ORDER OF WORSHIP
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
July 17, 2022
+ GATHERING +
WELCOME
PRELUDE
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
God of all mercy and consolation, come to the help of your people, turning us from our sin to live for you alone. Give us the power of your Holy Spirit that we may confess our sin, receive your forgiveness, and grow into the fullness of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
Most merciful God,
we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.
In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
GATHERING HYMN Dearest Jesus, at Your Word
ELW 520
Dearest Jesus, at your word
we have come again to hear you;
let our thoughts and hearts be stirred
and in glowing faith be near you
as the promises here given
draw us wholly up to heaven.
All our knowledge, sense, and sight
lie in deepest darkness shrouded
till your Spirit breaks the night,
filling us with light unclouded.
All good thoughts and all good living
come but by your gracious giving.
Radiance of God's glory bright,
Light of light from God proceeding,
Jesus, send your blessed light;
help our hearing, speaking, heeding,
that our prayers and songs may please you,
as with grateful hearts we praise you.
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
praise to you and adoration!
Grant us what we need the most:
all your gospel's consolation
while we here on earth await you,
till in heav'n with praise we greet you.
GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
HYMN OF PRAISE
Assisting Minister
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to God's people on earth.
All
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you,
we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ,
only Son of the Father.
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father;
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord;
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray.
Eternal God, you draw near to us in Christ, and you make yourself our guest. Amid the cares of our lives, make us attentive to your presence, that we may treasure your word above all else, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
+ WORD +
FIRST READING: Amos 8:1-12
Amos announces God’s judgment upon the people of Israel who sin by oppressing the poor and engaging in deceitful business practices. Amos uses a Hebrew wordplay: a basket of summer fruit (qayits) symbolizes the end (qets) of Israel. That end will come through a famine of “hearing the words of the Lord.”
"The end has come upon my people Israel;
I will never again pass them by.
3The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,"
says the Lord GOD;
"the dead bodies shall be many,
cast out in every place. Be silent!"
4Hear this, you that trample on the needy,
and bring to ruin the poor of the land,
5saying, "When will the new moon be over
so that we may sell grain;
and the sabbath,
so that we may offer wheat for sale?
We will make the ephah small and the shekel great,
and practice deceit with false balances,
6buying the poor for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
and selling the sweepings of the wheat."
7The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
8Shall not the land tremble on this account,
and everyone mourn who lives in it,
and all of it rise like the Nile,
and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?
9On that day, says the Lord GOD,
I will make the sun go down at noon,
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
10I will turn your feasts into mourning,
and all your songs into lamentation;
I will bring sackcloth on all loins,
and baldness on every head;
I will make it like the mourning for an only son,
and the end of it like a bitter day.
11The time is surely coming, says the Lord GOD,
when I will send a famine on the land;
not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the LORD.
12They shall wander from sea to sea,
and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD,
but they shall not find it.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
PSALM 52 (spoken responsively by full verse)
1Why do you boast, O mighty one,
of mischief done against the godly?
All day long 2you are plotting destruction.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
you worker of treachery.
3You love evil more than good,
and lying more than speaking the truth.
4You love all words that devour,
O deceitful tongue.
5But God will break you down forever;
he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living.
6The righteous will see, and fear,
and will laugh at the evildoer, saying,
7"See the one who would not take
refuge in God,
but trusted in abundant riches,
and sought refuge in wealth!"
8But I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
forever and ever.
9I will thank you forever,
because of what you have done.
In the presence of the faithful
I will proclaim your name, for it is good.
SECOND READING: Colossians 1:15-28
This letter offers a mystical teaching, that the great mystery of God is “Christ in you.” Because Christ is present in the church, Christians share in his life, suffering, and glory.
21And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him — 23provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.
24I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. 25I became its servant according to God's commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. 27To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28It is he whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Alleluia.
Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL: Luke 10:38-42
During his visit to the home of Mary and Martha, Jesus reminds Martha that her concern for her many tasks distracts from the one thing that precedes all else: abiding in the presence of God.
The holy gospel according to Luke.
Glory to you, O Lord.
38Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. 40But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." 41But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42there is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON
HYMN OF THE DAY Be Thou My Vision
ELW 793
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that thou art:
thou my best thought both by day and by night,
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord.
Thou my soul's shelter, and thou my high tow'r,
raise thou me heav'nward, O Pow'r of my pow'r.
Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise,
thou mine inheritance, now and always:
thou and thou only, the first in my heart,
great God of heaven, my treasure thou art.
Light of my soul, after victory won,
may I reach heaven's joys, O heaven's Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come 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.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
United in Christ and guided by the Spirit, we pray for the church, the creation, and all in need.
A brief silence.
{Other petitions may be offered)
EXCHANGE OF PEACE
The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.
+ MEAL +
MUSICAL OFFERING
OFFERING
You may place your offerings in the offering plate as it is passed during the service. Alternatively, some are using Tithe.ly for online giving or are using their bank’s online banking option. Whichever way you choose to give, we are grateful for your stewardship and generosity.
OFFERING SONG
Let the vineyards be fruitful, Lord,
and fill to the brim our cup of blessing.
Gather a harvest from the seeds that were sown,
that we may be fed with the bread of life.
Gather the hopes and the dreams of all;
unite them with the prayers we offer now.
Grace our table with your presence,
and give us a foretaste of the feast to come.
OFFERING PRAYER
Let us pray.
Blessed are you, O God, maker of all things. Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts: our selves, our time, and our possessions. Use us, and what we have gathered, in feeding the world with your love, through the one who gave himself for us, Jesus, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
THE GREAT THANKSGIVING
DIALOGUE
May the God of freedom be with you.
And also with you.
Children of God, lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the One who sets us free
for lives of service and hope.
God's children: let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
We will sing our songs of freedom
to the One who calls us to new life.
PREFACE
Starry nights that stretch across the sky,
waves of every grain shimmering in the sun:
these are the gift you gave to us,
God of wonder and joy.
Mountains tower above plains
overflowing with abundant fruit,
land stretching from sea to sea
where we could live with you.
Freely, you offered the abundance
of all that is good and beautiful to us,
but we mocked your hopes,
choosing to be deceived by sin.
you appointed prophets, sending them
to every town and place we lived,
sharing your peace with us through them.
But we would not welcome them
into our homes, or into our hearts.
Then you sent Jesus to us,
to share with us that freedom
which calls us to follow in obedience.
As we sing of those who have gone before us,
As we remember how they lived as
sisters and brothers as you called them to live,
we proclaim our thanks to you:
joining into the unending hymn of all your creation:
SANCTUS
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest.
THANKSGIVING AT THE TABLE
The One who could heal our brokenness,
the One who could teach us self-control,
the One who could lead us out
of all the places our feet have strayed,
Jesus came to live among us,
leaving the starry band of glory behind.
Loving your mercy for us more than his own life,
he willingly went to the cross,
that we might receive your gracious gift
of life forever with you.
As we remember the freedom he offered to all,
as we celebrate the gift of life which comes to us here at this Table of love, we speak of that mystery of our faith:
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
As you pour out your Spirit
upon this Table abundant with the gifts
of the Bread and of the Cup,
shed your grace upon your children gathered in this place.
Eating the Bread of life, we can go,
carrying a harvest of hope to them.
Drinking from the Cup of grace,
we can go where you intend to go,
inviting everyone we meet to join us
in your new creation of peace, mercy, and wonder.
And when all that holds us back is gone,
when the freedom of your eternity is given to us,
we will gather with our extended siblings
in faith of every time and place,
who have been crowned with your goodness and love,
forever singing your praises,
God in Community, Holy in One. Amen.
Join our prayers and praise with your prophets and martyrs of every age, that, rejoicing in the hope of the resurrection, we might live in the freedom and hope of your Son. Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, now and forever. Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
DISTRIBUTION
The ushers will direct you down the center aisle. Please go to an open spot at the altar rail. After you have received the host, the first chalice is for intinction and the second chalice is for drinking. You may wish to remain at the rail for a time of personal prayer following which you may return to your pew down the side aisle.
LAMB OF GOD
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
grant us peace, grant us peace.
BLESSING AFTER COMMUNION
Thankful hearts and voices raise: tell ev'ryone what God has done.
Let ev'ryone who seeks the Lord rejoice and bear the name of Christ.
Send us with your promises and lead your people forth in joy
with shouts of thanksgiving. Alleluia, alleluia.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Gracious God, in this meal you have drawn us to your heart, and nourished us at your table with food and drink, the body and blood of Christ. Now send us forth to be your people in the world, and to proclaim your truth this day and evermore, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
+ SENDING +
BENEDICTION
SENDING HYMN Oh, That I Had a Thousand Voices
ELW 833
Oh, that I had a thousand voices
to praise my God with thousand tongues!
My heart, which in the Lord rejoices,
would then proclaim in grateful songs
to all, wherever I might be,
what great things God has done for me!
Let ev'ry pow'r in me implanted
arise, keep silence now no more;
put forth the strength that God has granted!
Your noblest work is to adore!
O soul and body, join to raise
with heartfelt joy your maker's praise!
You forest leaves so green and tender
that dance for joy in summer air,
you meadow grasses, bright and slender,
you flow'rs so fragrant and so fair,
you live to show forth praise alone.
Join me to make God's glory known!
All creatures that have breath and motion,
that throng the earth, the sea, the sky,
come, share with me my heart's devotion,
help me to sing God's praises high!
My utmost pow'rs can never quite
declare the wonders of God's might!
Creator, humbly I implore you
to listen to my earthly song
until that day when I adore you,
when I will join the angel throng
and raise to you with joyful cry
ten thousand hallelujahs high!
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Love your neighbor.
Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE
Liturgical Text and Music from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, © 2006, 2020, 2022 Augsburg Fortress. Reprinted and/or streamed with permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies License #SAS016761. All rights reserved.
Dearest Jesus, at Your Word, Text: Tobias Clausnitzer, 1619-1684, sts. 1-3; Gesangbuch, Berlin, 1707, st. 4; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827-1878, adapt. Music: Johann R. Ahle, 1625-1673. Public domain.
Be Thou My Vision, Text: Irish, 8th cent.; vers. Eleanor H. Hull, 1860-1935, alt.; tr. Mary E. Byrne, 1880-1931 Music: Irish traditional. Public domain.
Oh, That I Had a Thousand Voices, Text: Henry van Dyke, 1852-1922. Music: Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827, adapt. Public domain.
