Pentecost Fifteen Rally Day Worship Bulletin
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
PENTECOST 15. Rally Day.
09-18-2022 10:00AM Hybrid Worship
+ We Seek and Rejoice in the Spirit +
THE OPENING RITE:
L Where 2 or 3 or 100 or 1000 are gathered together in the name of Jesus – physically or through the technology of
remote access…
C He’s right here with us!
L In our little babies, in our many-shaped and varied-sized boys and girls, in our striving teenagers and maturing young
adults, in our middle-aged adults and seasoned seniors, in our families and gathered singles…
C He’s right here with us!
L Especially when we seek to hear God’s Word of life and to put his Word into practice…
C He’s right here with us!
L Even when feathers are ruffled and egos are bruised and some of us are angry and alienated…
C He’s right here with us!
L Especially when we are genuine in giving our words and our embraces when we share our Lord’s peace…
C He’s right here with us!
L Whenever we refuse to nurse a grudge, keep a score, seek a payback, or walk away forever…
C He’s right here with us!
L Especially when we offer and ask forgiveness, when we seek and practice reconciliation…
C He’s right here with us!
L Even when our lives are crumbled in disarray and our world is reeling and vulnerable…
C He’s right here with us!
L Whenever we seek to show and tell the Good News of God’s love to our neighbors near and far…
C He’s right here with us!
L In our believing, in our thanking and our praising, in our obeying and our serving, in our living and even in our dying…
C He’s right here with us!
L Praise the Lord, glory to God, right here, right now, as we gather together in the Body of Christ, the family of faith…
C He’s right here with us, Alleluia!
OPENING SONG: “To God Be the Glory” Brown #264
PRAYER OF THE DAY:
Let us pray.
God who dearly loves us, you sent your Son Jesus to slip into our skin, to walk in our shoes, to bring pardon to our sin, to show us how to love, and to teach us to do the right thing. Help us to be faithful in our living and fervent in our loving. Amen.
+ We Rejoice in God’s Saving Word +
FIRST LESSON: AMOS 8:4-7 [The corruption of “trampling on the needy” while pretending to love and serve God.]
8:4 Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land,
8:5 saying, “When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances,
8:6 buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat.”
8:7 The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
SONG SELECTION
SECOND READING: 1 TIMOTHY 2:1-7 [The economy of God’s inclusive grace – intended for everyone.]
2:1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone,
2:2 for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.
2:3 This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
2:4 who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2:5 For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human,
2:6 who gave himself a ransom for all–this was attested at the right time.
2:7 For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
GOSPEL VERSE:
“I really love the Lord… I really love the Lord!
You don’t know what He’s done for me, gave me the victory.
I love Him, I love Him… I really love the Lord!” (repeat)
THE HOLY GOSPEL: LUKE 16:1-13 [The good example of a dishonest man – being “shrewd”.]
16:1 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property.
16:2 So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’
16:3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.
16:4 I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’
16:5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
16:6 He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’
16:7 Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’
16:8 And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.
16:9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.
16:10 “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.
16:11 If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?
16:12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own?
16:13 No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
THE SERMON: Pastor Neil or Pastor Gwen
SONG RESPONSE: “You Better Min’!”
- You’d better min’ how you talk, you’d better min’ what you talkin’ about,
You got to give account in de Judgment, you’d better min’.
You’d better min’ (you’d better min’), you’d better min’ (you’d better min’)…
You got to give account in de Judgment, you’d better min’.
- You’d better min’ how you sing, you’d better min’ what you singin’ about…
- You’d better min’ how you shout, you’d better min’ what you shoutin’ about…
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 OF TITHES (10% giving) AND GIFTS… Jesus tells us that no slave can serve two masters, no person can serve both God and wealth. So we have a decision to make with how to use who we are and what we have while we are alive and while we have what we’ve got. Choose wisely.
SONG SELECTION
THE OFFERTORY SONG: (Tan #565)
“More about Jesus would I know, more of his grace to others show,
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 (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 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 (together)
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 #281 Brown #235
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: “Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ” Brown #232