Seventeenth SUNDAY
after PENTECOST
October 2, 2022
The Rev. Joshua Heimbuck, Pastor
WELCOME
A warm welcome to all who worship with us this morning. Today we gather around Word and Sacrament through which God equips, directs, and support his people in the mission and ministry of his Kingdom. All that God has promised in his Son, Jesus Christ, comes together by the power of the Spirit as we worship. Guests and visitors, please honor us by signing our Guest Book in the entrance hall of the church as you leave this morning’s worship. If you have no church home of your own, we invite you to make Grace Lutheran Church the center of your worship, learning, fellowship, and service. After this morning worship, join us for a cup of coffee and let us become better acquainted with you as you get to know us better. Come to worship with us again and often!
AS WE GATHER Confident Faith
Jesus’ words in the Gospel Lesson today challenge the disciples to mature in their faith. Jesus knows his disciples will face critical issues in their life. They will have questions about how to lead their lives in certain situations when he is no longer there to teach them in person. Jesus’ words teach his disciples about mature faith when it comes to the responsibility of teaching, the importance of a forgiving heart, faith in God, and Christian duty. His words teach us as well. As God’s relationship with us strengthens us through faith, we mature in our own faith and draw upon God’s power to work within us rather than trying to face decisions on our own.
PRAYER BEFORE WORSHIP
Lord God, it is through our lives that your love touches others. Stir us by your Spirit to serve all people with willing hearts and bring them the message of your love. We ask this in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
+ THE ORDER OF CELEBRATING +
Lutheran Service Book Setting 4 adapted
PRE-SERVICE MUSIC
WELCOME
PRELUDE Festive Prelude on “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” — By Victor C. Johnson
Tatsiana Asheichyk, Organ
HYMN By Grace I’m Saved
+ GATHERING +
[Remembering our baptism, we gather in the Name of the Triune God to confess
our sins and receive the assurance of our forgiveness as his people.]
ORDER OF CONFESSION
In the Name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just, will forgive our
sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Let us then confess our sins to God our Father and in the presence of one
another.
+ A Brief Silence for Reflection & Self-examination +
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in our thinking, in our speaking, and in our doing — for we are unworthy servants. We deserve your wrath and punishment. But we pray you, increase our faith, 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
Jesus Christ destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. For his sake, and in his Name, I declare to you the full forgiveness of all your sins in the Name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Forgiven and reconciled by God, let us be reconciled with one another and share the peace of the Lord.
THE PASSING OF PEACE
[The congregation is encouraged to share the peace of Christ and greet one another with
the words: “The Lord’s peace be with you.” The response: “And also with you.”]
KYRIE
GLORIA IN EXCELSIS
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Merciful God: When we are empty, fill us. When we are weak in faith, strengthen us. When we are cold in love, warm us, that with fervor we may love our neighbors and serve them for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen
+ WORD +
[Whenever we worship, God speaks, and we listen. We hear the Word of God
read aloud in our midst, bringing us both God’s judgment and grace.]
FIRST LESSON Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4
[Injustice and violence in the time leading up to the Babylonian exile move this prophet to lament: How can a good and all-powerful God see evil in the world and seemingly remain indifferent? God answers by proclaiming that the wicked will perish, but the righteous will live by faith.]
The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and
you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So, the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so, justice goes perverted….
I will take my stand at my watch post and station myself on the tower and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the visions awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.
“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
SECOND LESSON 2 Timothy 1:1-14
[This message from Paul to Timothy is a personal message of encouragement. In the face of hardship and persecution, Timothy is reminded that his faith is a gift from God. He is encouraged to exercise that faith with the help of the Holy Spirit.]
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus.
To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember
you constantly in my prayers, night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in
your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, not of me as a prisoner, but share in the suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
SPECIAL MUSIC Just as I Am — By Victor C. Johnson, Tatsiana Asheichyk, Organ
HOLY GOSPEL Luke 14:1-14
[Jesus observes guests jockeying around for position at the table. He uses the opportunity to teach his hearers to choose humility rather than self-exaltation. Jesus also makes an appeal for the hosts to mimic God’s gracious hospitality to the poor and the broken.]
[Jesus] said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little one to sin. Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey you.
“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So, you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We
are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
SONG of THE DAY Lord, Help Us Walk Your Servant Way
SERMON Faithful Forgiveness — Pastor Josh Text: The Gospel Lesson
NICENE CREED
I believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things visible and invisible
I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
begotten from his Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father,
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and of our salvation came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
he suffered and was buried.
And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures
And ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of the Father.
And he will come again with glory to judge both the living and
the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
The Lord and giver of life,
Who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and
glorified, who spoke by the prophets.
I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life ☩ of the world to come. Amen
PRAYERS of THE CHURCH
+ MEAL +
[As the first-fruit offerings of all that we are and have are gathered, The Lord’s
Table is prepared to celebrate “The Feast that knows no end” instituted by Christ
our Lord for the strengthening of our faith and the assurance of our forgiveness.]
OFFERTORY
OFFERING PRAYER
Gracious God, you open your hand, filling our lives with all good things and renewing the face of the earth. We offer these gifts in thanksgiving for all that we have received from your bounty. Accept them for the sake of him who offered himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
THE GREAT THANKSGIVING
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give him thanks and praise.
Holy God, mighty Lord, gracious Father, endless is your mercy and
eternal is your reign. You have filled all creation with light and life;
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
When sin scarred the world, you sent your Son to heal our ills and
to form us again as one.
.
In the night in which he was betrayed,
our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;
broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying:
Take and eat; this is my ☩ body which is given
for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks,
And gave it for all to drink, saying:
This cup is the new covenant in my ☩ blood
shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness
of sin. Do this in remembrance of me.
Remembering his life and death, his resurrection and ascension, and his
command to love one another, we pray for his coming again.
Come, Lord Jesus, live in us that we may live in you.
Send now, we pray, your Spirit, that all of your promises may come to us
and your whole creation.
Amen. Come, Holy Spirit.
Through him all glory and honor are yours, Almighty Father, with the Holy
Spirit, in your holy Church, both now and forever. Amen
LORD’S PRAYER
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.
PAX DOMINI
LAMB OF GOD
[We come to The Sacrament sincerely believing in the real presence of Christ and
that in the eating and drinking of the bread and wine of The Sacrament we receive
the true body and blood of our Lord for our forgiveness, salvation, and strength for
Christian life and witness.]
DISTRIBUTION
Distribution Hymn Eat This Bread
DISMISSAL
+ SENDING +
[Strengthened in faith and empowered for service, we leave with thanksgiving
and the Lord’s blessing.]
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
God our Creator, at this table you have satisfied us with the good things
of your grace. Fix our hearts on your mercy and truth, that our lives may
reflect your love to all creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
BLESSING
SONG Lord, Dismiss Us with Your Blessing
SILENT PRAYER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
POSTLUDE
+ With Great Joy … Tell Everyone What He Has Done! +
This Week at Grace
WEDNESDAY the 5th: Choir Rehearsal 7:00 pm
SATURDAY the 8th: Men’s Breakfast Study 8:30 am
SUNDAY, October 9th: Bible Discussions — Racism 8:45 am
Sunday School for All Ages 9:00 am
Worship 10:00 am
Coffee Connection 11:00 am
Grace Notes
THE PRESENCE of CHRIST is celebrated in The Lord’s Supper. He comes to us in a real and present way with his life-giving body and blood in the bread and wine to assure us of our forgiveness and to strengthen our faith and service. All who trust and believe the words “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins” are welcome. Come, receive Christ’s presence in the meal prepared for you. Enjoy his presence.
JOB OPENING — Grace Lutheran Church has an opening for an Administrative Assistant. The position is part time, 15 — 20 hours per week, Tuesday through Thursday, 9:30 am to 3:00 pm with a half hour lunch. Please request job description and/or send resumes to gracelutheranashland@gmail.com.
CELEBRITY ALL-STAR 2022 CLASSIC — The ROC Recovery Center is holding a fundraiser on Saturday, October 15th at the Harry & David ballpark. The ROC is a faith-based charitable organization that is committed to meet the needs of those struggling with addiction behavior, mental illness, domestic violence, homelessness or emotional trauma in our community. Watch the All-Star Celebrity Softball Game “Battle of the Badge” where hometown celebrities such as NBA Kyle Singler (Detroit Pistons), NFL Chad Coda (Carolina Panthers), NBA EJ Singler (Portland Trailblazers), Race Car Driver Derek Deboer, join the fun as Medford vs. the Central Point Police Department. More information is posted on the bulletin board in the Administration Wing hallway, or go to rocrecoverycenter.org.
Annual fundraising Banquet — On Friday, October 21st the Pregnancy Center will hold their Annual Fundraising Banquet at the Jacksonville Presbyterian Church. More information is posted on the bulletin board in the Administration Wing hallway, or go to banquet2022.planningpod.com. Please make your reservations by October 13th.
Grace Lutheran Church
660 Frances Lane
Ashland, OR 97520
541-482-1661
Pastor Joshua Heimbuck — heimbuck@me.com