16 Jun BULLETIN – SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 2024
WELCOME to MESSIAH & ST. PETER LUTHERAN CHURCHES
Reverend Nancy Brody, Pastor
Greta Wright, Organist
Sunday, June 16, 2024
Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
Happy Father’s Day
ANNOUNCEMENTS
PRELUDE
BRIEF ORDER OF CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS Page 56
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Most merciful God, we confess that we are in bondage 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.
Almighty God, in his mercy, has given his Son to die for us and, for his sake, 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
Faith of Our Fathers #500
APOSTOLIC GREETING Page 57
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.
KYRIE Pages 57-59
🎶In peace let us pray to the Lord.
🎶Lord have mercy.
🎶For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
🎶Lord have mercy.
🎶For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
🎶Lord have mercy.
🎶For this holy house, and for all who offer here and online their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.
🎶Lord have mercy.
🎶Help, save, comfort, and defend us gracious Lord.
🎶Amen.
HYMN OF PRAISE Pages 58-59
🎶Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.
🎶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.
🎶The Lord be with you.
🎶And also with you.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
O God, you are the tree of life, offering shelter to all the world. Graft us into yourself and nurture our growth, that we may bear your truth and love to those in need, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
FIRST READING EZEKIEL17:22-24
Thus, says the Lord God: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost of its young twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain height of Israel, I will plant it, in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. Under it every kind of bird will live; in the shade of its branches will nest winged creatures of every kind. All the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord. I bring low the high tree, I make high the low tree; I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I the Lord have spoken; I will accomplish it.
PSALM 92:1-4, 12-15
🎶It is a good thing to give thanks | to the Lord, to sing praise to your name, | O Most High;
🎶to herald your love | in the morning and your faithful- | ness at night;
🎶on the psaltery, and | on the lyre, and to the melody | of the harp.
🎶For you have made me glad by your | acts, O Lord; and I shout for joy because of the works | of your hands.
🎶The righteous shall flourish | like a palm tree, and shall spread abroad like a ce- | dar of Lebanon.
🎶Those who are planted in the house | of the Lord shall flourish in the courts | of our God;
🎶they shall still bear fruit | in old age; they shall be | green and succulent;
🎶that they may show how up- | right the Lord is, my rock, in whom there is | no injustice.
SPECIAL MUSIC David Wright, Tanner Wright
Cinderella
SECOND READING 2 CORINTHIANS 5:6-10 [11-13] 14-17
So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord—for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore, all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Page 62
🎶Alleluia, Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia. Alleluia.
The Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark, the 4th chapter.
🎶Glory to you, O Lord.
GOSPEL MARK 4:26-34
[Jesus] said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.” He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.
The Gospel of the Lord.
🎶Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON
HYMN of the DAY
Holy God, We Praise Your Name #535
PROFESSION of FAITH Apostles’ Creed Page 65
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 decended 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.
PRAYERS of INTERCESSION
We come before the triune God to pray for our communities, ourselves, and our world. A brief silence.
Nourish your church body to be faithful people of word and worship. Guide us in listening to and interpreting your message of grace for this time and place in history. In your wisdom, lead us in expanding the reach of your love. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Sustain the holy rhythms of creation: days and seasons, hibernation and activity, phases of the moon and tides of the sea. Let these patterns assure us of your constancy. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Raise the lowly and humble those who wish to reign through supremacy gained immorally. Help victims of marginalization, discrimination, and hate seek justice. Strengthen our desire to repent from bigotry and remove inclinations toward anger and violence. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Tend to all who journey by faith and who wait with patience for the fulfillment of your healing promises (especially those on our prayer list). Grant perseverance to people undergoing or facilitating therapy, those living with mobility concerns, and all people facing chronic pain. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
As you have loved us, so let us love one another. Empower fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, adoptive fathers, and chosen fathers to embody the gift of love for their children. Where these relationships are strained, broken or severed, bring your parental presence, your spiritual comfort and your unshakeable peace. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
With gratitude, we remember the Emanuel Nine and other saints gone home to be with you. Plant their seeds of wisdom and witness into our hearts, that we grow in faith until we join them in your heavenly dwelling. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Receive our prayers, O merciful God. Come quickly to our aid through the power of the Spirit and the love of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
EXCHANGE OF PEACE
OFFERING
OFFERATORY
🎶Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with your free Spirit.
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 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.
BENEDICTION
CLOSING HYMN
Children of the Heavenly Father #474
DISMISSAL Page 74
Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE