ORDER OF WORSHIP
17th Sunday after Pentecost
September 24, 2023
PRELUDE
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
-TUESDAY MORNING COFFEE GROUP meets at First Lutheran Mission Coffee House at 9:30ish.
-CHOIR PRACTICE will be held on Wednesdays at 5:15 to 6:00 or 6:15 PM. Please meet in the north meeting room. Let’s make a joyful noise to the Lord!
-THURSDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY AND PRAYER TIME is studying I & II Thessalonians, 9:30-11:30. Come visit and see what we are about!
-THE PC(USA) PEACE & GLOBAL WITNESS SPECIAL OFFERING is from Sept. 3 until Oct. 1. Please put donations in the offering plate and write ‘Peace Special Offering’ on the memo line or use the envelopes by the offering plates. Thank you for your generosity!
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 # 361 (Blue) ‘How Firm a Foundation’
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in God's excellent Word!
What more can be said than to you God hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
"Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
"When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be near thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
"When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
"The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake."
CALL TO CONFESSION
We try to live our lives in a manner worthy of Christ. We try to stand firm in God’s spirit, but our human self-interest gets the better of us. In humility and faith,
let us confess.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION (in unison)
God of generosity, we find ourselves bitter when faced with your abundant grace. We believe ourselves more deserving than others. We nurse our anger and resentment at those you forgive, instead of rejoicing in the abundant love you show. Forgive us when we wish your grace was scarce. Forgive the double standards we hold. Help us to know that we are all in need of your grace, and help us rejoice as we all gratefully receive your mercy .
(Silence for reflection and self-examination)
DECLARATION OF FORGIVENESS
The grace of God is boundless, poured out freely for all of us.
We will receive this gift of forgiveness, and trust God to transform our lives!
*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
Dear Lord, enlighten us today as we seek to know You through Your word. Open our hearts and our eyes to see Your wonderful truths. Be our teacher, so we can live in obedience to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
James 4:1-3
1 Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? 2 You want something and do not have it, so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it, so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be ignorant. 2 You know that when you were gentiles you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says “Let Jesus be cursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, 5 and there are varieties of services but the same Lord, 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of powerful deeds, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
Gospel Reading 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.”
This is the Word of God for the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
SERMON – ‘Peace Like a River’ Steve Van Buren, pulpit supply
*HYMN #339 (Blue) ‘Be Thou My Vision’
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Nought be all else to me, save that Thou art--
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
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.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
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.
TO OFFERING
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to present yourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Let us offer our lives to the Lord. Romans 12:1
SPECIAL MUSIC ‘Come, Let Us Worship God’ Choir and Congregation (bulletin)
*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
PRAYER OF DEDICATION
Merciful and gracious God, you abound in steadfast love and faithfulness. With gratitude, we bring our gifts to you. Bless these gifts and bless our lives that together we may share your mercy and grace for the world you dearly love. Amen
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
-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)
-Paige F
-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: Richard & Judy S, Terry & Ann S
Those who mourn: We pray Teri B whose mother and brother passed away recently, for the Riedesel, Eich, Ohnstad, VanderWaal, Broksieck, Canaday, Barnett, Fee, Goodale, McCann, and Webster families and all who have lost loved ones.
LORD’S PRAYER (in unison)
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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
*HYMN #394 (Blue) ‘There is a Balm in Gilead’
Refrain:
There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole,
There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.
Sometimes I feel discouraged and think my work's in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit revives my soul again. [Refrain]
Don’t ever feel discouraged, for Jesus is your friend,
And if you lack for knowledge He’ll not refuse to lend. [Refrain]
If you cannot preach like Peter, if you cannot pray like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus and say, "He died for all." [Refrain]
BENEDICTION
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
2the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26
POSTLUDE
Sources: Call to Worship Lectionary Aids for 2022-2023 Year A Vo.56.1 PCUSA;