ORDER OF WORSHIP
19th Sunday after Pentecost
October 8, 2023
PRELUDE Here I Am, arr. John Carter
WELCOME
CALL TO WORSHIP (Responsive)
We will sing to God and bless God’s name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised!
We will declare God’s mighty acts and celebrate God’s abundant goodness.
Let us worship, singing of God’s righteousness.
*HYMN # 475 (Red) ‘Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing’
Come, thou Fount of every blessing; tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above;
praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it, mount of God’s unchanging love!
Here I raise my Ebenezer; hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood.
O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace now, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart; O take and seal it; seal it for thy courts above.
CALL TO CONFESSION
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (in unison)
Merciful God, forgive our sins. Forgive the harsh judgments we have made of others, and the leniency we have shown to ourselves. Forgive our petty jealousies as we compare the gifts of others with our own. Forgive the lies we have told to others and to ourselves, and the truths we have avoided. Forgive the pain we have caused others through our actions and through our inaction. Lord God, have mercy on us, help us to acknowledge how very much we need your grace and through your perfect love, make us whole. In Jesus Christ, our Savior’s name, Amen.
(Silence for reflection and self-examination)
DECLARATION OF FORGIVENESS
*GLORIA PATRI
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
World without end. Amen, Amen.
CHILDREN’S SERMON
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
SCRIPTURE READING
Psalm 105:1-5
1 O give thanks to the Lord; call on his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful works.
3 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually.
5 Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles and the judgments he has uttered,
Gospel: Matthew 20: 1-16
1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. 5 When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6 And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ 7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 8 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ 9 When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12 saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13 But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
SERMON – ‘God’s Economic Plan: Grace’ Donna Flint, CRE
*HYMN #435 (Red) ‘There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy’
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea.
There’s a kindness in God’s justice, which is more than liberty.
There is no place where earth’s sorrows are more felt than up in heaven,.
There is no place where earth’s failings have such kindly judgment given.
For the love of God is broader than the measures of the mind.
And the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more faithful, we would gladly trust God’s Word,
and our lives reflect thanksgiving for the goodness of our Lord.
INVITATION TO OFFERING and PRAYER OF DEDICATION
*DOXOLOGY
Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
-Gayle F
-Carol G
-Robert (Robby’s father)
-Susan H (MK’s daughter)
-Maxine D
-Andrew N (friend of Ella)
-Barb (Bob O’s sister)
-Anthony B (Teri’s son)
-USS South Dakota, captain and crew
-Jim (Dianne L’s husband)
-Nelda H
-Betty G
-Richard C and Dolores as caregiver
-Bob J and Jan as caregiver
-Darwin L and Jeanne as caregiver
-Bob O and Nancy as caregiver
-Andrew & Beth L
-Gwen B (Lee P’s friend)
-Patty (friend of Michele and Brookings)
-Harry (Bonnie S’s father)
Our homebound or in care members: Richard C, Bob J, Delores K, Rose P, Cliff R, Dee W (Please reach out and call)
This Week’s Prayer Families: Steve & Carrie VB, Dee W, Skip W
Those who mourn: We pray for the Bierstedt, Riedesel, Eich, Ohnstad, VanderWaal, Broksieck, Canaday, Barnett, Fee, Goodale, McCann, and Webster families and all who have lost loved ones.
SPECIAL MUSIC: ‘Prayer’ by N. Sleeth Choir
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
…Do you, as members of the church of Jesus Christ, promise to guide and nurture Liz, Ian, and Abby by word and deed, with love and prayer, encouraging them to know and follow Christ and to be faithful members of his church?
We do.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH –APOSTLES’ CREED (in unison)
I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
*HYMN #726 (Red) ‘Will You Come and Follow Me’ (The Summons)
“Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown; will you let my name be known;
Will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?”
“Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?”
“Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean, and do such as this unseen,
And admit to what I mean in you and you in me?”
“Will you love the ‘you’ you hide if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found to re-shape the world around,
Through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?”
Lord, your summons echoes true when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.
In your company I’ll go where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow in you and you in me.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
-NEW MEMBERS Today we welcome new members Ian and Abby G, and Liz R. Liz and Abby are the daughters of Dave and Angie R, and the granddaughters of Jim and Doris R. They will be at least the fourth generation of this family to be part of our church. Ian and Abby’s daughter, Violet, will be the fifth generation. Though Liz and Abby have never been members of this church, they have attended periodically through the years, and through their family connections, have always thought of this as their church home. Ian comes to Brookings from Illinois and is eager to become an active member of the church. He’s already made friends here and as a wonderful example to all of us, has already invited some of his friends to his new church. Please make Liz, Ian, and Abby welcome!
-FELLOWSHIP/OUTREACH MEETING will be held today, October 8th following the worship service.
-CHURCH OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED on Monday, October 9th in observance of federal holiday.
-TUESDAY MORNING COFFEE GROUP meets at First Lutheran Mission Coffee House at 9:30ish.
-THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY AND PRAYER TIME Meet in the Center Meeting Room 9:30-11:30. Come visit and see what we are about!
- SESSION MEETINGS in the North Meeting Room
TUESDAY 7:00 PM Final meeting with Project Regeneration
THURSDAY 7:00 PM Stated Session Meeting
-CHOIR PRACTICE will be held on Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM on the Sundays that the choir will be singing special music. Please meet in the North Meeting Room. Let’s make a joyful noise to the Lord!
BLESSING AND CHARGE
POSTLUDE Vater unser im Himmelreich, J.S. Bach