Tenth Sunday After Pentecost Worship Order of Service

St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

PENTECOST 10   –    Coronavirus

08-01-2021      10:00AM Zoom Worship

OPENING SONG:    “COME AND GO WITH ME”                                                                   Tan #596

THE OPENING RITE AND PRAYER OF THE DAY:

L   The steadfast love of God, the life of (+) Jesus Christ, and the growth of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

C    And also with you.

L   Why are you here?

C    We are hungry, and somebody told us that Jesus would feed us.

L   And what are you hungry for?

C    What we hunger for sometimes is just daily bread.
What we hunger for sometimes is more than food for our belly.
What we hunger for sometimes is affirmation, liberation, companionship, justice, or success.
What we hunger for sometimes is something we want but don’t really need.
What we hunger for sometimes might be harmful to ourselves and to others.
What we hunger for sometimes is just about this life and this world.
But we also hunger for something much deeper and greater,
    we have a longing that this world cannot satisfy,
    we have a hunger deep in our soul.
And somebody told us that Jesus would feed us.

L   Sisters and brothers in the crowd, Jesus proclaims to you and to all: “I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE.”
The world is yet hungry, we are hungry, and none of us can go without the Bread that gives life!
     Whoever comes to Christ will never be hungry.
Whoever believes in Christ will never be thirsty.
     The BREAD OF LIFE is here to feed us! Alleluia!

C    And let us now pray. O God, the source of life and giver of love,
you offer us abundant life and everlasting love in Jesus Christ.
Today we acknowledge our hunger for the BREAD OF LIFE, our Savior and Lord.
Satisfy us with his spirit, unite us as one body, and send us to offer meaning, hope, and new life to others
as we bear his name and his spirit and his mission.  Amen to that!  

FIRST READING:   EXODUS 16:2-4, 9-15 Food crisis becomes faith crisis. [“Give us our daily bread… and also meat!”]        

16:2 The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

16:3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

16:4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.

16:9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, ‘Draw near to the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.'”

16:10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

16:11 The LORD spoke to Moses and said,

16:12 “I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'”

16:13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.

16:14 When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground.

16:15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.

SECOND READING:   EPHESIANS 4:1-16   [Diverse gifts unified in one Body with Christ as the Head.]

4:1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

4:2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

4:3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling,

4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

4:6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

4:7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

4:8 Therefore it is said, “When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.”

4:9 (When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

4:10 He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.)

4:11 The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,

4:12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

4:13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

4:14 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.

4:15 But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

4:16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

GOSPEL VERSE:  “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 HOLY GOSPEL:   JOHN 6:24-35    [Daily bread and the BREAD OF LIFE.]

6:24 So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

6:25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”

6:26 Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

6:27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.”

6:28 Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?”

6:29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

6:30 So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing?

6:31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'”

6:32 Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.

6:33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

6:34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

THE SERMON:      Pastor Gwen or Pastor Neil

SONG SELECTION:    “GOD NEVER FAILS”                                                            Tan #159

A CREED OF FAITH (based on today’s Second Reading):   

        We believe that the Church is a community, not just a collection of individuals.
        We are called, gathered, united, empowered, and sent by the Holy Spirit to be Christ’s Body here on earth.
        And each of us has a place and a part in the Body of Christ… we all belong, we all matter, we all contribute.
        And together we are ONE body, ONE Spirit, ONE hope, ONE faith, ONE baptism, serving ONE God.
        And therefore we should never act like spoiled children, pouting, griping, grabbing, criticizing, competing.
        NO group should be characterized by the quality of their love more than the Church!
        NO group should be marked by a spirit of unity and a bond of peace more than the Church!
        If we let Christ be the head of his Body – our Savior, our Teacher, our Friend – we will help bless this world.
        Amen.     

OFFERING… Some people believe that their lives will be so very happy if they have more things to eat and use and hold. But Christians are learning the grace of gratitude for what God has gifted to them and also the grace of generosity in offering their lives, time, and talents for the sake of Christ’s good news for all people. Let’s seek to live faithfully and love fervently! 

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        

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