ALL AND ALL.

THE PRAYERS… We pray for NEW LIFE in the Spirit and for the MISSION of the Church to the world!

+ We Rejoice in God’s Nourishing Meal +

OFFERING… [Let us be as generous in our giving for others as God has been with us. No phony pretending!]

Those in the Sanctuary can put their offering in the offering plate to share their gratitude and their generosity in response to Christ’s love. Those who are farther away might: mail a check or money order to St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2169 74th Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19138… contribute online through bit.ly/stpetersgiving and set up a one-time donation or a recurring weekly gift to selected categories… or text Give+ at 833-914-0896 and follow the instructions to register and record your contribution. God has blessed us to be a blessing!

SONG SELECTION: Stephanie Fluellen

THE OFFERTORY SONG: “More about Jesus would I know, more of his grace to others show, (Tan #565)

More of his saving fullness see, more of his love who died for me.

MORE, MORE ABOUT JESUS… MORE, MORE ABOUT JESUS…

MORE OF HIS SAVING FULLNESS SEE, MORE OF HIS LOVE WHO DIED FOR ME.

More about Jesus let me learn, more of his holy will discern;

Spirit of God, my Teacher be, showing the things of Christ to me.”

OFFERING PRAYER led by the Communion Assistant: [see PHILIPPIANS 3:10-11]

Dear God, I want to know Christ inside and out. I want to experience the power of his resurrection and join him in his suffering. I want to be like him in his death and be raised like him from death. As I grow in the grace of Christ, make me strong in my faith, bold in my witness, and fervent in my servant-love. There is no better life than life in Christ! Amen.

THE PREFACE:

L The Lord be with you. C And also with you.

L Lift up your hearts! C We lift them up in love for God!

L Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. C It is right to give God our thanks and praise.

L We are the Body of Christ! C His Spirit is in us! Alleluia!

L [continues the Preface]… we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

C [singing…] “Holy, holy, holy, holy,

holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!

and we lift our hearts before you as a token of our love,

holy, holy, holy, holy.

Precious Jesus, precious Jesus,

We’re so glad that you redeemed us, precious Jesus…

Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit,

come and fill our hearts anew, O Holy Spirit…”

THE EUCHARISTIC WORDS by the Celebrant, who recalls and re-enacts Jesus’ Holy Meal.

THE LORD’S PRAYER (spoken)

COMMUNION AND BLESSINGS… All believers in Jesus Christ are welcome at the Lord’s Table! The wine may be received from the pouring chalice; we also have grape juice on the tray. . Praise the Lord for this community meal that unites us together, renews our spirits, powers our faith, and reminds us of the future heavenly banquet that awaits us!

COMMUNION SONGS: Brown #248 Brown #180

THE COMMUNION BLESSING by the Celebrant after all have communed.

POST-COMMUNION PRAYER by the Communion Assistant.

+ We Rejoice in Our Mission +

THE BENEDICTION by the Pastor… We are sent forth to be and become the BODY OF CHRIST for the world!

CLOSING SONG: “OH, HOW I LOVE JESUS” Brown #250