The Thirteenth Sunday after
Pentecost
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Prelude, Welcome, and Information
Hymn
#806 O God, My
Faithful God
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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.
Psalm: Psalm 1
Happy are
those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that
sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their
delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
They are
like trees planted by streams of water,
which yield
their fruit in its season,
and their
leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
The wicked
are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore
the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
For
the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
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The Lord be with you. And
also with you.
Let us pray.
Direct us, O
Lord God, in all our doings with your continual help, that in all our works,
begun, continued, and ended in you, we may glorify your holy name and
finally, by your mercy, bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ,
our Savior and Lord. Amen.
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Reading:
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
A reading from the book of Deuteronomy
See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and
adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God
that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in
his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you
shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you
in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away
and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve
them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live
long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I
call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you
life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your
descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and
holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you
may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors,
to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
The Word of the Lord
Reading:
Philemon 1:1-21
A reading from the Letter to Philemon
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon
our dear friend and co-worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our
fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. When I remember you in my
prayers, I always thank my God because I hear of your love for all the
saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. I pray that the sharing of
your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do
for Christ. I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your
love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my
brother.
For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do
your duty, yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love—and I,
Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus. I
am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during
my imprisonment. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed
useful both to you and to me. I am sending him, that is, my own heart,
back to you. I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service
to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; but I preferred
to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be
voluntary and not something forced. Perhaps this is the reason he was
separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back
forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved
brother—especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the
Lord. So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome
me. If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to
my account. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I
say nothing about your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, let me
have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in
Christ. Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you
will do even more than I say.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel
Verse:
Alleluia! Let your face
shine upon your servant, and teach me your statutes. Alleluia! (Ps. 119:135)
Gospel Reading: Luke 14:25-33
A reading from the Gospel of Luke
Now large crowds were traveling with (Jesus) and he turned and said to
them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and
children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my
disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my
disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit
down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete
it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all
who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build
and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to wage war against
another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten
thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If
he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and
asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my
disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise
to you, O Christ.
Sermon
(added at the end of the document)
Hymn
#798 Will You
Come and Follow Me
Thanks and Offertory
Prayers of the Church:
Loving God, you call us to be disciples of your
Son, no matter the cost. As disciples, we offer our prayers for the world, the
church, and for all people according to their needs.
[Short
pause]
Loving God,
grant that we may always carry the cross with your Son and know its value.
Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Loving God,
free us from all those attachments that lead us away from you. Lord, in your
mercy, Hear our prayer.
Loving God,
continue to grant us the good weather needed for our crops that might feed a
hungry world. Lord, in your mercy, Hear
our prayer.
Loving God,
free the peoples of Ukraine and Russia and all who struggle from the terrors
and dangers of war. Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Loving God,
continue to give life and health to those who still struggle with the COVID-19
virus. Strengthen all who work for healing in any way. Lord, in your
mercy, Hear our prayer.
Loving God, we long to her the Good News. Look with favor on all who minister in the name of your Son. Bless our own congregation and grant what we need. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Loving God,
we ask you to hear our unspoken prayers for so many around us… * … Lord, in
your mercy, Hear our prayer. {*Gail Mauer, Deb Kirschner, Diane Corns}
Loving God,
help us to know you more clearly, love
you more dearly, follow you more nearly. So we commend to you all for
whom we pray, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Hymn #592 Just As I Am
The
Lord’s Prayer
Finally let
us pray for all things as our Lord would have us ask:
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.
Closing prayer & Benediction
Father,
your word gives us light and life.
May we who have shared in holy things
bear fruit to your honour and glory,
in the name
of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.
Hymn
#336 Lamb of
God
Benediction & Sending
May the Lord
bless us and keep us.
May the
Lord’s face shine upon us with grace and mercy.
May the Lord
look upon us with favor and X give us peace.
Amen.
Go in peace. Serve the Lord. Thanks
be to God.
W
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Services
for the next few months will be on YouTube and accessible from an email link
or our church Facebook page. Services for September, October, and November are
shown below:
September 11 Holy Communion, Saxonia Hall, 11:00am
September 18 Service on YouTube, 11:00am
September 25 Holy Communion, Church, 11:00am
October 2
Service on YouTube, 11:00am
October 9
Communion, Church, 11:00am (Thanksgiving)
October 16
Service on YouTube, 11:00am
October 23
Service on YouTube, 11:00am
October 30
Communion, Church, 11:00am (Reformation Sunday)
November 6
Service on YouTube, 11:00am
November 13
Communion, Saxonia Hall,11:00am (All Saints/service of remembrance)
November 20
Service on YouTube, 11:00am (Christ the King)
November 27
Communion, Church, 11:00am (First Sunday in Advent)
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Whoever does not carry the cross and
follow me cannot be my disciple.
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Jesus words
today may sound very stiff and tough to us. We might even wonder if they are
“Good News.” It sounds like Jesus is telling his disciples to abandon family,
friends, profession or work, and all possessions. I have to admit that those
are very hard words to hear.
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It is very
hard to live without possessions. Winters are unbearable for the homeless and
those without parkas and sweaters. Summers are just as painful for those
without any shelter from the sun and the rain. And let’s not discuss eating right
now. It is possible to give up all those things – family, friends, things – and
become grasping, grumpy, and cranky. Trust me; I know.
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As for
carrying the cross, it goes beyond suffering a toothache or a sprain in silence.
We often say “That’s my cross to bear” referring to some annoyance, but Jesus
is talking about the “cross” that comes with discipleship, the cross that he
suffered. Most of us are not interested in this, but it is part of being a
disciple and in some way, every disciple will share in this.
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So what does
Jesus mean? In Jewish literature of the time, the love/hate comparison was
often used to place things and ideas side by side in the most extreme terms
imaginable. Often the comparison is one of a valuable thing beside a MORE
valuable thing. So coming to Jesus is more valuable than dedication to family,
friends, occupation, political beliefs, or the “stuff” we accumulate in our
lives. Each disciple will be made aware of the cost of discipleship or in
Jesus’ terms, carrying the cross. Being a Christian may entail disappointing
others who expect certain things from us or expect us to play by certain rules
and fit in to what is “acceptable” to the powers around us.
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When it comes
to possessions, attitudes, and things to accumulate, catalogue, and display in
our personal museums, Christians might want to be aware of making such things
into idols and displacing the values of the Gospel with lesser values, whatever
they might be.
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Christians might
even be disappointed in themselves for not “measuring up” to some standard.
(Well, we can’t all be Martin Luther or Francis of Assisi.) That’s where grace
comes in.
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So it’s grace
again! As it should be! In all this and in this passage from Luke today, Jesus
would want us to be aware that there is only one Savior! All that other stuff
he spoke about – and we can go back and read it for ourselves – will never save
us. It will never satisfy our deepest needs and desires. When Jesus speaks of
his disciples never hungering or thirsting again, he’s not alluding to an
occasional ham-and-cheese sandwich and a cup of coffee. There are deeper
hungers and more powerful thirsts – which only he can fulfill. Maybe we should
retune our ears so when Jesus says “give up all your possessions” we might hear
“give up ON all your
possessions.”
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Does this
cheapen the call of the Gospel? I don’t know. I do think that there are things
and relationships that actually make us better disciples of Jesus. I need my
wife, my children, and all of you to be a real Christian. It is grace (in
baptism) that made me a Christian and it is all of you that keep me one. The
Word, the sacraments, and the community of the Church are the means of grace
for me… and maybe for you as well. Those places are where Jesus can be found.
Whoever does not carry the cross and
follow me cannot be my disciple.
