Eighth SUNDAY after PENTECOST
July 31, 2022
The Rev. James A. Kabel, Pastor Emeritus
+ EIGHTH SUNDAY after PENTECOST +
Be Rich Toward God Sunday
31 July 2022
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’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 Define Freedom
“You fool!” God thunders to the rich man in today’s Gospel. His foolishness was his reliance on life’s material goods rather than on God’s eternal treasures. In a land and time of immense wealth the temptation to construct false gods out of our possessions is ever before us. As new people in Christ, Paul reminds us in today’s Second Lesson to “seek those things that are above.” That’s the life-long challenge of God’s people, for we have been blessed to be a blessing.
PRAYER BEFORE WORSHIP
O God, you see how busy we are with many things. In this hour of worship and prayer, give us rest from all that would cause us to be anxious. Turn us to listen to you as you come to us in Word and Sacrament, assuring us of that peace which passes all understanding; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ THE ORDER OF CELEBRATING +
LSB Setting 4 Adapted
PRE-SERVICE MUSIC
WELCOME
PRELUDE When I Look Into Your Holiness — By Wayne and Cathy Perrin,
Tatsiana Asheichyk, Piano
HYMN Greet the Rising Sun (See back of worship folder)
ORDER OF CONFESSION
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
‘As I live,” says the Lord, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that
the wicked turn from their ways and live.”
If we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Today we are invited to put away all distractions, and to give our attention to the Word of God.
+ 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. We deserve your wrath and punishment. It is only for the sake of your obedient Son, Jesus Christ, that we dare to ask for forgiveness. 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.
You have been raised to life with Christ. Now set your minds on what is in heaven, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Rejoice in the Lord, your 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.
THE PASSING OF PEACE
RESPONSORY
This is the day the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
From the rising of the sun to its setting.
God’s Name is to be praised.
Make me to know your ways, O Lord.
Teach me your paths.
Sanctify us in your truth.
Your word is truth.
From the rising of the sun to its setting.
God’s Name is to be praised.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Almighty God, judge of us all, you have placed in our hands the wealth we call our own. Give us such wisdom by your Spirit that our possessions may not be a curse in our lives, but an instrument for blessing; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
FIRST LESSON Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23
[The teacher of wisdom who wrote Ecclesiastes sees that working for mere accumulation of wealth turns life into an empty game, a “vanity of vanities.” Nevertheless, he asserts in the next verse, it is good to find enjoyment in one’s work because such enjoyment is a gift from God.]
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity….
I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied by heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given me children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind….
I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man
who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So, I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
SECOND LESSON Colossians 3:1-11
[Life in Christ includes a radical reorientation of our values. Just as the newly baptized shed their old clothes in order to put on new garments, so Christians are called to let go of greed and take hold of a life shaped by God’s love in Christ.]
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us — By Donna Krieger,
Tatsiana Ascheichyk, Piano
HOLY GOSPEL Luke 12:13-21
The Holy Gospel according to Luke, the 12th chapter. Glory to you, O Lord.
[In God’s reign, the “rich will be sent away empty.” Jesus uses a parable to warn against identifying the worth of one’s life with the value of one’s possessions rather than one’s relationships.]
Someone in the crowd said to [Jesus], “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” And he told them a parable, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops.’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
SONG of THE DAY Be Thou My Vision (See back of worship folder)
SERMON Misplaced Future — Pr. Jim, Pr. Em. Text: The Gospel Lesson
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
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, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray:
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
JESUS, REMEMBER ME (Repeat 3 x’s)
DISTRIBUTION
Distribution Hymn Take My Life and Let It Be (See back of worship folder)
DISMISSAL
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
SILENT PRAYER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
POSTLUDE
+ With Great Joy … Tell Everyone What He Has Done! +
CHURCH BARBECUE A GREAT SUCCESS! — Thank you to everyone who made last Sunday’s barbecue a marvelous and meaningful time. The salads and desserts were especially delicious. Thanks to pre-cooking by Nan Gunderson, barbecuing by John Gisclon and Lyle Hinrich, and the great price for chicken at Albertsons, we enjoyed a tasty feast. The extra meat was donated to the Monday Meals program and used to make diced chicken, wild rice, and coconut milk for a great treat the day after the Grace barbecue. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
COFFEE CONNECTION — Are you willing to host, assist in serving, or provide treats for our Coffee Connection time? There’s a sign-up sheet on the refrigerator in the kitchen that has a space for YOUR name. For further details, please speak with either Pearl, Nan, or Mary.
LUTHERAN LIFE — The Summer issue of Lutheran Life magazine is available at the table in the main entryway. This issue focuses on finding balance between faith, family, and technology.
WEBSITE AUDIO MESSAGES — We are not loading audio messages onto the Grace Lutheran website at this time. We hope to have the audio available by early Fall.
THIS WEEK AT GRACE
TUESDAY the 2nd: Lay Ministry Meeting 12:30 pm
THURSDAY the 4th: Church League Golf 5:30 pm
SUNDAY the 7th: Bible Study 9:00 am
Worship 10:00 am
SUMMER OFFICE HOURS — As our summer days heat up, and to take advantage of the cool morning hours to work in our yards, walk dogs, run errands, etc., Pastor Josh and Margaret’s office hours through August 31st will be:
Pastor Josh
Monday — Thursday
12:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Days Off — Friday and Saturday
Margaret Bohn
Administrative Assistant
Tuesday — Thursday
12:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Grace Lutheran Church
660 Frances Lane
Ashland, OR 97520
541-482-1661
Pastor Joshua Heimbuck — heimbuck@me.com