Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
July 2nd, 2023
The Rev. Joshua Heimbuck, Pastor
The Rev. James A. Kabel, Pastor Emeritus
+ Fifth Sunday after Pentecost +
A Cup of Cold Water
WELCOME
Welcome to all who have gathered to worship as we celebrate God’s continued presence in our lives and world. We pray that in this hour of worship, God would strengthen us through Word and Sacrament so that we might give witness to all he has promised in his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 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’s 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 Welcoming—Worth the Effort
Today’s readings show us a great contrast: make getting to heaven a “do-it-yourself’ project and “the wages of sin is death” (Second Lesson); but simply trust, and “if anyone gives a cup of water … he will certainly not lose his reward” (Gospel Lesson). Trusting isn’t always easy! In the Old Testament one had to wait for the fulfillment of all God’s promises in Christ. Our task is to only use each day to show ourselves, our Lord, and all who observe us that the effort God took to give us “the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” was worth it.
PRAYER BEFORE WORSHIP
Lord, overtake our weakness with your power so that we may proclaim the saving Gospel to all nations. Remove from us all fear and doubt and move us toward those who have not heard the story of your love; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
+ THE ORDER of CELEBRATING +
Blended Format
WELCOME
+ 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
“Turn to me and be saved,” says the Lord, “for I am God and there is no other.”
If we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We have been called for service. How faithfully have we served?
+ A Brief Silence for Reflection +
Most merciful God, we confess to you our sins of thought, word, and deed, our woeful inadequacy. We have promised to serve you faithfully, but we have broken that promise. We are unworthy servants. Without your help, we perish. Therefore, we implore your mercy for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son. Forgive us our sin and empower us for faithful witness. Turn us, that we may be saved.
Our Lord Jesus Christ sees us in our need. His arms are open wide to welcome us. For the sake of his suffering and death, our sins are forgiven 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 as we greet each other.
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.”]
APOSTOLIC GREETING
The love of God the Father, made known in Christ Jesus our Lord, and poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also, with you.
FIRST LESSON Jeremiah 28:5-9
[Through a symbolic action Jeremiah insisted that Judah and all the surrounding nations should submit to the king of Babylon (Jer. 27). Hananiah contradicted the word of Jeremiah, who in reply insisted that Hananiah’s rosy prediction should not be believed until it came true. God confirmed the word of Jeremiah and sentenced the false prophet Hananiah to death (vs. 16-17).]
Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD, and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the LORD do so, may the LORD make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the LORD, and all the exiles. Yet hear this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet come to pass, then it will be known that the LORD has truly sent the prophet.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
SECOND LESSON Romans 6:12-23
[Paul has told the Roman Christians that in baptism they were not only made right with God through grace but were also made free from the slavery of sin. Thus, he now claims that those who accepted by God as sinners may also be used by God for righteousness.]
Do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law but under grace.
What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slave of the one who whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.
When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. So, what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
HOLY GOSPEL Matthew 10:40-42
The gospel according to Matthew, the 10th chapter. Glory to you, O Lord.
[When Jesus sends his disciples out as missionaries, he warns them of persecution and hardship they will face. He also promises to reward any who aid his followers and support their ministry.]
[Jesus said to the twelve:] “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes him who sent me. The one who welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person- in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and who gives even a cup of water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.
The Gospel of our Lord. Praise to You, O Christ.
HOMILY A Welcoming Community Text: The Gospel Lesson Pastor Jim
APOSTOLIC CREED
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His 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 into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence 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. Amen
PRAYERS of THE CHURCH
+ MEAL +
[As the first-fruit offerings of all that we are and have, are brought forward. 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.]
OFFERINGS are brought forward
OFFERING PRAYER
God of our salvation, all that we have comes from your hand. We bring what you have already given us—bread and wine for your table, and the gifts of all that we are and have for the work of your Kingdom. Most of all we give you thanks for your greatest gift to us in 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.
Blessed are you, O holy God: You are the life and light of all.
By your powerful word you created all things.
Through the prophets you call your people to be
a light to the nations.
Blessed are you for Jesus, your Son, he is your light shining
in our darkness and revealing to us your mercy and might.
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, therefore, his preaching and healing, his dying
and rising, and his promise to come again, we await the day
when all the universe will rejoice in his life-giving light.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
By your Holy Spirit, bless us and this meal, that refreshed by it
we might be light for the world.
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
THE 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
The peace ☩ of the Lord be with you always. And also, with you.
[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
DISMISSAL
+ SENDING +
[Strengthened in faith and empowered for service, we leave with thanksgiving and the Lord’s blessing.]
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
We thank you, O God, that you have strengthened our hearts through the feast of life and salvation. Be the light for our path, that we may do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with you, now and forever. Amen
BLESSING
SILENT PRAYER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
DISMISSAL Go in peace. Serve the Lord. Thanks be to God!
+ With Great Joy … Tell Everyone What He Has Done! +
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 of The Sacrament to assure us of our forgiveness and to strengthen us in 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. Children are encouraged to come forward with their parents and/or grandparents and receive a blessing.
BIBLE STUDY – Bible Study will be on a brief hiatus for the summer. Hope you will join us when we resume in September/2023.
AN INIVITATION - You are cordially invited to attend the ordination and installation of Pastor elect Jonah Laws at Faith Lutheran Church in Rogue River on Saturday, July 8th at 11:00am. A luncheon will be served following the service.
WEEKEND OF FELLOWSHIP - Zion Lutheran Church, LCMS has invited us for a weekend of fellowship and worship at their annual camping trip to Lakeview, Oregon, September 1st through the 4th of 2023. If interested, contact Zion Lutheran Church at (541) 884-6793.
GET YOUR COPY – The July/August Portals of Prayer, July Calendar and birthdays are available now. Pick up your copy on the table by the front door.
REMINDER - Pastor Josh is out of town through Friday July 7th. In his absence, please contact your Lay Minister if assistance is needed.
SAVE THE DATE – SUNDAY, JULY 30TH
Grace will be holding a Summer Outdoor Service followed by a pot luck at Emigrant Lake on Sunday, July 30th at 10:00 AM. Bring your family, friends and neighbors as we worship and enjoy a morning of fellowship! More details on the day will be forthcoming!
THIS WEEK AT GRACE
JULY 3, 2023 – JULY 9, 2023
Monday, July 3
5:00 PM
SOU Campus Ministries/Engage Summer Project Training (Fireside Room)
Tuesday, July 4th
Independence Day
Sunday, July 9th
10:00 AM Worship
11:00 AM Coffee Connection