Tenth Sunday After Pentecost Worship Bulletin
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
PENTECOST 10 08-14-2022 10:00AM Hybrid Worship
+ We Seek and Rejoice in the Spirit +
OPENING SONG: “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory” Tan #490
THE OPENING RITE (based on Psalm 82):
L My brothers and sisters,
God gives justice to the weak and the orphan…
God defends the humble and the needy…
God rescues the oppressed and the poor…
God delivers them from the power of the wicked.
And someday God will judge all the mighty leaders and even all the other people on this earth,
and someday God will measure how we have lived and whether we have shown justice, mercy and love.
C We stand before God with open hearts that cannot be disguised…
we thank God for mercies and blessings that are undeserved and unearned…
we seek God’s forgiveness for our sins and our failures to act…
and we ask for the faith and the focus and the fortitude to live a Christ-like life.
L God’s Holy Word is like a fire, full of power.
And God’s Son Jesus is the pioneer and the perfector of our faith.
C And we pray:
O Lord, in spite of whatever tries to bring us down and out,
help us to stay rooted in Jesus Christ,
to remember the triumph of his dying on the cross,
and to be inspired by those faithful witnesses before us and around us.
Give us courage to stand up for and with all victims of bloodshed and greed,
and to be faithful in our living and fervent in our loving. Amen.
+ We Rejoice in God’s Saving Word +
FIRST LESSON: JEREMIAH 23:23-29 [False prophets peddle phony predictions. But not Jeremiah! ]
23:23 Am I a God near by, says the LORD, and not a God far off?
23:24 Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the LORD.
23:25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, “I have dreamed, I have dreamed!”
23:26 How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back–those who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart?
23:27 They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal.
23:28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the LORD.
23:29 Is not my word like fire, says the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
SECOND LESSON: HEBREWS 11:29 – 12:2 [Fervent followers finally faithfully finish. Run that same race! ]
11:29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned.
11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days.
11:31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace.
11:32 And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets–
11:33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,
11:34 quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
11:35 Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection.
11:36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
11:37 They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented–
11:38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
11:39 Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised,
11:40 since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect.
12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,
12:2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
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 12:49-56 [Faith fuels fantastic family feuds. Make the right choice! ]
12:49 “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
12:50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!
12:51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!
12:52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three;
12:53 they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
12:54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens.
12:55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens.
12:56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
THE SERMON: Linda Crawford, member of St. Peter’s
SONG RESPONSE: “We’ve Come This Far by Faith” Tan #412
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… Despite all the distractions and difficulties, we cannot avoid giving witness to the gospel. As many others have done, offer who you are and what you have as you follow Jesus in justice, righteousness, and peace.
SONG SELECTION
OFFERTORY SONG:
ng to walk with Jesus all the way!”
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!
There are blessings you cannot receive till you know God in his fullness and believe. You’re the one to profit when you say, “I am going to walk with Jesus all the way!”
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 my travel, my service and my 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.
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
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: Tan #156 Tan #431
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: “I Am on the Battlefield” Tan #480
An August prayer…
Lord, there’s not much exciting happening this month –
no national holidays such as in July and September…
no religious festivals such as Christmas or Easter…
no family days such as Mother’s Day or Father’s Day…
and even the dogs seem droopy and tired in the “dog days of August”.
But here in worship we remember –
that every day is a gift from You…
that there is a time to relax as well as to work…
that the cycle of the seasons is part of Your creation.
Therefore, help us use our time well, even in the hot days of August –
When we have time to travel, grant us safety on the highways, in the air, on the ship.
When we have time to sit leisurely in a chair, grant us rest without a sense of guilt.
When we have time to gather as family, grant that we will really be “with” each other.
When we are at work, grant that we do not excuse irritability because of the heat.
When we are on vacation, grant that we may be refreshed in body and spirit.
Lord, let us welcome each new day with gratitude for Your blessings and opportunities, and think and say:
“This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it!” Amen.