25 Jun BULLETIN – SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2023

Posted at 22:08h in Bulletins by Messiah Lutheran Church

WELCOME to MESSIAH & ST. PETER LUTHERAN CHURCHES

Reverend Nancy Brody, Pastor

Greta Wright, Music Director

Sunday, June 25, 2023

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

ANNOUNCEMENTS

PRELUDE

CONFESSION and FORGIVENESS Page 56

ENTRANCE HYMN

All People That on Earth Do Dwell #245

APOSTOLIC GREETING Page 57

KYRIE and HYMN OF PRAISE Pages 57-59

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Teach us, good Lord God, to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for reward, except that of knowing that we do your will, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

FIRST READING GENESIS 21:8-21

The child [Isaac] grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.” The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you. As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.

When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, “Do not let me look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

PSALM 86:1-10, 16-17

Bow down your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and in misery.

Keep watch over my life, for I am faithful; save your servant who trusts in you.

Be merciful to me, O Lord, for you are my God; I call upon you all the day long.

Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, and abundant in mercy toward all who call upon you.

Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer, and attend to the voice of my supplications.

In the time of my trouble I will call upon you, for you will answer me.

Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord, nor anything like your works.

All the nations you have made will come and worship you, O Lord, and glorify your name.

For you are great; you do wondrous things; and you alone are God.

Turn to me and have mercy on me; give your strength to your servant, and save the child of your handmaid.

Show me a sign of your favor, so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame; because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

SECOND READING ROMANS 6:1b-11

Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Page 62

GOSPEL MATTHEW 10:24-39

[Jesus said to the twelve:] “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household! “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

SERMON

HYMN of the DAY

If You But Trust in God to Guide You #453

PROFESSION of FAITH

APOSTLES’ CREED Page 65

PRAYERS of INTERCESSION

Trusting in God’s abundant mercy, we call upon God and offer our prayers for a world in need. A brief silence.

Your ear, O Lord, bows down to hear. May the church speak truth that challenges any false notions of peace. Prevail upon us the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection so that we are compelled to share the gospel with all the world. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Your eyes, O Lord, focus to see. Safeguard plant and animal habitats threatened by melting glaciers, rising oceans, and receding coastlines preserving lives both large and small. Amplify the voices of those calling for responsible stewardship of the earth’s resources. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Your heart, O Lord, longs for fair treatment. People all over the world endure violence and destruction. Rescue those experiencing conflict or crisis (especially where governments are at war and economies are unstable). Thwart the efforts of those who sow chaos and terror, and guide those working to bring about peace and reconciliation. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Your lips, O Lord, assign great value to humanity through your awareness of the smallest details in our lives, even the hair (or lack thereof) upon our heads. Reassure anyone who doubts their importance or significance and look favorably upon all who struggle, especially those on our prayer list. Help, relieve, comfort and answer their cries with words of encouragement and your steadfast love. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Your hands, O Lord, shield the hurt of rejection and lead the traumatized to new life. Lift up and support those who feel shunned or excluded on account of any human distinction that puts one person above or below another. Unite people in love. Make us one in spirit. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Your feet, O Lord, traveled many a hot, dry, dusty long road. Protect all those who travel this summer in every direction by every means. Help them arrive safely at each destination, make good memories, come back home and get to church as time and energy will permit. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Your provisions, O Lord, are like no other’s. How well you care for all the saints, baptizing us into death with Christ so we may also live with him. We give thanks for those whose faithful confessions inspired our own discipleship. Comfort those mourning the loss of Mike Carroll. Raise us together to eternal life. God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Thanks, God for all your tender mercies and loving ways. Receive our prayers and answer us, according to the holy name and compassionate will of Jesus Christ, our savior and Lord. Amen.

EXCHANGE of PEACE

OFFERING & OFFERTORY

Create in me… Page 75

LORD’S PRAYER

BENEDICTION Page 74

CLOSING HYMN (With One Voice, blue hymnal)

Great Is Thy Faithfulness #771

DISMISSAL Page 74

POSTLUDE

Revised Common Lectionary copyright ©1992 Consultation on Common Texts. Used by permission. Prayers adapted from Sundays and Seasons, copyright ©2019, Augsburg Fortress. Used with permission. Psalm readings from Lutheran Book of Worship, copyright ©1978. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual Subscription #SB160715 Other quotations from Scripture from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright ©1989, National Council of Churches in Christ in the United States of America. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

BULLETIN – SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2023