10 Sep BULLETIN – SEPTEMBER 10, 2023
WELCOME to MESSIAH & ST. PETER LUTHERAN CHURCHES
Reverend Nancy Brody, Pastor
Greta Wright, Music Director
Sunday, September 3, 2023
Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost
ANNOUNCEMENTS
OPENING HYMN
Open My Eyes That I May See” #252
CONFESSION and FORGIVENESS
Blessed be God, the one who forms us, ☩ Jesus who bears the cross, the Spirit who makes our joy complete.
Amen.
Let us bow before God in humility, confessing our sin. Silence is kept for reflection. Steadfast and faithful God,
you have revealed the ways of justice, yet we fail to follow you. We are overwhelmed by the world’s violence and suffering. We are afraid to risk what we have for the sake of others. For the harm we have caused, known and unknown, forgive us. For the unjust demands we place on others and your creation, forgive us. For the ways we turn away from you and our neighbor, forgive us. Lead us back to you and set us on the right path; in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
Beloved in Christ, God’s justice stretches beyond all under-standing. God’s compassion is beyond compare. In Jesus, God is always making a new way for us. In ☩ Christ, you are already and always forgiven.
Amen.
HYMN
I Need Thee Every Hour #92
PRAYER OF THE DAY
O Lord God, enliven and preserve your church with your perpetual mercy. Without your help, we mortals will fail; remove far from us everything that is harmful, and lead us toward all that gives life and salvation, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
FIRST READING EZEKIEL 33:7-11
So you, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, “O wicked ones, you shall surely die,” and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, and they do not turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life. Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have said: “Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?” Say to them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?
PSALM 119:33-40
Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end.
Give me understanding, and I shall keep your teaching; I shall keep it with all my heart.
Lead me in the path of your commandments, for that is my desire.
Incline my heart to your decrees and not to unjust gain.
Turn my eyes from be-holding falsehood; give me life in your way.
Fulfill your promise to your servant, which is for those who fear you.
Turn away the reproach that I dread, because your judgments are good.
Behold, I long for your commandments; by your righteousness enliven me.
HYMN
Wonderful Words of Life #175
SECOND READING ROMANS 13:8-14
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Alleluia. In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,* entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. Alleluia. (2 Cor. 5:19)
GOSPEL MATTHEW 18:15-20
[Jesus said to the disciples:] “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
SERMON
HYMN OF THE DAY
My Jesus, I Love Thee #99
PROFESSION of FAITH
Do you believe in God the Father?
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
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.
Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
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.
PRAYERS of INTERCESSION
Remembering the caring and generous works of God, we pray for the church, creation, and the needs of our neighbors. A brief silence.
Hold us accountable, O God. Show your church where repentance is needed and lead us in paths of intentional compassion and listening. Help us extend hands of reconciliation and care, especially in relationships with other Christians and people of other faiths. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Reveal your miracles to us, O God. Move us to cherish you as we behold the wonders of creation. Renew the seas and the soil, the forests and the creatures that live in them. Turn us to ways of living that seek Earth’s thriving. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Inspire us to lead with honor, O God. Guide judges and legislators, police, and government officials to create and uphold just laws. Move us to treat all people with dignity. Guide our conversations with one another. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Help us comfort those who suffer, O God. Reassure any who are harmed by the wicked acts of others. Bring peace to all who are vulnerable, frightened, despairing, or sick (especially those on our prayer list). Guard their waking and their sleeping. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Awaken us, O God. Challenge and encourage your people to value the livelihood and path to responsibility to which each is called. We pray for everyone who is forced to consider new possibilities or change. In all our diverse callings, teach us to love our neighbor above all else. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Be our hope, O God. We remember with thanksgiving your disciples who died in faith. May their trust in your promise be our protection and our hope. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Remember us according to your steadfast love as we offer these and the prayers of our heart, trusting in your compassion made known through Jesus Christ.
Amen. Amen. Amen.
EXCHANGE of PEACE
OFFERING
HYMN
Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow #308
THE LORD’S PRAYER
BENEDICTION
CLOSING HYMN
This Is My Father’s World #246