Pentecost 3 Worship Order of Service

St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

PENTECOST 3   –  Coronavirus

Scholarship Recognition Sunday 

06-13-2021      10:00AM Zoom Worship

THE OPENING RITE (based on Psalm 92):    

L   It is a mighty experience for me
to be able to unload my heart,
and to spill out all my gratitude
in thanksgiving to you, O Lord.

C    I want to thank you early in the morning for your love!
I want to praise you late at night for your faithfulness!
I want to shout, sing, play a melody, and dance all day to express my joy!
I want the entire world to know all about your greatness and glory!

L   I realize that some on this earth do not really know you,
and that some do not ever understand you,
and that some have even boldly turned against you,
claiming that their lives are totally successful without you.

C    But I still am not swayed from believing that the better way, the blessed way,
    the life that has deep, and sturdy roots,
    the life that bears a legacy of green growth and fresh fruit,
    comes through seeking you, loving you, and serving you even into my old age!

L   So, Lord, you are forever my Rock –
Give me strength in a topsy-turvy world.

C    And, Lord, put me to good use –
that I may show forth your glory, justice, and love!

OPENING SONG:    “MORE ABOUT JESUS”                                      Tan #565

THE PRAYER OF THE DAY:
 Almighty God, here we are, flesh and blood, spirit and life – created, redeemed, and empowered by your love.
       Take our roots of faith and plant them deep… then grow and nurture our trust and our obedience.
       We pray to mature into mighty oaks of righteousness and tall cedars of love, sheltering and serving others.
       May your Kingdom continue to reach high, far, deep, and wide into the lives of all kinds of people.  Amen. 

FIRST READING:   EZEKIEL 17:22-24   [God will plant a mighty tree from Judah’s royal family to rule over creation.]

17:22 Thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost of its young twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

17:23 On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. Under it every kind of bird will live; in the shade of its branches will nest winged creatures of every kind.

17:24 All the trees of the field shall know that I am the LORD. I bring low the high tree, I make high the low tree; I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I the LORD have spoken; I will accomplish it.

SONG SELECTION:    “HEAR ME WHEN I PRAY”        Youth    

SECOND READING:   2 CORINTHIANS 5:6-17   [Living or dying, Christians travel forward with a confident faith.]

5:6 So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord —

5:7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.

5:8 Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

5:9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.

5:10 For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.

5:11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences.

5:12 We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart.

5:13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.

5:14 For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.

5:15 And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.

5:16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way.

5:17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

SCHOLARSHIP RECOGNITION… We celebrate those who are graduating from various levels of schooling!                      

GOSPEL VERSE:    “Lord, let my heart be good soil, open to the seed of your word.  Lord, let my heart be good soil, where love can grow and peace is understood. When my heart is hard, break the stone away. When my heart is cold, warm it with the day. When my heart is lost, lead me on your way.  Lord, let my heart…   Lord, let my heart…   Lord, let my heart be good soil.”

THE HOLY GOSPEL:   MARK 4:26-34   [The Kingdom – a hidden and uncontrolled growth, a great surprise!]

4:26 He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground,

4:27 and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.

4:28 The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head.

4:29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”

4:30 He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?

4:31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;

4:32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

4:33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it;

4:34 he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

THE SERMON:        Pastor Neil or Pastor Gwen

SONG SELECTION:    “ORDINARY PEOPLE”    

THE APOSTLES’ CREED:                        

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again 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.

OFFERING… Saint Paul writes that, if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation. No matter how small we think our faith is, size does not matter, because our God can grow us into bearing fruit and providing spacious welcome to our fellow humans.

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:    “GOD IS”           

THE BENEDICTION