July 23rd, 2017
Time after Pentecost, Lectionary 16a
Holy Communion (ELW 3)
INTRODUCTION
It is an age-old question: why is there evil in the world? In the parable of
the wheat and the weeds Jesus suggests that both grow together until the
harvest. With Paul, we long for the day that all creation will be set free
from bondage and suffering. Having both weeds and wheat within us, we
humbly place our hope in the promises of God, and from the Lords table
we go forth to bear the fruit of justice and mercy.
CHILDREN are always welcome to our Worship Service. Rainbow bags
and a cry room are available. A staffed nursery is also available if needed.
An usher will gladly provide you with assistance.
As a worship courtesy, we ask that you please turn off or set to vibrate
all cellular telephones and pagers during the worship service.
We ask that all present today please fill out the Attendance and Communion
registration card found in your bulletin and place it in the offering plate so
that we may record your presence with us.
PRAYER UPON ENTERING THE PEW
Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds,
so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours,
utterly dedicated to you; and then use us, we pray, as you will, but always
to your glory and the welfare of your people, through our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. Amen.
THE ORDER OF WORSHIP
PRELUDE Wondrous Love
WELCOME
CONFESSION OF SINS AND PROCLAMATION OF FORGIVENESS
In the name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us pray. God of all mercy and consolation, come to the help of your
people, turning us from our sin to live in your love. Give us the power of
your Holy Spirit that we may confess our sin, be reconciled with you, and
live abundantly in Jesus Christ, the Savior and Lord of all. Amen.
Silence for reflection and self-examination.
Most merciful God, we confess that we are captive 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.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
God, who is rich in mercy, loved us even when we were dead in sin, and
made us alive together with Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins
are forgiven. By grace you have been saved. Almighty God give you faith
through the Holy Spirit that the love of Christ may shine in your hearts and
show forth in your lives. Amen.
GATHERING SONG: God is Here! (ELW 526)
GREETING
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!
CANTICLE OF PRAISE PRAYER OF THE DAY

Let us pray. Faithful God, most merciful judge, you care for your children
with firmness and compassion. By your Spirit nurture us who live in your
kingdom, that we may be rooted in the way of your Son, Jesus Christ, our
Savior and Lord. Amen.

Please be seated.

A MESSAGE FOR OUR CHILDREN

FIRST READING Genesis 28:10-19a

Gods graciousness to Jacob is shown in Gods revelation of the divine self

to the patriarch, who is running for his life after cheating his brother Esau
out of the family inheritance. Jacob promises that if God brings him back to
the land, he will be loyal to God and give God a tenth of everything.
10
Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11He came to a certain
place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of
the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that
place. 12And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top
of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and
descending on it. 13And the LORD stood beside him and said, I am
the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land
on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; 14and your
offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to
the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the
families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. 15Know
that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you
back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have
promised you. 16Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, Surely
the LORD is in this placeand I did not know it! 17And he was afraid, and
said, How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of
God, and this is the gate of heaven.
18
So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had
put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of
it. 19aHe called that place Bethel.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.
PSALM 139:1-12, 23-24 SECOND READING: Romans 8:12-25
For Paul, true spirituality means that we experience the reality of the
Refrain: Spirit, which enables us to pray as Gods children, keeps us in solidarity
with creation, and gives us unseen hope that God will liberate us and
creation from bondage to death and decay.
12
So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live
Tone: according to the flesh13for if you live according to the flesh, you will die;
but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will
live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15For
you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have
1
LORD, you have | searched me out; received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, Abba! Father! 16it is that very
O LORD, you | have known me. Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if
2
You know my sitting down and my | rising up; children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christif, in fact, we
you discern my thoughts | from afar. suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
3
You trace my journeys and my | resting-places
18
and are acquainted with | all my ways. I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth
4
Indeed, there is not a word | on my lips, comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19For the creation
but you, O LORD, know it | altogether. waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20for the
5
You encompass me, behind | and before, creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the
and lay your | hand upon me. one who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be set free from
6
Such knowledge is too wonder- | ful for me; its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the
it is so high that I cannot at- | tain to it. R children of God. 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning in
labor pains until now; 23and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who
7
Where can I go then | from your Spirit? have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for
Where can I flee | from your presence? adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in hope we were saved. Now
8
If I climb up to heaven, | you are there; hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25But if we
if I make the grave my bed, you | are there also. hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
9
If I take the wings | of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts | of the sea, The word of the Lord.
10
even there your | hand will lead me Thanks be to God.
and your right hand | hold me fast.
11
If I say, Surely the darkness will | cover me, Please stand for the reading of the gospel.
and the light around me | turn to night,
12
darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright | as the day; GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
darkness and light to you are | both alike. R
23
Search me out, O God, and | know my heart;
try me and know my | restless thoughts.
24
Look well whether there be any wicked- | ness in me
and lead me in the way that is | everlasting. R
GOSPEL: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 Please be seated.

As the Gospel is announced, worshippers are invited to trace a cross upon SERMON Pastor Charles Peterson
their forehead, then over their lips, and then over their hearts, silently praying,
May the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ be ever on my mind, on my lips, and Please stand for the hymn.
in my heart.
HYMN OF THE DAY: Amazing Grace (ELW 779)
The holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
Glory to you, O Lord. APOSTLES CREED

Jesus tells a parable about the co-existence of good and evil in this world.
Gods judgment will remove all evildoers and causes of sin, but not until
the end of human history.
24
[Jesus] put before [the crowds] another parable: The kingdom of heaven
may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field;25but while
everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat,
and then went away. 26So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the
weeds appeared as well. 27And the slaves of the householder came and said
to him, Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did
these weeds come from? 28He answered, An enemy has done this. The
slaves said to him, Then do you want us to go and gather them? 29But he
replied, No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along
with them. 30Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at
harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in
bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.
36
Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples
approached him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the
field. 37He answered, The one who sows the good seed is the Son of
Man; 38the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the
kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39and the enemy who
sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers
are angels. 40Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will
it be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they
will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42and they
will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the
kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!
The Gospel of the Lord!
Praise to you, O Christ.
As they recite the creed, worshippers are invited to bow beginning with the
words born of the Virgin Mary, until the words he descended to the
dead.
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
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.
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
Called together in the Spirits embrace, let us pray for the mending of
Gods world.
Please sit or kneel as you are able.
Each petition ends with:
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
All these things, and whatever else you see that we need, we entrust to your
care through Christ our Lord. Amen.
PEACE
Please rise and greet one another in the peace of the risen Christ.
The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

MUSIC AT THE OFFERING Majesty

OFFERTORY HYMN:

PREFACE

HOLY, HOLY, HOLY

OFFERING PRAYER

Let us pray. Blessed are you, O God, maker of all things. Through your
goodness you have blessed us with these gifts: ourselves, our time, and our
possessions. Use us, and what we have gathered, to show your love to this
beautiful and broken world, through the one who gave himself for us, Jesus
Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
DIALOGUE
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
Worshippers are invited to bow with the consecration of the Lords body and
blood, each time the words Do this for the remembrance of me, are spoken.
Holy, mighty, and merciful Lordto whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be all honor and glory, now and forever. Amen.

LORD'S PRAYER

Risen Lord, remember us in your kingdom, and teach us to pray:

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 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.
INVITATION TO COMMUNION
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Happy are
all who are called to this table.
Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and your
servant shall be healed.
Taste and see that the Lord is good.
All baptized people are welcome to the table to receive Christs body and
blood. If you have not been baptized, you are also welcome to the table as
Gods guest; we are honored by your presence. We recognize the Body of
Christ as the community of the baptized, so if you would like to become part of
the Body of Christ, we encourage you to seek baptism. If you cant or dont
wish to receive today, we encourage you to hold your hands over your chest for
a blessing as you come forward.
LAMB OF GOD
COMMUNION
The body of Christ, given for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you. Amen.
SONG DURING DISTRIBUTION: On Eagles Wings (ELW 787)
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Let us pray. We give you thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us
through the healing power of this gift of life. In your mercy, strengthen us
through this gift, in faith toward you and in fervent love toward one
another; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
BLESSING
Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever.
Amen.
SENDING HYMN: Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling (ELW 608)
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Share the good news.
Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE Festival Prelude on Old Hundredth Walter Pelz
The flowers on the altar are given to the glory of God.
From the garden of Amy Hehr
UPCOMING COMMEMORATIONS
Birgitta of Sweden, renewer of the church, died 1373
Sunday, July 23, 2017 Birgitta married at age thirteen and had four
daughters. Widowed at age thirty-eight, she gave all that she owned to the
poor, and founded a community of monks and nuns led by a woman. Her
work is continued today by the Society of St. Birgitta.
James, Apostle Tuesday, July 25, 2017 James and his brother John were
the sons of Zebedee, fishermen by trade before their call from Jesus. He
was the first of the twelve apostles to be martyred, and his death is the only
one recorded in scripture (Acts 12:1-2).
Additional commemorations are located inside of back cover.)