The Season of Pentecost 2023
—focus on Spiritual Growth (Sept 3)
This Liturgy of Growth is drawn from many sources, edited by Dr DJ Cheek.
Prelude
*** Love, Pray, Gather, Serve ***
Welcome
stand
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: The God of love is with us.
C: The Spirit of his love is in our midst.
P: Jesus, the Son of God, moves among us.
C: We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
P: We are gathered in the name of the Father, the of Son + and the of Holy Spirit, One God.
C: Amen.
P: Come now all who thirst
C: and drink the water of life.
P: Come now all who hunger
C: and be ?illed with good things.
P: Come now all who seek
C: and be warmed by the ?ire of love. (from the Iona Abbey Worship Book)
Blessing of Water (with “Asperges”—rite of sprinkling)
AM: O God, make haste to save us.
C: Make haste to help us, O Lord.
AM: Save us; as you preserved Noah through the Slood waters,
C: Bless us, and keep us, O Lord;
AM: Deliver us, as you saved Moses and the Children of Israel through the waters of the Red Sea;
C: Set us free, Father;
AM: Save us, as you recalled Jonah from the abyss;
C: Redeem us from the cords of Death;
AM: Reach down and lift us up, as you stretched forth your hand to Peter as he sank in the Storm,
C: Rescue us, and increase our faith;
AM: Wash us in the holy waters of victory over sin, Death and the Devil.
C: All who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death.
AM: We were buried with him by baptism into death.
C: As Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too should walk in newness of life, because the powerful Spirit of his resurrection lives in us, too. (Ro6:3-5)
AM: Clothe us in your truth, enfold us in your mantle of light, encircle us with the belt of your love, adorn us with your deeds of compassion and mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
C: Amen (inspired by the Stowe Sacramentary ca. 792, Ireland)
AM: The righteous Slourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
C: They are planted in the house of the LORD; they ?lourish in the courts of our God.
AM: They still bear fruit in old age; they are always full of sap and green,
C: They declare that the LORD is upright; he is our rock, and full of justice. (Psalm 92:12-15)
AM: We worship the Father who created us, the Son + who redeemed us, and the Spirit, who gives us life.
C: Amen. (from Carmina Gadelica, 1992)
Invitation
P: Come, Lord, enter our darkness with your light; Sill our emptiness with your presence;
C: Come, refresh, restore, renew us.
P: In our sadness, come as joy, In our troubles, come as peace,
C: In our fearfulness, come as hope, In our darkness, come as light,
P: In our frailty, come as strength, In our loneliness come as love,
C: Come, refresh, restore, renew us.
(modiSied from Rev David Adam, Lindisfarne)
Prayer of the Day
LP: In the Slaming bush you promised deliverance to your people, O God, and in the cross of Jesus you embraced our suffering and pain. In times of misery, show us the power of your love that we may know the hope of your glory.
C: Amen.
L: The Old Testament reading is from: Exodus 3
L: Moses was keeping the Slock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his Slock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a Slame of Sire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the LORD said, "I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land Slowing with milk and honey. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" He said, "I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain." But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you': This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.
…This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Psalm 105
Give thanks to the Lord and call up- | on God’s name; make known the deeds of the Lord a- | mong the peoples. Sing to the | Lord, sing praises, and speak of all God’s | marvelous works. Glory in God’s | holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the | Lord rejoice. Search for the strength | of the Lord; continually | seek God’s face. Remember the marvels | God has done, the wonders and the judgments | of God’s mouth, O offspring of Abra- | ham, God’s servant, O children of Jacob, God’s | chosen ones. Sing to the | Lord, sing praises, Hallelu- | jah!
L: The New Testament reading is from: Romans 12 Feed our Faith!
L: Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse 4
them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. …This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
stand The Gospel
P: The Gospel reading is from Matthew chapter 16
C: Glory to you, O Lord
P: You show you are my disciples if you bear much fruit. (Jn 15:8)
From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you." But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will Sind it. For what will it proSit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life? "For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done. Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Glory to you, O Christ!
AM: Together we declare our faith in God.
C: We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and earth is named. We believe in God the Son, Savior of the world, who lives in us through faith. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
(from Eph3:14-19)
The Prayers of the People (stand or sit as you prefer)
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: God of life, we praise you, and we thank you for the whole church. We pray for Bishop Eaton, Bishop Hazelwood, Pastor Derek, and all others leading us to live so we overcome evil with good. Lord, in your mercy,
C:
AM: Steadfast God, inspire us to renew your glorious creation. Help us understand how our privileges contribute to the harm of others. We pray for leaders and scientists working to sustain clean water and adequate food for each person and creature on this Earth. Lord, in your mercy,
C: verse
AM: Holy God, we pray those who govern will hold fast to what is good. We ask you to strengthen our leaders to dismantle the structures that cause injustice. We pray for an end to violent attacks on individuals because of their gender identiSication, race, ethnicity, or religion. We pray for an end to war. Lord, in your mercy,
C: verse
AM: God of deliverance, we honor you by weeping with those who weep and extending hospitality to strangers. We pray especially for victims of heat waves and wildSires and for families who are homeless. We ask you to remember all who are ill or in distress, especially our friends 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: verse
AM: Almighty God, we come in gratitude that we can gather again in harmony with our First Lutheran family. We praise you for the Word and the Meal, through which your spirit enters our presence. We pray we will serve our neighbors. Place a special blessing on the children of our congregation. Lord, in your mercy,
C: verse
AM: Eternal God, we glory in your holy name. We give thanks for the departed saints who have inspired us to live as Christ taught us. We ask you to nurture us in faith until the day we join them. We pray for your peace for those who mourn. Lord, in your mercy,
C: verse
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.
P: Deep peace of the Son of peace to you!
C: And also with you!
The Peace
We Greet one another with the Peace of Christ
The Children’s collection is donated to a speciMic 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.
Holy Eucharist
P: Blessed be God forever. Everything in heaven and on earth is yours: all things come from you.
C: Of your own do we give back to you.
P: The Lord is here.
C: His Spirit ?ills us.
P: Lift up your hearts.
C: We lift them to the Lord.
P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
C: It is right to give him thanks and praise.
P: It is indeed right always and everywhere to give you thanks, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, your only Son, our Lord. This day we give you thanks because your Spirit gives us grace to call you father, to proclaim your gospel to all nations, and to serve you as a royal priesthood. Therefore we join our voices with angels and archangels, and with all those in whom the Spirit dwells, to proclaim the glory of your name, forever praising you and singing:
P: And now, lest we believe that our praise alone fulSills your purpose, we fall silent and remember him who came to live and die as one of us. We observe a moment of Silence
P: Setting our wisdom, our will, our words aside, emptying our hearts, and bringing nothing in our hands, we yearn for the rest, the healing, the holding, the accepting, the forgiving which Christ alone can offer.
C: If we can touch just the hem of his cloak we shall be whole.
P: The Lord is here in this place.
C: His Spirit is with us, moving among us, and within us.
P: We praise you, Father, Lord of all creation; in your love you made us for yourself. When we turned away you did not reject us, but came to meet us in your Son.
C: You embraced us as your children and welcomed us to sit and eat with you.
P: In Christ you shared our life that we might live in him and he in us.
C: He opened wide his loving arms on the cross and made for us the perfect sacri?ice for our sin.
P: On the night he was betrayed, at supper with his friends he took bread, gave you thanks; broke it and gave it to them, saying: Take, eat; this is my body given for you; do this in memory of me.
C: Father, we receive the Bread of Life.
P: At the end of supper, he took a cup of wine, gave you thanks, and said: Drink this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sins; do this in memory of me.
C: Father, we receive this Life-giving Drink.
P: Merciful God, send now, in kindness, your Holy Spirit to settle on this bread and wine and Sill them with the fullness of Jesus. And let that same Spirit rest on us, converting us from the patterns of this passing world, until we conform to the shape of him whose food we now share.
C: Make us one in Christ.
P: We pray with conSidence 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: Christ welcomes us in bread and wine. The gifts of God for the people of God. All are invited, All are welcome, there are no outsiders at this table. Come.
If you have need of gluten free bread please come Mirst 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
