Sunday Divine Service 9/10/2023

The Season of Pentecost 2023

—focus on Gratitude (Sept 10)

This Liturgy of Growth is drawn from many sources, edited by Dr DJ Cheek.

stand

P: We begin our worship grateful that God has called us by name and made us his sons and daughters.

C: We begin in the Name of Yahweh: Father, Son +, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

P: The Lord be with you.

C: And also with you.

A Thanksgiving Liturgy

P: Eternal and righteous Father, you created the heavens and the earth, and we give you thanks:

C: For breath that Aills us with life,

P: for love that softens our hearts,

C: for the beauty all around us.

P: Christ, redeeming and forgiving Son, you are always faithful and merciful to us.

C: We give you thanks, for resurrection power, transforming our lives,

P: For peace calming our souls,

C: For hope that restores our faith.

P: Spirit, sustaining and compassionate, you ever call us to Life in the living God.

C: We give you thanks, for caring when our hearts ache,

P: For consoling us, when we don’t know what to say, or how to pray,

C: for your generosity, lavish and overAlowing!

P: God who created the earth and the heavens, we gather together to give you thanks,

C: We are full of gratitude, and we give you thanks…

(especially for…all are invited to speak their thanks)

P: For the universe immense and unknown, for the earth, for humanity bearing your image.

C: Thanks and praise to you, Eternal Father our creator.

P: For entering human history as one of us, for the sacriKice of the cross, for rising anew so we could live.

C: Thanks and praise to you, Christ our redeemer,

P: For your indwelling presence, for your guidance and direction, for drawing us together as one body.

C: Thanks and praise to you, Holy Spirit our sustainer.

P: Through your love we are renewed, through your abiding presence we become one community.

C: Thanks and praise to God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer now and evermore. Amen.

Psalm 95:1-7

AM: Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

C: We come into his presence with thanksgiving; we make a joyful noise to him!

AM: For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

C: In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.

AM: The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

C: Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!

AM: For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture,

C: We are the sheep of his hand.

The Prayer of Thanksgiving

AM: Let us join our hearts in gratitude on this day for all God has given us. We remember all of those who do not have enough, who are afraid, who are lonely, and who suffer.

C: We wish for the abundance of this world to be shared, for fear to become love, for the lonely to feel welcomed, and for the suffering to know rest and joy.

AM: For the work, the love, the care that gave us the delights of this and every day, we say “Thanks!”

C: For the nourishment of our spirit, the challenges that strengthen us, and the friends we have on the journey, we say “Thanks!”

AM: For all that is ours, we say, “Thanks!”

C: Amen. (adapted from Naomi King)

Confession and Absolution

P: Gracious Creator, you have given us so much, but too often we take those gifts for granted.

C: You call us to live in caring community, but too often we place our wants and needs Airst, with those of others a distant second.

P: You call us to share your gifts with those around us, but we are worried that there may not be enough, and our worrying gets in the way of our sharing.

C: For all the times when we mistreat and misuse your gifts, for all the times we assume that we get what we have by ourselves, forgive us and lead us back to the path of wisdom.

…silent prayer…

P: God is a gracious giver. God is generous in his forgiveness. He calls us to new life. You are forgiven in the Holy Name of Yahweh, generous and merciful: Father, Son +, and Holy Spirit!

C: Thanks be to God! Amen.

Prayer of the Day

LP: On this day of rejoicing, O God of our ancestors, as we gather to break the bread, we remember that through the blood of the Lamb you redeemed us and made us pass over from death to new life. Grant that, as we celebrate your mighty deeds, we may be one with Jesus in offering you this sacriKice of praise.

C: Amen. sit

Readings

L: The Old Testament reading is from: Exodus 12 Pray, watch, and be thankful. (Col 4:2)

L: The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the Kirst month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a

household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the Kire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the Kire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the LORD. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every Kirstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance. …This is the Word of the Lord C: Thanks be to God.

Ps 114

Hallelujah! When Israel came | out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people | of strange speech, Judah became God’s | sanctuary and Israel | God’s dominion. The sea beheld | it and Kled; Jordan turned | and went back. The mountains | skipped like rams, and the little hills | like young sheep. What ailed you, O sea, | that you Kled, O Jordan, that | you turned back, you mountains, that you | skipped like rams, you little hills | like young sheep? Tremble, O earth, at the presence | of the Lord, at the presence of the | God of Jacob, who turned the hard rock into a | pool of water and Klint-stone into a | Klowing spring.

L: The New Testament reading is from: Romans 13 Pray, watch, and be thankful. (Col 4:2)

L: Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulKilled the law. The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet"; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulKilling of the law. Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the Klesh, to gratify its desires.

…This is the Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

P: The Gospel reading is from Matthew chapter 18

C: Glory to you, O Lord

P: Jesus says: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28) Jesus said: "If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be conKirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there

Sermon

among them." …This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C: Glory to you, O Christ! sit

AM: We stand to declare our faith in God.

C: We are not alone, we live in God's world.

We believe in God: who has created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made Alesh, to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit. We trust in God. We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God's presence, to live with respect in Creation, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, cruciAied and risen, our judge and our hope.

In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God. Amen. The Prayers of the People

AM: Remembering the caring and generous works of God, we pray for the church, creation, and the needs of our neighbors.

A brief silence.

AM: Almighty God, we come in gratitude for the ELCA organizations addressing hunger in the United States and around the world. We pray for Bishop Eaton, Bishop Hazelwood, Pastor Derek, and others of all faiths leading us to extend hands of reconciliation and care to our neighbors. Lord, in your mercy,

C: hear our prayer.

AM: Holy God, we thank you for your magniKicent creation. We pray that leaders of developed countries will take responsibility for addressing our earth’s ecological disaster. We pray those leaders will Kind solutions to the instability of life caused by climate change. We ask you to comfort the vulnerable who are suffering poverty, hunger, and illness because of heat waves, wildKires, and storms. Lord, in your mercy,

C: hear our prayer.

AM: God our strength, you sent your son who taught humanity how to live in community in a Christlike way. We pray elected ofKicials, judges, and law enforcement will act toward every person with justice, fairness, and generosity. We pray world leaders will work to restore broken relationships to bring peace to all places. Lord, in your mercy, C: hear our prayer.

AM: Sheltering God, we glorify your name. We ask you to place your protective spirit over all your children who are ill or in distress, especially our friends Paul, Hannah, Ryan, Al, Jeanne, John, Kelly, Pat, Carol, Tina, Amanda, Judy, Prudence, Peter, Jessica, and those we now name out loud or in the silence of our hearts Pause. We pray for those who have no one to pray for them. Lord, in your mercy,

C: hear our prayer.

AM: Steadfast God, we praise you that we are called to be a community at First Lutheran Church, fulKilling Christ’s commandment to love each other. We are bound together through the Word and the Meal, and Christ is among us always. We pray for your blessing on this day that is set aside to do your work with our hands as we acknowledge homelessness on Cape Cod. We thank you for the children among us. Lord, in your mercy,

C: hear our prayer.

AM: Loving Parent, we remember with thanksgiving your disciples who died in faith and inspired our own faith. The blood of the Lamb protects us from death through the spirit of the resurrection. Holy God, we ask you to comfort those who mourn. Lord, in your mercy,

C: hear our prayer.

P: Remember us according to your steadfast love as we offer these and the prayers of our heart, trusting in your compassion made known through Jesus Christ.

C: Amen.

stand The Peace

P: The peace of our bountiful God be with you.

C: And also with you. Amen!

We Greet one another with the Peace of Christ

The Children’s collection is donated to a speciSic ministry or mission which will be announced; If you have a gift for the church please place it in the plate in the Narthex, not the kid’s globe.

The Holy Eucharist

P: The Lord be with you.

C: And also with you.

P: Lift up your hearts.

C: We lift them to the Lord.

P: Let us give eucharist: thanksgiving, to our God.

C: It is right to give him our thanks and praise.

P: It is our joy to give you thanks and praise, O God, for at creation you Killed the Void with light and life, with planets and stars, with seas and mountains, with beasts of Kield and air and water, with men and women. You called those people to heed your voice, and at times they did, and at times they did not. So in the fullness of time you came to us in the man Jesus, who called women and men to follow him.

C: We follow him this day and lift our voices in praise for all your generous gifts to us. And so with all the saints and angels, we join our voices singing:

P: We give you thanks that our Lord Jesus, on the night before he died, took bread, he blessed it, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take, eat. This my body, given for you. Do this in memory of me.

C: Thank you Lord for facing our greatest enemy: Death.

P: In the same way he took the cup, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, remember me.

C: Thank you Lord that because of your death and resurrection we will live forever.

The Lord’s Prayer

P: O God, send your Spirit upon our hearts and on these gifts of bread and wine, transforming them into a sacred meal. Satisfy our hunger and thirst, and send us into the world to bear the burdens of others. We join our hearts in praying as Jesus taught us…

C: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen.

AM: Remembering all your mighty and merciful acts, we take this bread and this wine from the gifts you have given us, and celebrate with joy the redemption won for us in Jesus Christ. Accept this our sacriKice of praise as a holy offering of ourselves, that our lives may proclaim Jesus Christ.

C: Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory. Amen.

AM: All things things ready, we welcome all who are grateful for God’s many gifts to us to come, receive yet more blessing from his holy hands.

If you have need of gluten free bread please come Sirst to receive

Please form a “circle” on the transition between the two shades of carpet

The wine is offered both for intinction (dipping), or in a common chalice for drinking.

You are welcome to light a candle in the middle window after you have received Communion

Prayer after Communion

AM: Lord, we give you thanks for all your blessings. We have been Killed with this bread and wine, our hearts overKlow with gratefulness for your love and mercy.

C: Thank you Lord, Amen.

Benediction

P: Brothers and sisters, rejoice! Comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. (2Co13:11)

C: Amen.

Announcements

AM: Depart in the Peace of God. C: Thanks be to God!

1663 Main St W Barnstable, MA 02668

ofKice@Kirstcapecod.org

Pastor: Rev Dr Derek J Cheek

Music Minister: Eric Williams

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