Fifth Sunday After Pentecost Worship Bulletin
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
PENTECOST 5 07-10-2022 10:00AM Hybrid Worship
+ We Seek and Rejoice in the Spirit +
THE OPENING RITE:
L Let us gather this morning in the presence and the peace, the power and the promises of Almighty God, Amen.
Lord, we seek to obey what the Scripture tells us – to love you with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
C And, Lord, we also try to love our neighbor as our self.
L But must I love evil people and those who have personally harmed me?
C Must I love people of a different skin color, economic class, or educational level?
L And must I love people whose bodies are broken or twisted or marred by disease or injury or nature?
C Must I love gay and lesbian and transgendered people?
L Lord, must I love persons who have relied on charity or depended on welfare most of their life?
C Must I love people in prison and people who ought to be in prison?
L And should I love people who practice poor hygiene or have outrageous habits?
C Must I love refugees, immigrants, boat people, migrant workers, and other “foreigners”?
L Must I love people with AIDS or people who are HIV positive?
C Must I love people who ought to be in a mental hospital or just came from one?
L Do I need to love drug dealers and drug users and rapists and anybody who would abuse a child?
C Must I love Biden and Trump and any people whose politics are different from my own?
L Must I love those young people who sit on my steps and lean on my car?
C Must I love my neighbors and family members who test my patience and understanding?
L Lord, must I really love the non-Christians of this world?
C Lord, must I really love the Christian sitting right next to me who doesn’t seem to be a true Christian?
L Tell me, Lord, who is deserving of my love?
C Tell me, Lord, who is it that I am to love as I love myself?
L Forgive us for asking, Almighty God, for the answer is in the words and the example of Jesus Christ, the One who came to serve and to love us and was willing to die for us. Now he (+) forgives us our failings of the past and calls upon us to transform our belief in him into action on behalf of others.
C Instead of asking, “Who deserves my love and help?”, guide us to ask, “Who needs my love and help?”
Then help us to live out that answer in our deeds. Amen.
OPENING SONG: “I Love You, Lord” Brown #288
PRAYER OF THE DAY:
Almighty God, here we are, flesh and blood, spirit and life – created, redeemed, and empowered by your love. Today we confess that we have passed by many persons that we could and should have loved. Please forgive us and take away both our guilt and our fear. Open our eyes, ears, hearts, and hands to bear the name, spirit, and compassionate love of Jesus Christ. Make us willing to cross the road to show mercy, to offer love. Amen.
+ We Rejoice in God’s Saving Word +
FIRST READING: DEUTERONOMY 30:9-14 [Moses calls the people, who are about to enter the “Promised Land” to renew the covenant that God made with their ancestors. Through this covenant God gives life and asks for obedience. God’s Word is near enough to know… and obey!]
30:9 and the LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all your undertakings, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your soil. For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you, just as he delighted in prospering your ancestors,
30:10 when you obey the LORD your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
30:11 Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away.
30:12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?”
30:13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?”
30:14 No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.
SECOND READING: COLOSSIANS 1:1-14 [This letter was written to warn its readers of various false teachings. The first part of the letter is an expression of thanks to God and encouragement to those who are pleasing God by staying and growing in faith, hope, and love.]
1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
1:2 To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
1:3 In our prayers for you we always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1:4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,
1:5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel
1:6 that has come to you. Just as it is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world, so it has been bearing fruit among yourselves from the day you heard it and truly comprehended the grace of God.
1:7 This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,
1:8 and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit.
1:9 For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
1:10 so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.
1:11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully
1:12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
1:13 He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,
1:14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
GOSPEL VERSE:
“Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me.
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.”
THE HOLY GOSPEL: LUKE 10:25-37 [Jesus is challenged to explain how to obey a great commandment. Jesus tells a parable that changes the theme from defining neighbor to being neighbor. To those who get the point he says, “Go and do likewise.”]
10:25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
10:26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”
10:27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
10:28 And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
10:29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
10:30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.
10:31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
10:32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
10:33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.
10:34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
10:35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’
10:36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
10:37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
THE SERMON: Pastor Gwen or Pastor Neil
SONG SELECTION
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 +
THE OFFERING… To love your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind is to show God’s mercy and to offer God’s compassion. Let us serve in love with gratitude, generosity, and courage!
SONG SELECTION
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:
O Lord our God, if your Spirit is alive within us, then stretch our time and abilities, our money and our mouths, all that we are and all that we have, to testify to your amazing grace in Jesus Christ. Someone somewhere is in need of your Good News. Amen.
THE PREFACE AND THE EUCHARISTIC WORDS:
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 Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful… C … and set us on fire with your love! Alleluia!
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! We will have “continuous distribution” with wafers and wine or grape juice. Praise the Lord for this community meal that renews our spirits, powers our faith, and reminds us of the future heavenly banquet that awaits us!
COMMUNION SONGS: Brown #119 Brown #150 Brown #185
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: “Jesus Loves Me” Brown #249