Third Sunday of Pentecost Worship Bulletin
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
PENTECOST 3
06-26-2022 10:00AM Hybrid Worship
+ We Seek and Rejoice in the Spirit +
THE OPENING RITE:
L The voice of God speaks a word to us…
C The presence of God surrounds and embraces us.
L The Christ of God reaches out to touch us with grace…
C The Spirit of God fills us with peace and offers us power!
L To the one who would follow Jesus wherever he goes, Jesus warns:
C “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
L To the one who would wait until sometime after he has buried his father, Jesus responds:
C “Let the dead bury the dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
L To the one who first wants to say good-bye to family before following, Jesus judges:
C “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
L Brothers, sisters, real discipleship involves great risk and appears to have a high cost. Jesus can only assure you in the present of here and now that it is a risk worth taking. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain in following after him. And you will never be alone, not now, not in the future, not even beyond the end of your journey here on earth.
Know that Jesus (+) is with you always and will grant you his joy. So – this very moment – humble your heart, sense the urgency of his call, and risk the bold journey of leaving one life behind and taking up another! Amen.
OPENING SONG: “Woke Up This Mornin’…” Tan #566
- Woke up this mornin’ with my mind, stayed on Jesus. Woke up this mornin’ with my mind, stayed on Jesus.
Woke up this mornin’ with my mind, stayed on Jesus. HALLELU… HALLELU… HALLELUJAH!
- No condemnation with my mind…
- Walkin’ and talkin’ with my mind…
- Can’t hate your neighbor with your mind…
PRAYER OF THE DAY (together):
Almighty God, here we are, flesh and blood, spirit and life – created, redeemed, and empowered by your love. Today we confess that we don’t always think right, say right, or do right as your sons and daughters. Please forgive us and restore us to right relationship with You, with others, and the best in ourselves. Set before us once again the demands of discipleship, even when we are not ready to hear and respond. We want to live faithfully and love fervently in the tender, strong, saving name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
+ We Rejoice in God’s Saving Word +
FIRST READING: 1 KINGS 19:15-16, 19-21 [The older prophet “passes the baton” to the younger prophet.]
19:15 Then the LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king over Aram.
19:16 Also you shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.
19:19 So he set out from there, and found Elisha son of Shaphat, who was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over him.
19:20 He left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” Then Elijah said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?”
19:21 He returned from following him, took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out and followed Elijah, and became his servant.
SONG SELECTION
SECOND READING: GALATIANS 5:1, 13-25 [The freedom Christ gives is not permission to do whatever!]
5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.
5:14 For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
5:15 If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
5:16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.
5:17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want.
5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.
5:19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness,
5:20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions,
5:21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
5:22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
5:23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.
5:24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
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: LUKE 9:51-62 [You can only follow if you let Christ lead!]
9:51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
9:52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him;
9:53 but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem.
9:54 When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
9:55 But he turned and rebuked them.
9:56 Then they went on to another village.
9:57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
9:58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
9:59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
9:60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
9:61 Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”
9:62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
THE SERMON: Pastor Gwen or Pastor Neil
SONG SELECTION
AN AFFIRMATION OF OUR FAITH:
We confess our FAITH in the God who has given us love and new life…
I trust in God who has made me his own. I know that God loves me. To God I am as precious as his own Son, Jesus Christ, who lived and died in obedience to his Father’s will. Jesus suffered our pain, and through his suffering and death has brought us into fellowship with God.
I believe that God through his Spirit will give me strength when I am oppressed and weary… will give me love when I am afraid and lonely… and will guide his Church to make people free at last.
I believe that God lives in the fellowship of those who trust him, and that God wants all people to be brought into that fellowship.
I believe that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Living in hope and trust, I will deny myself, take up my cross, and walk the Jesus walk of faithful servant love.
Amen.
THE PRAYERS [This litany was created in South Africa for use by churches and grassroots organizations all over the world – 1,200 community organizations in 115 countries had joined together in a coalition – during an international AIDS Candlelight Memorial Service held on May 19, 2013, Pentecost Sunday. It is a litany combining the theology of Romans 8:14-17 with the well-known fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23.]
L Come, Holy Spirit,
C Fill us.
L Come, Holy Breath,
C Live in us.
L Come, Holy Wind,
C Move through us.
L “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves,
so that you live in fear again.” [Romans 8:14-15a]
C Where we are led by other impulses we are slaves again,
and our way of being is guided by fear.
L Where we are guided by prejudice,
C Fill us with LOVE.
L Where we are guided by pessimism,
C Fill us with JOY.
L Where we are guided by misunderstanding,
C Fill us with PEACE.
L Where we are guided by superficial quick-fixes,
C Fill us with PATIENCE.
L Where we are guided by self-interest,
C Fill us with KINDNESS.
L Where we are guided by apathy,
C Fill us with GOODNESS.
L Where we are guided by convenience,
C Fill us with FAITHFULNESS.
L Where we are guided by complacency,
C Fill us with MEEKNESS.
L Where we are guided by temptation,
C Fill us with SELF-CONTROL.
L Come, Holy Spirit,
C Fill us.
L Come, Holy Breath,
C Live in us.
L Come, Holy Wind,
C Move through us.
[Other intercessions may be offered.]
THE OFFERING… No one who puts hand to the plow and then turns back will be fully faithful and effective in fulfilling God’s plan of salvation. Let’s step forward and keep our eyes forward with our gratitude and generosity as we follow where Jesus leads in mission. .
SONG SELECTION
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:
O Lord our God, if your Spirit is alive within us, then stretch our time and abilities, our money and our mouths, all that we are and all that we have, to testify to your amazing grace in Jesus Christ. 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 (spoken)
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: “Let Us Break Bread Together” Tan #686
“Victory Is Mine” Tan #489
“I Am on the Battlefield” Tan #480
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: “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round”
- Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around, turn me around, turn me around.
Ain’t gonna let nobody turn me around,
I’m gonna keep on a-walkin’, keep on a-talkin’, marchin’ up to freedom land!
- Ain’t gonna let segregation turn me around… (4) Ain’t gonna let no hatred turn me around…
- Ain’t gonna let persecution turn me around… (5) Ain’t gonna let no jail house turn me around…
- Ain’t gonna let no police dogs turn me around…
If you make Sunday your STRONG day, then the other days will not be WEAK days!