Thirteenth SUNDAY after PENTECOST
September 4, 2022
The Rev. Joshua Heimbuck, Pastor
WELCOME
Welcome to Grace Lutheran Church! We are happy that you have joined us for worship this morning. Through Word and Sacrament, Christ, our Good Shepherd, promises to lead and guide us as his people. May today’s worship be a blessing to you as he reveals his love for you and assures you of his presence in your life. Guests and visitors, please honor us by signing our Guest Book located on the table in the entrance hall of the church as you leave. The fellowship of this morning continues with a Coffee/Fellowship Hour following worship. Do join us and let us become better acquainted with you as you get to know us better. If you have no church home of your own in the area, we invite you to make Grace Lutheran Church the center of your worship, learning, fellowship, and service. Pastor Josh or the lay assistant for the day will be happy to answer any questions you may have concerning our parish. Come to worship with us again and often!
AS WE GATHER The Cost of Discipleship
Discipleship is costly. Discipleship means commitment — commitment so great that it may appear that we have turned our back on other interests. In truth, though, the disciple doesn’t love others less (father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters), rather, the disciple loves Christ more and recognizes that truly helpful love for the neighbor finds its way through the Cross of Christ. The ability to be a disciple is a gift given to us by God. We are called to celebrate this
gift in our lives.
PRAYER BEFORE WORSHIP
God our Father, you have made us a new company of priests to bear witness to the Gospel. Enable us to be faithful in our calling, to make known your promises to all mankind; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ THE ORDER of CELEBRATING +
PRE-SERVICE MUSIC
WELCOME
PRELUDE I Am His, and He Is Mine — By Richard Sawyer, Tatsiana Asheichyk, Organ
OPENING SONG Father Welcomes
INVOCATION & 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 should turn from their ways and live.”
The Lord seeks to bless us.
Let us therefore make confession of our sins, attentive to the gracious word of our God.
+ A Brief Silence for Reflection +
Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in our thinking, our speaking, and our doing. By ourselves we are unable to faithfully follow the path of discipleship. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us and strengthen us. Set our feet upon the way you would have us go, for your Name’s sake. Amen.
God was pleased to reconcile all things to himself by the sacrifice of the Cross. The blood of Christ avails. For his sake and by his authority, 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 our Lord as we greet one another.
SHARING 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.”]
SONG of PRAISE Gloria in Excelsis
PRAYER of THE DAY
Almighty and merciful God, you did not spare your only Son but delivered
him up for us all. Grant us courage and strength to take up the cross and follow him, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
FIRST LESSON Deuteronomy 30:15-20
[Life and blessing are the benefit of keeping the law God has given through Moses. In this passage, Moses presents the consequences of choosing between life and death.]
“See I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and statutes and his rules, you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land
that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth, to witness against you today, and I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to given them.”
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
SECOND LESSON Philemon 1-21
[While Paul was in prison, he was aided by a runaway slave named Onesimus. The slave’s master, Philemon, was a Christian friend of Paul. Paul told Onesimus to return to his master and encouraged Philemon to receive Onesimus back as a brother in Christ.]
Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy, our brother, to Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.
Accordingly, though I am bold in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus — I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment. (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own free will. For this perhaps is why we were parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, bother in the flesh and in the Lord.
So, if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would me. If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.
Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more that I say.
The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
SPECIAL MUSIC The King of Love My Shepherd Is — By Victor C. Johnson,
Tatsiana Asheichyk, Organ
GOSPEL Luke 14:25-35
The holy Gospel is written in the 14th chapter of Luke.
Glory to You, O Lord
[Jesus speaks frankly about the fearsome costs of discipleship. Those who follow him should know from the outset that completing the course of discipleship will finally mean renouncing all other allegiances.]
Now great crowds accompanied [Jesus], and he turned to them and said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not first sit down and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
“Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
The gospel of our Lord.
Praise to You, O Christ!
SONG of THE DAY In the Cross of Christ I Glory
SERMON Costly Endeavor Pr. Josh 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.
OFFERING
OFFERTORY PRAYER
Gracious God, you open your hand, filling our lives with all good things
and renewing the face of the earth. We offer the first-fruit gifts of all that
we have and are in thanksgiving for the many blessings we have received
from your bounty. Accept them for the sake of him who offered his life for
us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
PRAYERS of THE CHURCH
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
LAMB OF GOD
DISTRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION HYMN You Satisfy the Hungry Heart
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
SONG Christ Be My Leader
SILENT PRAYER
ANNOUNCEMENTS
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
POSTLUDE
+ With Great Joy … Tell Everyone What He Has Done! +
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting Four from Lutheran Service Book
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2022 Concordia Publishing House.
COMING SEPTEMBER 11TH — Starting September 11th, for our Sunday morning Bible studies, we will examine the topic of Racism and what God’s Word says about it. We hope you all will join us in the Fireside Room on Sunday morning, September 11th at 9:00 am. Beginning September 18th, the Discussion time will change to 8:45 am.
sunday school is back! — Beginning Sunday, September 11th at 9:00 am, Sunday School classes for children of all ages will be held in the Education Wing.
Unity Through Community: Honoring the Spirit of Resilience — Saturday, September 10th in Blue Heron Park, Phoenix, OR from 3:00 PM — 6:00 PM. Connect and build community with free delicious food, dancing, storytelling, music-making, activities for kids, and resources for fire survivors as we collectively commemorate the 2nd anniversary of the Almeda & South Obenchain Fires. For details about this and other Together We Rise community events, see https://jccltrg.org/commemorationevent/ All events are free. A flier is posted on the bulletin board in the Administrative Wing hallway.
SOU “MEET ASHLAND” — For students starting a new year at SOU, the Meet Ashland Information Fair is an excellent opportunity to get to know local businesses and services. Pastor Josh will be hosting the Grace Lutheran booth on Wednesday, September 21st, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM in the Stevenson Union Courtyard. Please feel free to stop by and visit, or sit a while and show students some Grace hospitality.
FALL 2022 LUTHERAN HOUR MINISTRIES VIRTUAL EVENT — Lutheran Hour Ministries is a trusted resource in global media that equips and engages a vibrant volunteer base to passionately proclaim the Gospel to more than 150 million people worldwide each week. Join us in learning and celebrating how the Gospel is proclaimed in over 60 countries at the Fall 2022 LLL Virtual Event Saturday, September 24th. Registration information is posted on the Administration Wing hallway bulletin board.
THIS WEEK AT GRACE
MONDAY, September 5th: Labor Day
SUNDAY the 11th: Grandparents Day
Bible Discussions — Racism 9:00 am
Sunday School for All Ages 9:00 am
Worship 10:00 am
Coffee Connection 11:00 am
Grace Lutheran Church
660 Frances Lane
Ashland, OR 97520
541-482-1661
Pastor Joshua Heimbuck — heimbuck@me.com