Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost Worship Order of Service
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
PENTECOST 13 – Coronavirus
08-22-2021 10:00AM Zoom Worship
OPENING SONG: “I WANT JESUS TO WALK WITH ME” Queen Sutton Brown #66
THE OPENING RITE: Alex Harris + “a Mathis Man”
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 Sisters and brothers, choices are being made every day by each of us, many of them simple and without apparent
serious impact. We make frequent decisions without much thought –
C Black pants or blue… soup or salad… paper or plastic.
L Then there are the literal and figurative forks in the road that require more deliberation because we understand that the paths lead in different directions and potentially changed futures –
C Marry my high school sweetheart this summer or go away in the autumn to begin college… have the back surgery or forget it… change my career or stay where I am… get the COVID-19 vaccine or refuse it.
L Finally, there are those vital choices along the way of our life’s journey that are of ultimate importance and have eternal impact –
C Will I choose life or death?
Will I choose right or wrong?
Will I choose to believe in God?
Will I choose to follow Jesus?
When my discipleship gets difficult, disappointing, or even just boring, will I desert Jesus?
L Jesus reaches out to us with mercy and love this morning.
He promises that He is the answer to our deepest hungers, that He will quench our greatest thirst.
He invites us to feed upon him and be filled. He assures us that He is more to us then food and drink – He is the BREAD OF LIFE, the very source of our lives, the real hope for our future beyond the grave.
C Logic cannot explain this.
Scientific research cannot prove it.
And this world’s trials and temptations push and pull us in a different direction.
It takes faith, then, to believe that God through Jesus Christ chooses us, forgives us, loves us, leads us, empowers us, and assures us – all the way to eternity.
In light of this mystery, Jesus asks you this morning the question he asked his first disciples, “Do you also wish to go away?”
L And our answer is the same as Peter’s in today’s Gospel
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!
We have come to believe that you are the Holy One of God.”
So be our life-source, be our love-source for now and for always!
Help us to strong in Christ Jesus and to put on the whole armor of God for faithful discipleship. Amen to that!
FIRST READING: JOSHUA 24:1-2a, 14-18 [You must decide. Make the right choice. Choose God.] – Valerie Taylor Samuel
24:1 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God.
24:2a And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors–Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor–lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods.
24:14 “Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
24:15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
24:16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;
24:17 for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed;
24:18 and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”
SECOND READING: EPHESIANS 6:10-20 [Put on Christ as your armor. Fight the good fight against evil forces.] – Destiny
6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.
6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
6:12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
6:14 Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.
6:15 As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.
6:16 With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
6:17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
6:18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.
6:19 Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.
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 6:56-59 [Discipleship is a daily decision. Stay or quit?] Elaine Jones
6:56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.
6:57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.
6:58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”
6:59 He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
6:60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?”
6:61 But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you?
6:62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
6:63 It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
6:64 But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him.
6:65 And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”
6:66 Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him.
6:67 So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?”
6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.
6:69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
THE SERMON: Pastor Neil
SONG SELECTION: “I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS” Timyk Hillsman Tan #400
OFFERING… Some people, past and present, have been offended by the words of Jesus and walked away. WHO CAN ACCEPT THE WORDS OF JESUS? WHO DARES TO FOLLOW? What about you? Will you decide to remain? Or are you already moving on?
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: Kyle
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! Diana Hillsman
THE LORD’S PRAYER
SONG SELECTION: “I AM ON THE BATTLEFIELD” Maliek Patterson Tan #480
THE BENEDICTION… We are sent forth to be and become the BODY OF CHRIST for the world!