Third Sunday After Pentecost Order of Service
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
PENTECOST 3 / Father’s Day
Scholarship Recognition Sunday
(Welcome / Greeting by the Pastors)
THE OPENING RITE (for Father’s Day):
L Long ago, in 1982, American author Bruce Feirstein wrote a satiric book about stereotypes of masculinity.
Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche was on the New York Times bestseller list for 53 weeks and sold over 1.6 million copies. The times have certainly changed since 1982, but some men are still changing. This morning we are adapting the book title to our Opening Rite for worship. Church family, real men may or may not eat quiche…
C but real men in Christ hunger for the Word of God and the Way of the Lord!
L And real men might or might not pump iron in the gym…
C but real men in Christ show resilient strength and patient endurance in their faith!
L And real men might or might not father a lot of babies…
C but real men in Christ eagerly sow seeds of justice, mercy, and love!
L And, in 2020, real men better not view and treat women only as sex objects and as the lesser gender…
C but real men in Christ actively oppose violence, abuse, and bias against women.
L In popular media over many years, men were often portrayed as dense, unemotional, selfish, arrogant, sexually immoral, and at least potentially violent. A man who acted the way society seemed to say he should, particularly toward women, was often referred to as a “real man” or a “man’s man”. But God, the designer of human beings, sees things differently than society does. When God measures a man, he puts the tape around the heart rather than the head or the height or the bicep or the bank account.
C Today we call on all of our men and all of our boys, but also on all of our women and all of our girls,
NOT to be withdrawn, silent, lifeless and “tough” by worldly standards, but to be real in God’s eye…
to know God’s glory and to share God’s love…
to be humble and obedient and responsible before God’s will …
to be courageous, committed, and compassionate in times of challenge and controversy…
and to go forth and to show and tell others in the power of Jesus Christ! ALLELUIA!
PRAYER OF THE DAY:
Almighty God, here we are, flesh and blood, spirit and life – created, redeemed, and empowered by your love!
And now you have sent us out with a ministry to share and a message to offer to the world.
We pray that – no matter the circumstances – we might be faithful in our living and fervent in our loving.
May the authority of Christ and the healing power of the Holy Spirit go before us. Amen.
SONG SELECTION
FIRST READING: JEREMIAH 20:7-13 [The suffering prophet wants to quit on God… but he burns on the inside with God’s Word!]
SONG SELECTION
SECOND READING: ROMANS 6:1b-11 [Paul says that God’s grace is not a credit card for sinning… it’s a changed life of loving!]
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.”
HOLY GOSPEL: MATTHEW 10:24-39 [Jesus warns his disciples, then and now, of opposition to their ministry. The cost of discipleship looks like a splintery cross.]
THE SERMON: Pastor Neil
SONG SELECTION
SCHOLARSHIP RECOGNITION
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.
MUSIC SELECTION Dennis Fortune
THE PRAYERS
THE LORD’S PRAYER
SONG SELECTION
THE BENEDICTION:
L The Spirit-fire is burning in your life – don’t let it go out!
The Spirit-wind blows where it will – don’t seek to divert it!
You have a message to share – don’t silence it!
Go out, sisters and brothers, into the world with courage and conviction, bearing the love of God, the good news of Jesus
Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit in every word you speak, and in everything you do.
C This is our day. This is our time. This is our mission.
Let us be faithful in our living and fervent in our loving! ALLELUIA AND AMEN!