ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Last Sunday of the Church Year – November 26, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Gil McMillan
Lay Reader
Acolyte Sue Hullen
Organist Coleen Tallman
Communion Preparation
Ushers Wayne Helley, Lynn Tallman,
Steve Broach (captain)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
+This Wednesday, November 29th, there will be a midweek service at 7 p.m., preceded by a soup supper (not a “traditional” soup supper on 11/29 & 12/20) at 6 p.m. Sign-up sheets for the four midweek service meals (11/29, 12/6, 12/13 and 12/20) are on the church bulletin board in the Fellowship Room.
+On Thursday, November 30th, there is a Men’s Bible Study at 9 a.m.
+On Sunday, December 3rd, there will be a voters’ meeting for the purpose of electing officers for 2024 and approving the 2024 budget. This will be followed by a Christmas Dinner. Everything will be provided. See Barb Whitley if you would like to make a monetary contribution or if you have any questions. Thanks.
+On Sunday, December 10th at 2 p.m., we are privileged to have an encore performance of “Advent: Isaiah Proclamation” featuring Sam Williams and Fred Weber (our frequent organist). This will be a jazzy musical celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Sam and Fred will weave song, tap dance, piano, and storytelling to embody six Advent passages from the book of Isaiah. Come and bring along a friend or two! A free-will offering will be taken for the event.
And when I am oppressed, beat down, By devil, world, and flesh,
His Supper does with grace abound, His blood shall e’er refresh.
[sung to the tune of “Amazing Grace”]
The Last Sunday of the Church Year
November 26, 2023
Prelude, Prayer, and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 811 “Oh, That I Had a Thousand Voices”
1 Oh, that I had a thousand voices
To praise my God with thousand tongues!
My heart, which in the Lord rejoices,
Would then proclaim in grateful songs
To all, wherever I might be,
What great things God has done for me.
2 O all you pow’rs that He implanted,
Arise, keep silence now no more;
Put forth the strength that God has granted!
Your noblest work is to adore.
O soul and body, join to raise
With heartfelt joy our Maker’s praise.
3 You forest leaves so green and tender
That dance for joy in summer air,
You meadow grasses, bright and slender,
You flow’rs so fragrant and so fair,
You live to show God’s praise alone.
Join me to make His glory known.
4 All creatures that have breath and motion,
That throng the earth, the sea, the sky,
Come, share with me my heart’s devotion,
Help me to sing God’s praises high.
My utmost pow’rs can never quite
Declare the wonders of His might.
5 Creator, humbly I implore You
To listen to my earthly song
Until that day when I adore You,
Together with the angel throng
And learn with choirs of heav’n to sing
Eternal anthems to my King.
Text: Johann Mentzer, 1658–1734; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.
Text: © 1941 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Stand
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
C But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
P Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.
C Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. 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.
P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit 2 Peter 3:13 NIV, Psalm 39:4–5a, 7–8, 12
P In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool! Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers.
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P Let us pray.
Eternal God, merciful Father, You have appointed Your Son as judge of the living and the dead. Enable us to wait for the day of His return with our eyes fixed on the kingdom prepared for Your own from the foundation of the world; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Ezekiel 34:11–16, 20–24
11“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. . . .
20“Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, 22I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm (sung) Psalm 95:1–7a
1Oh come, let us sing | to the Lord;*
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our sal- | vation!
2Let us come into his presence with thanks- | giving;*
let us make a joyful noise to him with | songs of praise!
3For the Lord is a | great God,*
and a great King a- | bove all gods.
4In his hand are the depths | of the earth;*
the heights of the mountains are his | also.
5The sea is his, for he | made it,*
and his hands formed the | dry land.
6Oh come, let us worship and | bow down;*
let us kneel before the Lord, our | Maker!
7For he | is our God,*
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep | of his hand.
Epistle 1 Corinthians 15:20–28
20But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia and Verse
Holy Gospel Matthew 25:31–46
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-fifth chapter.
31[Jesus said:] “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 525 “Crown Him with Many Crowns”
1 Crown Him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon His throne;
Hark how the heav’nly anthem drowns
All music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
Of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless king
Through all eternity.
2 Crown Him the virgin’s Son,
The God incarnate born,
Whose arm those crimson trophies won
Which now His brow adorn:
Fruit of the mystic rose,
Yet of that rose the stem,
The root whence mercy ever flows,
The babe of Bethlehem.
3 Crown Him the Lord of love.
Behold His hands and side,
Rich wounds, yet visible above,
In beauty glorified.
No angels in the sky
Can fully bear that sight,
But downward bend their wond’ring eyes
At mysteries so bright.
4 Crown Him the Lord of life,
Who triumphed o’er the grave
And rose victorious in the strife
For those He came to save.
His glories now we sing,
Who died and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring
And lives that death may die.
5 Crown Him the Lord of heav’n,
Enthroned in worlds above,
Crown Him the king to whom is giv’n
The wondrous name of Love.
Crown Him with many crowns
As thrones before Him fall;
Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns,
For He is king of all.
Text (sts. 1–3, 5): Matthew Bridges, 1800–94, alt.; (st. 4): Godfrey Thring, 1823–1903
Text: Public domain
Sermon “Recline in the Lord” Matthew 25:31-46
Recline in the Lord – Matthew 25:31-46
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come.” We pray this so often that we don’t even think about how weird it is to pray in this way. We are asking for the reign of God the Father to come to us and we don’t really give it a lot of thought. How often do you give thanks to God that you can pray for His reign to come among us as a comforting thing and not as a cause of terror?
Consider Adam and Eve’s response when God came to them. [Genesis 3:8–10] They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” Adam and Eve were terrified of God because they had sinned. They feared His judgment. After all, the Psalmist reminds us, [Psalm 5:4] “You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.” The coming of God’s kingdom was the last thing they wanted.
When we examine ourselves in light of the Ten Commandments, we learn that we sin daily and deserve punishment here on this earth and forever in hell. It seems as though we should be terrified to pray the words, “Thy Kingdom come.” Why did Jesus teach us to pray in such a way if the coming of the Kingdom of God means the coming of judgment?
God’s actions in the Bible teaches that there is another way that He can come … a way that brings comfort and confidence … a way that removes fear and despair.
God came to Jacob in a dream. He came down a ladder and promised, [Genesis 28:15] “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” He appeared to Moses in the burning bush and said, [Exodus 3:12] “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” Later on, Moses comforted the people of Israel with these words, [Deuteronomy 31:8] “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” God spoke words of comfort to His people through the Prophet Ezekiel, [Ezekiel 37:27] “My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
So it seems that the coming of the Kingdom of God can cause two completely different reactions. The first reaction is one of terror. I am a wretched sinner and deserve God’s righteous, eternal wrath. The second reaction is one of comfort, reassurance, and confidence. God is with me. Now I am safe.
We see these two reactions in today’s Gospel. The Gospels for these past few Sundays have been working their way through Jesus’ teaching concerning the Last Day. There was the “Parable of the Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins.” Then there was the “Parable of the Talents.” Today, we heard about sheep and goats. In each case, there are those who rejoice that the reign of God has come, and there are those who despair at its coming. What is the difference?
Our Lord Jesus Christ has an ability that we do not have. He can look into the human heart. It is as He spoke through His prophet Jeremiah, [Jeremiah 17:10] “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” In today’s Gospel Jesus teaches that it is as easy for Him to judge the heart as it is for a shepherd to tell the difference between a sheep and a goat. In fact, today’s Gospel teaches us that Jesus knows you better than you know yourself.
Jesus will hand out two verdicts on the Last Day. In today’s Gospel, Jesus said that He would place some people to His right and others to His left. Since Jesus already knows the heart, there is no questioning, no testimony, no presenting of evidence. There is only the verdict and the sentence.
The first verdict is for those on His right. The King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Those on the right enter the Judges home with a verdict of … forgiven.
Notice a few things about the judge’s statement:
First of all, note that the blessing flows from the Father. It is not something that these people work up for themselves.
Second of all, note that this is an inheritance. You don’t work for an inheritance. You receive an inheritance because someone put you in the will. You cannot earn an inheritance.
Finally, note that God prepared this outcome before any of us were even born. The kingdom is prepared from the foundation of the world. This tells us that this eternal kingdom was God’s will for these people from the very beginning.
The second verdict is for those on His left. Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Those on the left receive the verdict of guilty. The sentence is eternal fire.
In this instance the source of the curse remains un-named. The cursed condition is simply a characteristic of these people.
Secondly, notice that this condemnation was not prepared for people. It was prepared for the devil and his angels. People end up in eternal fire only because they reject God’s salvation. If they are arrogant enough to judge God and find Him offensive, then the eternal fire is the only alternative. There is no other place to spend eternity.
As the judge welcomes those on His right into eternal bliss, he recalls the work that His salvation has produced in their lives. Now here is the important point of the story. The sheep don’t remember any of it. The list of the works is a total surprise to the sheep. “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” They haven’t got a clue.
On the other hand, those on the left are angry that Jesus gives a similar list of things that they have NOT done. They have kept a careful record of their good works and they know for a fact that Jesus did NOT present Himself for their help at any time. Even as they stand before the judge of all things, they maintain that they have lived a life of good works and high moral character.
The point is that those who inherit the eternal kingdom do not look to their own good works for their salvation. Instead, the Holy Spirit finds dead souls and brings them to life through the proclamation of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins. The Holy Spirit keeps those souls alive through that same proclamation of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins. The proclamation of our crucified and risen Lord and savior leads the Christian, carries the Christian, and follows the Christian. The Holy Spirit causes us to relax in Christ.
Good works are the result of the salvation that we already have. The Holy Spirit inspired the Prophet Isaiah to write, [Isaiah 64:6] “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” So even our best most righteous deeds are still sinful before God, but Jesus Christ redeemed our deeds with His suffering and death on the cross. It is Christ on the cross who makes our deeds righteous. Those who have had their good deeds sanctified by Jesus, focus on Jesus and not on their works. Therefore, they notice their good works about as much as they notice that their fingernails are growing.
Jesus warned us and said, [Matthew 6:1–2] “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.” “They have received their reward.” That is one of the saddest statements in the Sermon on the Mount. They have traded away their eternal joy for the temporary praise of man.
You are pleasing to God, not because of what you do or don’t do. You are pleasing to God because of what Jesus did for you. Jesus lived a life that met God’s perfect standard. He died a death that paid our sin debt in full. He rose from the dead as a sign that our Father in Heaven accepted His work for us. Your salvation has been paid in full. Recline in the Lord.
As you recline in the Lord, you will be among those who can pray, “Thy kingdom come,” and look forward to the day. You can take comfort in the promise of Jesus, [Matthew 28:20b] Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” You can look forward in eager expectation to the day when you hear [Revelation 21:3] a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”
While you wait for that day, you will produce good works. These works do you absolutely no good, but they are precious to your neighbor. God will accomplish His will in this world through your works. Confess your sins – even those righteous deeds that are actually polluted garments. Receive the forgiveness of Jesus. Live for your neighbor. Don’t waste time trying to measure your good works. You don’t need them. You are heir to the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Rejoice that God wants to dwell with you. Amen
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church - Last Sunday of the Church Year - 26 November 2023
Lord God, You gather Your people from all nations and bring them into Your one, holy Christian and apostolic flock. Strengthen them by Your grace, that they may gladly feast upon Your riches in Your Means of Grace and declare Your praises to all who will hear. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, You judge between Your sheep, and You shepherd Your people with Your Holy Word. Encourage Your pastors. Through their faithful service, continue to seek the lost, bring back the strayed, bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, You have subjected all things under Your Son, who gladly subjects Himself to You. Bless the homes of Your people, that parents may train and catechize their children with wisdom and love, and that children may gladly submit and honor their father and mother. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord of lords, You sustain every rule, authority and power as You see fit, until this world’s powers should pass away. Bless all in civil authority, that they would not provoke Your wrath but maintain order and justice for the peace of Your people. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father in heaven, we look forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness, while now we contend with a multitude of afflictions under the curse of sin. Remember those in need of help and healing [including _____________]. Preserve them, deliver them from their transgressions and hold not Your peace at their tears. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of grace, as death came by a man, so by Your Son has come the resurrection of the dead. Endow Your people with penitent hearts at Your table, that they would receive in Your risen Son’s body and blood a foretaste of the eternal feast to come. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of life, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. We give thanks to You for those You have gathered into Your kingdom and who are asleep in Him. Strengthen our conviction that death is defeated as we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, You have prepared Your kingdom for us from the foundation of the world. Preserve us in faith and love throughout our days, that we may care for Your servants and our neighbors with compassion and joy, looking toward that day when the Son of Man comes in His glory; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Offering Prayer
Offertory
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who, out of love for His fallen creation, humbled Himself by taking on the form of a servant, becoming obedient unto death, even death upon a cross. Risen from the dead, He has freed us from eternal death and given us life everlasting. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Prayer of Thanksgiving
P Blessed are You, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have had mercy on those whom You created and sent Your only-begotten Son into our flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior. With repentant joy we receive the salvation accomplished for us by the all-availing sacrifice of His body and His blood on the cross.
Gathered in the name and the remembrance of Jesus, we beg You, O Lord, to forgive, renew, and strengthen us with Your Word and Spirit. Grant us faithfully to eat His body and drink His blood as He bids us do in His own testament. Gather us together, we pray, from the ends of the earth to celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end. Graciously receive our prayers; deliver and preserve us. To You alone, O Father, be all glory, honor, and worship, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
The Words of Our Lord
P As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
C Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
P O Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, in giving us Your body and blood to eat and to drink, You lead us to remember and confess Your holy cross and passion, Your blessed death, Your rest in the tomb, Your resurrection from the dead, Your ascension into heaven, and Your coming for the final judgment. So remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:
Lord’s Prayer
C 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
Agnus Dei
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
741 “Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense”
1 Jesus Christ, my sure defense
And my Savior, now is living!
Knowing this, my confidence
Rests upon the hope here given,
Though the night of death be fraught
Still with many_an anxious thought.
2 Jesus, my Redeemer, lives;
Likewise I to life shall waken.
He will bring me where He is;
Shall my courage then be shaken?
Shall I fear, or could the Head
Rise and leave His members dead?
3 No, too closely I am bound
By my hope to Christ forever;
Faith’s strong hand the Rock has found,
Grasped it, and will leave it never;
Even death now cannot part
From its Lord the trusting heart.
4 I am flesh and must return
To the dust, whence I am taken;
But by faith I now discern
That from death I shall awaken
With my Savior to abide
In His glory, at His side.
5 Glorified, I shall anew
With this flesh then be enshrouded;
In this body I shall view
God, my Lord, with eyes unclouded;
In this flesh I then shall see
Jesus Christ eternally.
6 Then take comfort and rejoice,
For His members Christ will cherish.
Fear not, they will hear His voice;
Dying, they will never perish;
For the very grave is stirred
When the trumpet’s blast is heard.
7 Laugh to scorn the gloomy grave
And at death no longer tremble;
He, the Lord, who came to save
Will at last His own assemble.
They will go their Lord to meet,
Treading death beneath their feet.
8 O, then, draw away your hearts
From all pleasures base and hollow;
Strive to share what He imparts
While you here His footsteps follow.
As you now still wait to rise,
Fix your hearts beyond the skies!
Text: Otto von Schwerin, 1616–79; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
632 “O Jesus, Blessed Lord, to Thee”
1 O Jesus, blessèd Lord, to Thee
My heartfelt thanks forever be,
Who hast so lovingly bestowed
On me Thy body and Thy blood.
2 Break forth, my soul, for joy and say:
What wealth is come to me this day!
My Savior dwells within my heart:
How blessed am I! How good Thou art!
Text: Thomas Hansen Kingo, 1634–1703; tr. Arthur J. Mason, 1851–1928
Text: Public domain
Stand
Post-Communion Canticle: “Thank the Lord”
Post-Communion Collect
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Benediction
Closing Hymn: 537 “Beautiful Savior”
1 Beautiful Savior,
King of creation,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I’d love Thee,
Truly I’d serve Thee,
Light of my soul, my joy, my crown.
2 Fair are the meadows,
Fair are the woodlands,
Robed in flow’rs of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer,
Jesus is purer,
He makes our sorr’wing spirit sing.
3 Fair is the sunshine,
Fair is the moonlight,
Bright the sparkling stars on high;
Jesus shines brighter,
Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels in the sky.
4 Beautiful Savior,
Lord of the nations,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor,
Praise, adoration
Now and forevermore be Thine!
Text: Münsterisch Gesangbuch, 1677, Münster; tr. Joseph A. Seiss, 1823–1904
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting One 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing House.
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Last Sunday of the Church Year – November 26, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Gil McMillan
Lay Reader
Acolyte Sue Hullen
Organist Coleen Tallman
Communion Preparation
Ushers Wayne Helley, Lynn Tallman,
Steve Broach (captain)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
+This Wednesday, November 29th, there will be a midweek service at 7 p.m., preceded by a soup supper (not a “traditional” soup supper on 11/29 & 12/20) at 6 p.m. Sign-up sheets for the four midweek service meals (11/29, 12/6, 12/13 and 12/20) are on the church bulletin board in the Fellowship Room.
+On Thursday, November 30th, there is a Men’s Bible Study at 9 a.m.
+On Sunday, December 3rd, there will be a voters’ meeting for the purpose of electing officers for 2024 and approving the 2024 budget. This will be followed by a Christmas Dinner. Everything will be provided. See Barb Whitley if you would like to make a monetary contribution or if you have any questions. Thanks.
+On Sunday, December 10th at 2 p.m., we are privileged to have an encore performance of “Advent: Isaiah Proclamation” featuring Sam Williams and Fred Weber (our frequent organist). This will be a jazzy musical celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Sam and Fred will weave song, tap dance, piano, and storytelling to embody six Advent passages from the book of Isaiah. Come and bring along a friend or two! A free-will offering will be taken for the event.
And when I am oppressed, beat down, By devil, world, and flesh,
His Supper does with grace abound, His blood shall e’er refresh.
[sung to the tune of “Amazing Grace”]
The Last Sunday of the Church Year
November 26, 2023
Prelude, Prayer, and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 811 “Oh, That I Had a Thousand Voices”
1 Oh, that I had a thousand voices
To praise my God with thousand tongues!
My heart, which in the Lord rejoices,
Would then proclaim in grateful songs
To all, wherever I might be,
What great things God has done for me.
2 O all you pow’rs that He implanted,
Arise, keep silence now no more;
Put forth the strength that God has granted!
Your noblest work is to adore.
O soul and body, join to raise
With heartfelt joy our Maker’s praise.
3 You forest leaves so green and tender
That dance for joy in summer air,
You meadow grasses, bright and slender,
You flow’rs so fragrant and so fair,
You live to show God’s praise alone.
Join me to make His glory known.
4 All creatures that have breath and motion,
That throng the earth, the sea, the sky,
Come, share with me my heart’s devotion,
Help me to sing God’s praises high.
My utmost pow’rs can never quite
Declare the wonders of His might.
5 Creator, humbly I implore You
To listen to my earthly song
Until that day when I adore You,
Together with the angel throng
And learn with choirs of heav’n to sing
Eternal anthems to my King.
Text: Johann Mentzer, 1658–1734; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.
Text: © 1941 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Stand
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
C But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
P Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.
C Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. 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.
P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit 2 Peter 3:13 NIV, Psalm 39:4–5a, 7–8, 12
P In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool! Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers.
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P Let us pray.
Eternal God, merciful Father, You have appointed Your Son as judge of the living and the dead. Enable us to wait for the day of His return with our eyes fixed on the kingdom prepared for Your own from the foundation of the world; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Ezekiel 34:11–16, 20–24
11“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. 15I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. . . .
20“Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, 22I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. 23And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm (sung) Psalm 95:1–7a
1Oh come, let us sing | to the Lord;*
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our sal- | vation!
2Let us come into his presence with thanks- | giving;*
let us make a joyful noise to him with | songs of praise!
3For the Lord is a | great God,*
and a great King a- | bove all gods.
4In his hand are the depths | of the earth;*
the heights of the mountains are his | also.
5The sea is his, for he | made it,*
and his hands formed the | dry land.
6Oh come, let us worship and | bow down;*
let us kneel before the Lord, our | Maker!
7For he | is our God,*
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep | of his hand.
Epistle 1 Corinthians 15:20–28
20But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia and Verse
Holy Gospel Matthew 25:31–46
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-fifth chapter.
31[Jesus said:] “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 525 “Crown Him with Many Crowns”
1 Crown Him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon His throne;
Hark how the heav’nly anthem drowns
All music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
Of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless king
Through all eternity.
2 Crown Him the virgin’s Son,
The God incarnate born,
Whose arm those crimson trophies won
Which now His brow adorn:
Fruit of the mystic rose,
Yet of that rose the stem,
The root whence mercy ever flows,
The babe of Bethlehem.
3 Crown Him the Lord of love.
Behold His hands and side,
Rich wounds, yet visible above,
In beauty glorified.
No angels in the sky
Can fully bear that sight,
But downward bend their wond’ring eyes
At mysteries so bright.
4 Crown Him the Lord of life,
Who triumphed o’er the grave
And rose victorious in the strife
For those He came to save.
His glories now we sing,
Who died and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring
And lives that death may die.
5 Crown Him the Lord of heav’n,
Enthroned in worlds above,
Crown Him the king to whom is giv’n
The wondrous name of Love.
Crown Him with many crowns
As thrones before Him fall;
Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns,
For He is king of all.
Text (sts. 1–3, 5): Matthew Bridges, 1800–94, alt.; (st. 4): Godfrey Thring, 1823–1903
Text: Public domain
Sermon “Recline in the Lord” Matthew 25:31-46
Recline in the Lord – Matthew 25:31-46
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come.” We pray this so often that we don’t even think about how weird it is to pray in this way. We are asking for the reign of God the Father to come to us and we don’t really give it a lot of thought. How often do you give thanks to God that you can pray for His reign to come among us as a comforting thing and not as a cause of terror?
Consider Adam and Eve’s response when God came to them. [Genesis 3:8–10] They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” Adam and Eve were terrified of God because they had sinned. They feared His judgment. After all, the Psalmist reminds us, [Psalm 5:4] “You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.” The coming of God’s kingdom was the last thing they wanted.
When we examine ourselves in light of the Ten Commandments, we learn that we sin daily and deserve punishment here on this earth and forever in hell. It seems as though we should be terrified to pray the words, “Thy Kingdom come.” Why did Jesus teach us to pray in such a way if the coming of the Kingdom of God means the coming of judgment?
God’s actions in the Bible teaches that there is another way that He can come … a way that brings comfort and confidence … a way that removes fear and despair.
God came to Jacob in a dream. He came down a ladder and promised, [Genesis 28:15] “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” He appeared to Moses in the burning bush and said, [Exodus 3:12] “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” Later on, Moses comforted the people of Israel with these words, [Deuteronomy 31:8] “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” God spoke words of comfort to His people through the Prophet Ezekiel, [Ezekiel 37:27] “My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
So it seems that the coming of the Kingdom of God can cause two completely different reactions. The first reaction is one of terror. I am a wretched sinner and deserve God’s righteous, eternal wrath. The second reaction is one of comfort, reassurance, and confidence. God is with me. Now I am safe.
We see these two reactions in today’s Gospel. The Gospels for these past few Sundays have been working their way through Jesus’ teaching concerning the Last Day. There was the “Parable of the Five Wise and Five Foolish Virgins.” Then there was the “Parable of the Talents.” Today, we heard about sheep and goats. In each case, there are those who rejoice that the reign of God has come, and there are those who despair at its coming. What is the difference?
Our Lord Jesus Christ has an ability that we do not have. He can look into the human heart. It is as He spoke through His prophet Jeremiah, [Jeremiah 17:10] “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” In today’s Gospel Jesus teaches that it is as easy for Him to judge the heart as it is for a shepherd to tell the difference between a sheep and a goat. In fact, today’s Gospel teaches us that Jesus knows you better than you know yourself.
Jesus will hand out two verdicts on the Last Day. In today’s Gospel, Jesus said that He would place some people to His right and others to His left. Since Jesus already knows the heart, there is no questioning, no testimony, no presenting of evidence. There is only the verdict and the sentence.
The first verdict is for those on His right. The King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Those on the right enter the Judges home with a verdict of … forgiven.
Notice a few things about the judge’s statement:
First of all, note that the blessing flows from the Father. It is not something that these people work up for themselves.
Second of all, note that this is an inheritance. You don’t work for an inheritance. You receive an inheritance because someone put you in the will. You cannot earn an inheritance.
Finally, note that God prepared this outcome before any of us were even born. The kingdom is prepared from the foundation of the world. This tells us that this eternal kingdom was God’s will for these people from the very beginning.
The second verdict is for those on His left. Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Those on the left receive the verdict of guilty. The sentence is eternal fire.
In this instance the source of the curse remains un-named. The cursed condition is simply a characteristic of these people.
Secondly, notice that this condemnation was not prepared for people. It was prepared for the devil and his angels. People end up in eternal fire only because they reject God’s salvation. If they are arrogant enough to judge God and find Him offensive, then the eternal fire is the only alternative. There is no other place to spend eternity.
As the judge welcomes those on His right into eternal bliss, he recalls the work that His salvation has produced in their lives. Now here is the important point of the story. The sheep don’t remember any of it. The list of the works is a total surprise to the sheep. “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” They haven’t got a clue.
On the other hand, those on the left are angry that Jesus gives a similar list of things that they have NOT done. They have kept a careful record of their good works and they know for a fact that Jesus did NOT present Himself for their help at any time. Even as they stand before the judge of all things, they maintain that they have lived a life of good works and high moral character.
The point is that those who inherit the eternal kingdom do not look to their own good works for their salvation. Instead, the Holy Spirit finds dead souls and brings them to life through the proclamation of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins. The Holy Spirit keeps those souls alive through that same proclamation of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins. The proclamation of our crucified and risen Lord and savior leads the Christian, carries the Christian, and follows the Christian. The Holy Spirit causes us to relax in Christ.
Good works are the result of the salvation that we already have. The Holy Spirit inspired the Prophet Isaiah to write, [Isaiah 64:6] “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” So even our best most righteous deeds are still sinful before God, but Jesus Christ redeemed our deeds with His suffering and death on the cross. It is Christ on the cross who makes our deeds righteous. Those who have had their good deeds sanctified by Jesus, focus on Jesus and not on their works. Therefore, they notice their good works about as much as they notice that their fingernails are growing.
Jesus warned us and said, [Matthew 6:1–2] “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.” “They have received their reward.” That is one of the saddest statements in the Sermon on the Mount. They have traded away their eternal joy for the temporary praise of man.
You are pleasing to God, not because of what you do or don’t do. You are pleasing to God because of what Jesus did for you. Jesus lived a life that met God’s perfect standard. He died a death that paid our sin debt in full. He rose from the dead as a sign that our Father in Heaven accepted His work for us. Your salvation has been paid in full. Recline in the Lord.
As you recline in the Lord, you will be among those who can pray, “Thy kingdom come,” and look forward to the day. You can take comfort in the promise of Jesus, [Matthew 28:20b] Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” You can look forward in eager expectation to the day when you hear [Revelation 21:3] a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”
While you wait for that day, you will produce good works. These works do you absolutely no good, but they are precious to your neighbor. God will accomplish His will in this world through your works. Confess your sins – even those righteous deeds that are actually polluted garments. Receive the forgiveness of Jesus. Live for your neighbor. Don’t waste time trying to measure your good works. You don’t need them. You are heir to the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Rejoice that God wants to dwell with you. Amen
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church - Last Sunday of the Church Year - 26 November 2023
Lord God, You gather Your people from all nations and bring them into Your one, holy Christian and apostolic flock. Strengthen them by Your grace, that they may gladly feast upon Your riches in Your Means of Grace and declare Your praises to all who will hear. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, You judge between Your sheep, and You shepherd Your people with Your Holy Word. Encourage Your pastors. Through their faithful service, continue to seek the lost, bring back the strayed, bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, You have subjected all things under Your Son, who gladly subjects Himself to You. Bless the homes of Your people, that parents may train and catechize their children with wisdom and love, and that children may gladly submit and honor their father and mother. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord of lords, You sustain every rule, authority and power as You see fit, until this world’s powers should pass away. Bless all in civil authority, that they would not provoke Your wrath but maintain order and justice for the peace of Your people. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father in heaven, we look forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness, while now we contend with a multitude of afflictions under the curse of sin. Remember those in need of help and healing [including _____________]. Preserve them, deliver them from their transgressions and hold not Your peace at their tears. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of grace, as death came by a man, so by Your Son has come the resurrection of the dead. Endow Your people with penitent hearts at Your table, that they would receive in Your risen Son’s body and blood a foretaste of the eternal feast to come. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of life, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. We give thanks to You for those You have gathered into Your kingdom and who are asleep in Him. Strengthen our conviction that death is defeated as we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, You have prepared Your kingdom for us from the foundation of the world. Preserve us in faith and love throughout our days, that we may care for Your servants and our neighbors with compassion and joy, looking toward that day when the Son of Man comes in His glory; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Offering Prayer
Offertory
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who, out of love for His fallen creation, humbled Himself by taking on the form of a servant, becoming obedient unto death, even death upon a cross. Risen from the dead, He has freed us from eternal death and given us life everlasting. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Prayer of Thanksgiving
P Blessed are You, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have had mercy on those whom You created and sent Your only-begotten Son into our flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior. With repentant joy we receive the salvation accomplished for us by the all-availing sacrifice of His body and His blood on the cross.
Gathered in the name and the remembrance of Jesus, we beg You, O Lord, to forgive, renew, and strengthen us with Your Word and Spirit. Grant us faithfully to eat His body and drink His blood as He bids us do in His own testament. Gather us together, we pray, from the ends of the earth to celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end. Graciously receive our prayers; deliver and preserve us. To You alone, O Father, be all glory, honor, and worship, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
The Words of Our Lord
P As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
C Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
P O Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, in giving us Your body and blood to eat and to drink, You lead us to remember and confess Your holy cross and passion, Your blessed death, Your rest in the tomb, Your resurrection from the dead, Your ascension into heaven, and Your coming for the final judgment. So remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:
Lord’s Prayer
C 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
Agnus Dei
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
741 “Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense”
1 Jesus Christ, my sure defense
And my Savior, now is living!
Knowing this, my confidence
Rests upon the hope here given,
Though the night of death be fraught
Still with many_an anxious thought.
2 Jesus, my Redeemer, lives;
Likewise I to life shall waken.
He will bring me where He is;
Shall my courage then be shaken?
Shall I fear, or could the Head
Rise and leave His members dead?
3 No, too closely I am bound
By my hope to Christ forever;
Faith’s strong hand the Rock has found,
Grasped it, and will leave it never;
Even death now cannot part
From its Lord the trusting heart.
4 I am flesh and must return
To the dust, whence I am taken;
But by faith I now discern
That from death I shall awaken
With my Savior to abide
In His glory, at His side.
5 Glorified, I shall anew
With this flesh then be enshrouded;
In this body I shall view
God, my Lord, with eyes unclouded;
In this flesh I then shall see
Jesus Christ eternally.
6 Then take comfort and rejoice,
For His members Christ will cherish.
Fear not, they will hear His voice;
Dying, they will never perish;
For the very grave is stirred
When the trumpet’s blast is heard.
7 Laugh to scorn the gloomy grave
And at death no longer tremble;
He, the Lord, who came to save
Will at last His own assemble.
They will go their Lord to meet,
Treading death beneath their feet.
8 O, then, draw away your hearts
From all pleasures base and hollow;
Strive to share what He imparts
While you here His footsteps follow.
As you now still wait to rise,
Fix your hearts beyond the skies!
Text: Otto von Schwerin, 1616–79; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
632 “O Jesus, Blessed Lord, to Thee”
1 O Jesus, blessèd Lord, to Thee
My heartfelt thanks forever be,
Who hast so lovingly bestowed
On me Thy body and Thy blood.
2 Break forth, my soul, for joy and say:
What wealth is come to me this day!
My Savior dwells within my heart:
How blessed am I! How good Thou art!
Text: Thomas Hansen Kingo, 1634–1703; tr. Arthur J. Mason, 1851–1928
Text: Public domain
Stand
Post-Communion Canticle: “Thank the Lord”
Post-Communion Collect
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Benediction
Closing Hymn: 537 “Beautiful Savior”
1 Beautiful Savior,
King of creation,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I’d love Thee,
Truly I’d serve Thee,
Light of my soul, my joy, my crown.
2 Fair are the meadows,
Fair are the woodlands,
Robed in flow’rs of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer,
Jesus is purer,
He makes our sorr’wing spirit sing.
3 Fair is the sunshine,
Fair is the moonlight,
Bright the sparkling stars on high;
Jesus shines brighter,
Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels in the sky.
4 Beautiful Savior,
Lord of the nations,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor,
Praise, adoration
Now and forevermore be Thine!
Text: Münsterisch Gesangbuch, 1677, Münster; tr. Joseph A. Seiss, 1823–1904
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting One 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing House.
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost – November 19, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Mark Klein
Lay Reader Randy Peeters
Acolyte Kathy McCarthy
Organist Karen Broach
Communion Preparation Sonja Helley
Ushers Wayne Helley, Lynn Tallman,
Steve Broach (captain)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
PASTOR will record a Thanksgiving devotion this Wednesday at 5 p.m. Members are welcome to come and view the recording in person.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
+On Wednesday, November 29th, there will be a midweek service at 7 p.m., preceded by a soup supper at 6 p.m. Sign-up sheets for the four midweek services (11/29, 12/6, 12/13 and 12/20) are on the church bulletin board in the Fellowship Room.
+On Sunday, December 3rd, there will be a voters’ meeting for the purpose of electing officers for 2024 and approving the 2024 budget. This will be followed by a Christmas Dinner. Everything will be provided. See Barb Whitley if you would like to make a monetary contribution or if you have any questions. Thanks.
+On Sunday, December 10th at 2 p.m., we are privileged to have an encore performance of “Advent: Isaiah Proclamation” featuring Sam Williams and Fred Weber (our frequent organist). This will be a jazzy musical celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Sam and Fred will weave song, tap dance, piano, and storytelling to embody six Advent passages from the book of Isaiah. Come and bring along a friend or two! A free-will offering will be taken for the event.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
come into His presence with singing.
Psalm 100:2
The Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost
November 19, 2023
Prelude, Prayer, and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 804 “O Worship the King”
1 O worship the King,
all-glorious above.
O gratefully sing
His pow’r and His love;
Our shield and defender,
the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor
and girded with praise.
2 O tell of His might,
O sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light,
whose canopy space;
His chariots of wrath
the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is His path
on the wings of the storm.
3 This earth, with its store
of wonders untold,
Almighty, Thy pow’r
hath founded of old,
Established it fast
by a changeless decree,
And round it hath cast,
like a mantle, the sea.
4 Thy bountiful care
what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air,
it shines in the light,
It streams from the hills,
it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills
in the dew and the rain.
5 Frail children of dust
and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust,
nor find Thee to fail.
Thy mercies, how tender,
how firm to the end,
Our maker, defender,
redeemer, and friend!
6 O measureless Might,
ineffable Love,
While angels delight
to hymn Thee above,
Thy humbler creation,
though feeble their lays,
With true adoration
shall sing to Thy praise.
Text: Robert Grant, 1779–1838, alt.
Text: Public domain
Please stand if able
L O Lord, open my lips,
C and my mouth will declare Your praise.
L Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
C make haste to help me, O Lord.
C Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Praise to You, O Christ. Alleluia.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C O come, let us worship Him.
Venite (sung)
C O come, let us sing to the Lord,
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving,
let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise.
For the Lord is a great God
and a great king above all gods.
The deep places of the earth are in His hand;
the strength of the hills is His also.
The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hand formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our maker.
For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C O come, let us worship Him.
Sit
Reading Zephaniah 1:7–16
L A reading from Zephaniah, chapter 1.
7Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is near;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and consecrated his guests.
8And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice--
“I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
and all who array themselves in foreign attire.
9On that day I will punish
everyone who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master’s house
with violence and fraud.
10“On that day,” declares the Lord,
“a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
11Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traders are no more;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
who are complacent,
those who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do ill.’
13Their goods shall be plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them.”
14The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
the mighty man cries aloud there.
15A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Reading 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11
L A reading from 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5.
1Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Reading Matthew 25:14–30
L A reading from Matthew, chapter 25.
14[Jesus said:] “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed and gather where I scattered no seed? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Responsory
L Forever, O Lord, Your Word is firmly set in the heavens.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 508 “The Day Is Surely Drawing Near”
1 The day is surely drawing near
When Jesus, God’s anointed,
In all His power shall appear
As judge whom God appointed.
Then fright shall banish idle mirth,
And flames on flames shall ravage earth
As Scripture long has warned us.
2 The final trumpet then shall sound
And all the earth be shaken,
And all who rest beneath the ground
Shall from their sleep awaken.
But all who live will in that hour,
By God’s almighty, boundless pow’r,
Be changed at His commanding.
3 The books are opened then to all,
A record truly telling
What each has done, both great and small,
When he on earth was dwelling,
And ev’ry heart be clearly seen,
And all be known as they have been
In thoughts and words and actions.
4 Then woe to those who scorned the Lord
And sought but carnal pleasures,
Who here despised His precious Word
And loved their earthly treasures!
With shame and trembling they will stand
And at the judge’s stern command
To Satan be delivered.
5 My Savior paid the debt I owe
And for my sin was smitten;
Within the Book of Life I know
My name has now been written.
I will not doubt, for I am free,
And Satan cannot threaten me;
There is no condemnation!
6 May Christ our intercessor be
And through His blood and merit
Read from His book that we are free
With all who life inherit.
Then we shall see Him face to face,
With all His saints in that blest place
Which He has purchased for us.
7 O Jesus Christ, do not delay,
But hasten our salvation;
We often tremble on our way
In fear and tribulation.
O hear and grant our fervent plea:
Come, mighty judge, and set us free
From death and ev’ry evil.
Text: Bartholomäus Ringwaldt, 1532–99; tr. Philip A. Peter, 1832–1919, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “Using God’s Varied Gifts” Matthew 25:14-30
Using God’s Varied Gifts – Matthew 25:14-30
The Gospel readings for last week, today, and next week are all part of the private instruction that Jesus gave to His disciples on the Mount of Olives just a few days before He died on the cross. Last week, we heard the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. Next week, we will hear about the sheep and the goats. Today, we hear the parable of the talents. Jesus used each of these readings to help us learn what we need to know about the Last Day … the Day of Judgment … the day when each of us must appear before the Lord and give an account.
Today’s parable tells of a man who left on a long trip and returned at a later time. While he was away, he entrusted his wealth to three servants. When he returned, he called these servants before him to give an account of what they had done with his wealth.
The man in the parable represents Jesus who was about to leave on that long trip. In a few days, He would be hanging from a cross and paying for the sins of all humanity. After He paid for all our sins, He would rise from the dead and then ascend into heaven. The parable in the Gospel illustrates our lives during this time of waiting for Him to return. It also illustrates the judgment that will come to each of us at the end of our time on this earth.
Note that the man entrusts his wealth to servants. He does not entrust his wealth to two servants and a stranger. The fact that he entrusts his wealth to servants indicates that Jesus is talking about people who consider themselves members of a congregation. Even as Judas was still a member of Jesus’ congregation, so also we need to understand that not all who claim membership are really members. As Jesus said, [Matthew 7:21] “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Just as not all three servants were faithful, Jesus teaches that not all members are faithful.
Now, it would be very easy to get hung up on the amounts: the five, two, and one talent that the man gave to each of his servants. Instead, when we understand that even one talent is a lot of money, we can realize that the man put each of his servants in charge of a fortune … even one talent is worth millions of dollars. The stewardship this man entrusted to his servants was huge.
The first part of this parable illustrates the incredible wealth God gives to us. He has created us and the entire world. The different amounts indicate that God gives a unique set of gifts to each person. He gives these gifts so that each of us can care for himself and for others. Most importantly, He has given Jesus who earned salvation with His suffering and death on the cross. That salvation is not just for a few, but the salvation Jesus earned is for the entire world. It is as Jesus said, [Matthew 5:45b] “[Our Father in Heaven] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” God’s gifts to us are beyond anything we could measure or even imagine and He gives those gifts to all people.
We need to understand that the wealth in the parable is symbolic. There are many ways God’s gifts can be a blessing to us. Just as God gives out different gifts, so also there are different returns when we invest those gifts. On occasion, the Lord may bless with a financial return. Most of the time, the return is more valuable than mere earthly wealth.
As the parable continued, two of the servants put their stewardship to work. They invested and made a return. The third servant dug a hole and buried the entire talent. He hid his master’s money.
Jesus told this parable along with other parables to illustrate the final judgment on the Last Day. On the Last Day, some will stand before the Lord and rejoice like the two faithful servants. They will praise the Lord for the things they were able to do because of the Lord’s gifts. Others will stand in terror. Some of those who stand in terror will have their names on the rolls of the local congregation.
When we entered the world all of us were like the servant who stood before the master in terror. It is as David says, [Psalm 51:5] “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” The Apostle Paul writes, [Ephesians 2:1] “You were dead in the trespasses and sins,” and again, [Romans 8:7] “The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.”
By nature, we, like the unfaithful servant, imagine a master who is not generous, loving, and kind. Our imagination prevents us from seeing the true master who pours out generous salvation and all the other gifts without calculation or measurement. We imagine the master to be “a hard man, reaping where [he] did not sow, and gathering where [he] scattered no seed.” This belief causes fear instead of joy. It paralyzes us so that the gifts of God terrify us and we despise them.
Fortunately, the Father of all mercy and grace has sent His Son Jesus Christ, who atoned for the sin of the whole world, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. God does NOT desire our terror. Instead, He loves us with the Holy, precious blood of His Son poured out in innocent suffering and death on a cross. Jesus brought into this world a love that was priceless, a love that would not balk at the cost of sin, a love that would suffer death and eternal damnation so that the debt of all humanity would be paid and every sin would be forgiven before God. God offers this love to us with a generosity that Jesus described as [Luke 6:38] good measure, pressed down, shaken together, [and] running over.
When the Holy Spirit creates faith in us, He brings this generous love and forgiveness to us. The terror is gone. Instead, we become like the two faithful servants who rejoiced in the presence of their master. Like the two faithful servants, we will rejoice in the presence of the master as we celebrate the return we will have made with the wealth the master gives to us. We will hear those wonderful words, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”
The terrified servant heard different words, “You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
This parable shows that there are two judgments on the Last Day: the joy of the master and the outer darkness. The other readings for this day also inform us of the terror of the Day of the Lord. The Old Testament reading speaks of wailing, punishment, plundering, waste, bitterness, ruin, devastation, darkness and gloom. The epistle speaks of destruction and the labor pains of childbirth. These readings make it very clear that there will be a very real day of judgment, and that day will terrify many. It will even terrify some who claim membership in a local congregation.
At the same time, there are some who look forward to that day with joy. These are the ones whom God has brought into His household of salvation. By God’s grace they celebrate and confess the gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation that God has given to them.
God’s love for us delights in the different gifts He gives to each of us. He rejoices in the various ways he has created us for service. As Paul writes to the saints in Corinth, [1 Corinthians 12:17] “If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?”
Our service to God does not earn us a place in his kingdom. God has freely given us that in Christ. Instead, God gives us a variety of gifts at the same time that He gives us our place in God’s kingdom. Those who rejoice in the coming Day of the Lord will readily use these gifts to confess their faith to their friends and acquaintances. Who knows but that the Holy Spirit may use your confession to bring salvation to another so that they too will one day hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” Amen
Canticle: 941 “We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God”
1 We praise You and acknowledge You, O God, to be the Lord,
The Father everlasting, by all the earth adored.
To You all angel powers cry aloud, the heavens sing,
The cherubim and seraphim their praises to You bring:
“O holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth;
Your majesty and glory fill the heavens and the earth!”
2 The band of the apostles in glory sing Your praise;
The fellowship of prophets their deathless voices raise.
The martyrs of Your kingdom, a great and noble throng,
Sing with the holy Church throughout all the world this song:
“O all-majestic Father, Your true and only Son,
And Holy Spirit, Comforter—forever Three in One!”
3 You, Christ, are King of glory, the everlasting Son,
Yet You, with boundless love, sought to rescue ev’ryone:
You laid aside Your glory, were born of virgin’s womb,
Were crucified for us and were placed into a tomb;
Then by Your resurrection You won for us reprieve--
You opened heaven’s kingdom to all who would believe.
4 You sit in splendid glory, enthroned at God’s right hand,
Upholding earth and heaven by forces You command.
We know that You will come as our Judge that final day,
So help Your servants You have redeemed by blood, we pray;
May we with saints be numbered where praises never end,
In glory everlasting. Amen, O Lord, amen!
Text: Stephen P. Starke, 1955
Text: © 1999 Stephen P. Starke, admin. Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church - Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost - 19 November 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Lord God, enter not into judgment with Your servants, for no one living is righteous before You. Have mercy on those haunted by guilt and shame, and faithfully convince them of Your grace and holiness for them in Christ Jesus. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Teach us to do Your will, for You are our God. Strengthen pastors to meditate on all You have done and proclaim Your Word in its truth and purity, that Your good Spirit may lead us on level ground, holy and righteous before You. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father in heaven, You have made us children of the light and of the day. Bless our homes, especially parents as they teach their children Your ways, that Your people may walk as those armored in faith, love and salvation. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Holy God, a nation that despises You will be as a sacrifice to others, for it has rejected You as its strength and shield. Grant repentance in our land, that our laws may be just, our transactions honest and our love for others fervent. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, give ear to our pleas on behalf of the afflicted [including _____________]. For Your name’s sake, preserve their life and grant them healing according to Your will. In Your righteousness, strengthen their faith through all trials and bring their souls out of trouble. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Holy God, You have not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord, Jesus Christ. Until the day of His coming in glory, grant that we may welcome Him at the altar, even as we are welcomed to Him, receiving His body and blood for our forgiveness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of life, Your Son died for us so that, whether awake or asleep, we might live with Him. Receive our thanks for Your kindness to all who have died in the faith. Comfort those who mourn with the consolation that all who die in Christ live with Him forever. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of grace, preserve us from the temptation to consider You a hard and unmerciful master. Keep us mindful that You give us every good thing in abundance, most of all a place in Your household; for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Kyrie
C Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy.
Stand
Celebration of Holy Communion
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy
Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Communion Liturgy
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
C For His mercy endures forever.
Words of Institution
Lord’s Prayer
C 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
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C And also with you.
Sit
Communion Distribution and Hymns:
639 “Wide Open Stand the Gates”
1 Wide open stand the gates adorned with pearl,
While round God’s golden throne
The choirs of saints in endless circles curl,
And joyous praise the Son!
They watch Him now descending
To visit waiting earth.
The Lord of Life unending
Brings dying hope new birth!
2 He speaks the Word the bread and wine to bless:
“This is My flesh and blood!”
He bids us eat and drink with thankfulness
This gift of holy food.
All human thought must falter--
Our God stoops low to heal,
Now present on the altar,
For us both host and meal!
3 The cherubim, their faces veiled from light,
While saints in wonder kneel,
Sing praise to Him whose face with glory bright
No earthly masks conceal.
This sacrament God gives us
Binds us in unity,
Joins earth with heav’n beyond us,
Time with eternity!
Text: J. K. Wilhelm Loehe, 1808–72; tr. Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr., 1923–2007
Text: © 2002 GIA Publications, Inc. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
532 “The Head That Once Was Crowned with Thorns”
1 The Head that once was crowned with thorns
Is crowned with glory now;
A royal diadem adorns
The mighty Victor’s brow.
2 The highest place that heav’n affords
Is His, is His by right,
The King of kings and Lord of lords,
And heav’n’s eternal Light;
3 The Joy of all who dwell above,
The Joy of all below
To whom He manifests His love
And grants His name to know.
4 To them the cross, with all its shame,
With all its grace, is giv’n;
Their name an everlasting name,
Their joy the joy of heav’n.
5 They suffer with their Lord below,
They reign with Him above,
Their profit and their joy to know
The myst’ry of His love.
6 The cross He bore is life and health,
Though shame and death to Him:
His people’s hope, His people’s wealth,
Their everlasting theme.
Text: Thomas Kelly, 1769–1855
Text: Public domain
Stand
Collects
L O Lord, hear my prayer.
C And let my cry come to You.
Collect of the Day
L Almighty and ever-living God, You have given exceedingly great and precious promises to those who trust in You. Dispel from us the works of darkness and grant us to live in the light of Your Son, Jesus Christ, that our faith may never be found wanting; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Collect for Grace
L O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, You have safely brought us to the beginning of this day. Defend us in the same with Your mighty power and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger, but that all our doings, being ordered by Your governance, may be righteous in Your sight; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benedicamus
L Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Benediction
P The grace of our Lord T Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C Amen.
Closing Hymn: 784 “Take My Life and Let It Be”
1 Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
2 Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
3 Take my voice and let me sing
Always, only for my King;
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.
4 Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect and use
Ev’ry pow’r as Thou shalt choose,
Ev’ry pow’r as Thou shalt choose.
5 Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine;
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
6 Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store;
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for Thee.
Text: Frances R. Havergal, 1836–79
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Matins 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost – November 19, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Mark Klein
Lay Reader Randy Peeters
Acolyte Kathy McCarthy
Organist Karen Broach
Communion Preparation Sonja Helley
Ushers Wayne Helley, Lynn Tallman,
Steve Broach (captain)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
PASTOR will record a Thanksgiving devotion this Wednesday at 5 p.m. Members are welcome to come and view the recording in person.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
+On Wednesday, November 29th, there will be a midweek service at 7 p.m., preceded by a soup supper at 6 p.m. Sign-up sheets for the four midweek services (11/29, 12/6, 12/13 and 12/20) are on the church bulletin board in the Fellowship Room.
+On Sunday, December 3rd, there will be a voters’ meeting for the purpose of electing officers for 2024 and approving the 2024 budget. This will be followed by a Christmas Dinner. Everything will be provided. See Barb Whitley if you would like to make a monetary contribution or if you have any questions. Thanks.
+On Sunday, December 10th at 2 p.m., we are privileged to have an encore performance of “Advent: Isaiah Proclamation” featuring Sam Williams and Fred Weber (our frequent organist). This will be a jazzy musical celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Sam and Fred will weave song, tap dance, piano, and storytelling to embody six Advent passages from the book of Isaiah. Come and bring along a friend or two! A free-will offering will be taken for the event.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
come into His presence with singing.
Psalm 100:2
The Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost
November 19, 2023
Prelude, Prayer, and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 804 “O Worship the King”
1 O worship the King,
all-glorious above.
O gratefully sing
His pow’r and His love;
Our shield and defender,
the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor
and girded with praise.
2 O tell of His might,
O sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light,
whose canopy space;
His chariots of wrath
the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is His path
on the wings of the storm.
3 This earth, with its store
of wonders untold,
Almighty, Thy pow’r
hath founded of old,
Established it fast
by a changeless decree,
And round it hath cast,
like a mantle, the sea.
4 Thy bountiful care
what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air,
it shines in the light,
It streams from the hills,
it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills
in the dew and the rain.
5 Frail children of dust
and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust,
nor find Thee to fail.
Thy mercies, how tender,
how firm to the end,
Our maker, defender,
redeemer, and friend!
6 O measureless Might,
ineffable Love,
While angels delight
to hymn Thee above,
Thy humbler creation,
though feeble their lays,
With true adoration
shall sing to Thy praise.
Text: Robert Grant, 1779–1838, alt.
Text: Public domain
Please stand if able
L O Lord, open my lips,
C and my mouth will declare Your praise.
L Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
C make haste to help me, O Lord.
C Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Praise to You, O Christ. Alleluia.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C O come, let us worship Him.
Venite (sung)
C O come, let us sing to the Lord,
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving,
let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise.
For the Lord is a great God
and a great king above all gods.
The deep places of the earth are in His hand;
the strength of the hills is His also.
The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hand formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our maker.
For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C O come, let us worship Him.
Sit
Reading Zephaniah 1:7–16
L A reading from Zephaniah, chapter 1.
7Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is near;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and consecrated his guests.
8And on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice--
“I will punish the officials and the king’s sons
and all who array themselves in foreign attire.
9On that day I will punish
everyone who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master’s house
with violence and fraud.
10“On that day,” declares the Lord,
“a cry will be heard from the Fish Gate,
a wail from the Second Quarter,
a loud crash from the hills.
11Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar!
For all the traders are no more;
all who weigh out silver are cut off.
12At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps,
and I will punish the men
who are complacent,
those who say in their hearts,
‘The Lord will not do good,
nor will he do ill.’
13Their goods shall be plundered,
and their houses laid waste.
Though they build houses,
they shall not inhabit them;
though they plant vineyards,
they shall not drink wine from them.”
14The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter;
the mighty man cries aloud there.
15A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Reading 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11
L A reading from 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5.
1Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Reading Matthew 25:14–30
L A reading from Matthew, chapter 25.
14[Jesus said:] “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed and gather where I scattered no seed? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Responsory
L Forever, O Lord, Your Word is firmly set in the heavens.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 508 “The Day Is Surely Drawing Near”
1 The day is surely drawing near
When Jesus, God’s anointed,
In all His power shall appear
As judge whom God appointed.
Then fright shall banish idle mirth,
And flames on flames shall ravage earth
As Scripture long has warned us.
2 The final trumpet then shall sound
And all the earth be shaken,
And all who rest beneath the ground
Shall from their sleep awaken.
But all who live will in that hour,
By God’s almighty, boundless pow’r,
Be changed at His commanding.
3 The books are opened then to all,
A record truly telling
What each has done, both great and small,
When he on earth was dwelling,
And ev’ry heart be clearly seen,
And all be known as they have been
In thoughts and words and actions.
4 Then woe to those who scorned the Lord
And sought but carnal pleasures,
Who here despised His precious Word
And loved their earthly treasures!
With shame and trembling they will stand
And at the judge’s stern command
To Satan be delivered.
5 My Savior paid the debt I owe
And for my sin was smitten;
Within the Book of Life I know
My name has now been written.
I will not doubt, for I am free,
And Satan cannot threaten me;
There is no condemnation!
6 May Christ our intercessor be
And through His blood and merit
Read from His book that we are free
With all who life inherit.
Then we shall see Him face to face,
With all His saints in that blest place
Which He has purchased for us.
7 O Jesus Christ, do not delay,
But hasten our salvation;
We often tremble on our way
In fear and tribulation.
O hear and grant our fervent plea:
Come, mighty judge, and set us free
From death and ev’ry evil.
Text: Bartholomäus Ringwaldt, 1532–99; tr. Philip A. Peter, 1832–1919, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “Using God’s Varied Gifts” Matthew 25:14-30
Using God’s Varied Gifts – Matthew 25:14-30
The Gospel readings for last week, today, and next week are all part of the private instruction that Jesus gave to His disciples on the Mount of Olives just a few days before He died on the cross. Last week, we heard the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. Next week, we will hear about the sheep and the goats. Today, we hear the parable of the talents. Jesus used each of these readings to help us learn what we need to know about the Last Day … the Day of Judgment … the day when each of us must appear before the Lord and give an account.
Today’s parable tells of a man who left on a long trip and returned at a later time. While he was away, he entrusted his wealth to three servants. When he returned, he called these servants before him to give an account of what they had done with his wealth.
The man in the parable represents Jesus who was about to leave on that long trip. In a few days, He would be hanging from a cross and paying for the sins of all humanity. After He paid for all our sins, He would rise from the dead and then ascend into heaven. The parable in the Gospel illustrates our lives during this time of waiting for Him to return. It also illustrates the judgment that will come to each of us at the end of our time on this earth.
Note that the man entrusts his wealth to servants. He does not entrust his wealth to two servants and a stranger. The fact that he entrusts his wealth to servants indicates that Jesus is talking about people who consider themselves members of a congregation. Even as Judas was still a member of Jesus’ congregation, so also we need to understand that not all who claim membership are really members. As Jesus said, [Matthew 7:21] “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Just as not all three servants were faithful, Jesus teaches that not all members are faithful.
Now, it would be very easy to get hung up on the amounts: the five, two, and one talent that the man gave to each of his servants. Instead, when we understand that even one talent is a lot of money, we can realize that the man put each of his servants in charge of a fortune … even one talent is worth millions of dollars. The stewardship this man entrusted to his servants was huge.
The first part of this parable illustrates the incredible wealth God gives to us. He has created us and the entire world. The different amounts indicate that God gives a unique set of gifts to each person. He gives these gifts so that each of us can care for himself and for others. Most importantly, He has given Jesus who earned salvation with His suffering and death on the cross. That salvation is not just for a few, but the salvation Jesus earned is for the entire world. It is as Jesus said, [Matthew 5:45b] “[Our Father in Heaven] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” God’s gifts to us are beyond anything we could measure or even imagine and He gives those gifts to all people.
We need to understand that the wealth in the parable is symbolic. There are many ways God’s gifts can be a blessing to us. Just as God gives out different gifts, so also there are different returns when we invest those gifts. On occasion, the Lord may bless with a financial return. Most of the time, the return is more valuable than mere earthly wealth.
As the parable continued, two of the servants put their stewardship to work. They invested and made a return. The third servant dug a hole and buried the entire talent. He hid his master’s money.
Jesus told this parable along with other parables to illustrate the final judgment on the Last Day. On the Last Day, some will stand before the Lord and rejoice like the two faithful servants. They will praise the Lord for the things they were able to do because of the Lord’s gifts. Others will stand in terror. Some of those who stand in terror will have their names on the rolls of the local congregation.
When we entered the world all of us were like the servant who stood before the master in terror. It is as David says, [Psalm 51:5] “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” The Apostle Paul writes, [Ephesians 2:1] “You were dead in the trespasses and sins,” and again, [Romans 8:7] “The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.”
By nature, we, like the unfaithful servant, imagine a master who is not generous, loving, and kind. Our imagination prevents us from seeing the true master who pours out generous salvation and all the other gifts without calculation or measurement. We imagine the master to be “a hard man, reaping where [he] did not sow, and gathering where [he] scattered no seed.” This belief causes fear instead of joy. It paralyzes us so that the gifts of God terrify us and we despise them.
Fortunately, the Father of all mercy and grace has sent His Son Jesus Christ, who atoned for the sin of the whole world, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. God does NOT desire our terror. Instead, He loves us with the Holy, precious blood of His Son poured out in innocent suffering and death on a cross. Jesus brought into this world a love that was priceless, a love that would not balk at the cost of sin, a love that would suffer death and eternal damnation so that the debt of all humanity would be paid and every sin would be forgiven before God. God offers this love to us with a generosity that Jesus described as [Luke 6:38] good measure, pressed down, shaken together, [and] running over.
When the Holy Spirit creates faith in us, He brings this generous love and forgiveness to us. The terror is gone. Instead, we become like the two faithful servants who rejoiced in the presence of their master. Like the two faithful servants, we will rejoice in the presence of the master as we celebrate the return we will have made with the wealth the master gives to us. We will hear those wonderful words, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”
The terrified servant heard different words, “You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
This parable shows that there are two judgments on the Last Day: the joy of the master and the outer darkness. The other readings for this day also inform us of the terror of the Day of the Lord. The Old Testament reading speaks of wailing, punishment, plundering, waste, bitterness, ruin, devastation, darkness and gloom. The epistle speaks of destruction and the labor pains of childbirth. These readings make it very clear that there will be a very real day of judgment, and that day will terrify many. It will even terrify some who claim membership in a local congregation.
At the same time, there are some who look forward to that day with joy. These are the ones whom God has brought into His household of salvation. By God’s grace they celebrate and confess the gift of forgiveness, life, and salvation that God has given to them.
God’s love for us delights in the different gifts He gives to each of us. He rejoices in the various ways he has created us for service. As Paul writes to the saints in Corinth, [1 Corinthians 12:17] “If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?”
Our service to God does not earn us a place in his kingdom. God has freely given us that in Christ. Instead, God gives us a variety of gifts at the same time that He gives us our place in God’s kingdom. Those who rejoice in the coming Day of the Lord will readily use these gifts to confess their faith to their friends and acquaintances. Who knows but that the Holy Spirit may use your confession to bring salvation to another so that they too will one day hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” Amen
Canticle: 941 “We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God”
1 We praise You and acknowledge You, O God, to be the Lord,
The Father everlasting, by all the earth adored.
To You all angel powers cry aloud, the heavens sing,
The cherubim and seraphim their praises to You bring:
“O holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth;
Your majesty and glory fill the heavens and the earth!”
2 The band of the apostles in glory sing Your praise;
The fellowship of prophets their deathless voices raise.
The martyrs of Your kingdom, a great and noble throng,
Sing with the holy Church throughout all the world this song:
“O all-majestic Father, Your true and only Son,
And Holy Spirit, Comforter—forever Three in One!”
3 You, Christ, are King of glory, the everlasting Son,
Yet You, with boundless love, sought to rescue ev’ryone:
You laid aside Your glory, were born of virgin’s womb,
Were crucified for us and were placed into a tomb;
Then by Your resurrection You won for us reprieve--
You opened heaven’s kingdom to all who would believe.
4 You sit in splendid glory, enthroned at God’s right hand,
Upholding earth and heaven by forces You command.
We know that You will come as our Judge that final day,
So help Your servants You have redeemed by blood, we pray;
May we with saints be numbered where praises never end,
In glory everlasting. Amen, O Lord, amen!
Text: Stephen P. Starke, 1955
Text: © 1999 Stephen P. Starke, admin. Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church - Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost - 19 November 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Lord God, enter not into judgment with Your servants, for no one living is righteous before You. Have mercy on those haunted by guilt and shame, and faithfully convince them of Your grace and holiness for them in Christ Jesus. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Teach us to do Your will, for You are our God. Strengthen pastors to meditate on all You have done and proclaim Your Word in its truth and purity, that Your good Spirit may lead us on level ground, holy and righteous before You. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father in heaven, You have made us children of the light and of the day. Bless our homes, especially parents as they teach their children Your ways, that Your people may walk as those armored in faith, love and salvation. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Holy God, a nation that despises You will be as a sacrifice to others, for it has rejected You as its strength and shield. Grant repentance in our land, that our laws may be just, our transactions honest and our love for others fervent. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, give ear to our pleas on behalf of the afflicted [including _____________]. For Your name’s sake, preserve their life and grant them healing according to Your will. In Your righteousness, strengthen their faith through all trials and bring their souls out of trouble. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Holy God, You have not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord, Jesus Christ. Until the day of His coming in glory, grant that we may welcome Him at the altar, even as we are welcomed to Him, receiving His body and blood for our forgiveness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of life, Your Son died for us so that, whether awake or asleep, we might live with Him. Receive our thanks for Your kindness to all who have died in the faith. Comfort those who mourn with the consolation that all who die in Christ live with Him forever. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of grace, preserve us from the temptation to consider You a hard and unmerciful master. Keep us mindful that You give us every good thing in abundance, most of all a place in Your household; for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Kyrie
C Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy.
Stand
Celebration of Holy Communion
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy
Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Communion Liturgy
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
C For His mercy endures forever.
Words of Institution
Lord’s Prayer
C 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
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C And also with you.
Sit
Communion Distribution and Hymns:
639 “Wide Open Stand the Gates”
1 Wide open stand the gates adorned with pearl,
While round God’s golden throne
The choirs of saints in endless circles curl,
And joyous praise the Son!
They watch Him now descending
To visit waiting earth.
The Lord of Life unending
Brings dying hope new birth!
2 He speaks the Word the bread and wine to bless:
“This is My flesh and blood!”
He bids us eat and drink with thankfulness
This gift of holy food.
All human thought must falter--
Our God stoops low to heal,
Now present on the altar,
For us both host and meal!
3 The cherubim, their faces veiled from light,
While saints in wonder kneel,
Sing praise to Him whose face with glory bright
No earthly masks conceal.
This sacrament God gives us
Binds us in unity,
Joins earth with heav’n beyond us,
Time with eternity!
Text: J. K. Wilhelm Loehe, 1808–72; tr. Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr., 1923–2007
Text: © 2002 GIA Publications, Inc. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
532 “The Head That Once Was Crowned with Thorns”
1 The Head that once was crowned with thorns
Is crowned with glory now;
A royal diadem adorns
The mighty Victor’s brow.
2 The highest place that heav’n affords
Is His, is His by right,
The King of kings and Lord of lords,
And heav’n’s eternal Light;
3 The Joy of all who dwell above,
The Joy of all below
To whom He manifests His love
And grants His name to know.
4 To them the cross, with all its shame,
With all its grace, is giv’n;
Their name an everlasting name,
Their joy the joy of heav’n.
5 They suffer with their Lord below,
They reign with Him above,
Their profit and their joy to know
The myst’ry of His love.
6 The cross He bore is life and health,
Though shame and death to Him:
His people’s hope, His people’s wealth,
Their everlasting theme.
Text: Thomas Kelly, 1769–1855
Text: Public domain
Stand
Collects
L O Lord, hear my prayer.
C And let my cry come to You.
Collect of the Day
L Almighty and ever-living God, You have given exceedingly great and precious promises to those who trust in You. Dispel from us the works of darkness and grant us to live in the light of Your Son, Jesus Christ, that our faith may never be found wanting; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Collect for Grace
L O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, You have safely brought us to the beginning of this day. Defend us in the same with Your mighty power and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger, but that all our doings, being ordered by Your governance, may be righteous in Your sight; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benedicamus
L Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Benediction
P The grace of our Lord T Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C Amen.
Closing Hymn: 784 “Take My Life and Let It Be”
1 Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
2 Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
3 Take my voice and let me sing
Always, only for my King;
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.
4 Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect and use
Ev’ry pow’r as Thou shalt choose,
Ev’ry pow’r as Thou shalt choose.
5 Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine;
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
6 Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store;
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for Thee.
Text: Frances R. Havergal, 1836–79
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Matins 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost – November 12, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Gil McMillan
Acolyte Gena Dillon
Organist Fred Weber
Communion Preparation Pam Trocha
Ushers Wayne Helley, Lynn Tallman,
Steve Broach (captain)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THE CHURCH COUNCIL will meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
+On Sunday, December 3rd, there will be a voters’ meeting for the purpose of electing officers for 2024 and approving the 2024 budget. This will be followed by a Christmas Potluck.
+On Sunday, December 10th at 2 p.m., we are privileged to have an encore performance of “Advent: Isaiah Proclamation” featuring Sam Williams and Fred Weber (our frequent organist). This will be a jazzy musical celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Sam and Fred will weave song, tap dance, piano, and storytelling to embody six Advent passages from the book of Isaiah. Come and bring along a friend or two! A free-will offering will be taken for the event.
+Reservations need to be made now for the annual Church Camping Trip which will be October 10th-13th, 2024 at the Coloma Resort. The length of the stay would be from Thursday until Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. This includes a visit to the annual “Gold Discovery Days” re-enactment at Marshall Gold Discovery Site. A sign-up sheet is posted on the church bulletin board. See Randy Peeters for details.
+++
The LORD is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
Psalm 27:1
The Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
November 12, 2023
Prelude, Prayer, and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 814 “O Bless the Lord, My Soul”
1 O bless the Lord, my soul!
Let all within me join
And aid my tongue to bless His name
Whose favors are divine.
2 O bless the Lord, my soul,
Nor let His mercies lie
Forgotten in unthankfulness
And without praises die!
3 ’Tis He forgives thy sins;
’Tis He relieves thy pain;
’Tis He that heals thy sicknesses
And makes thee young again.
4 He crowns thy life with love
When ransomed from the grave;
He that redeemed my soul from hell
Hath sov’reign pow’r to save.
5 He fills the poor with good;
He gives the suff’rers rest.
The Lord hath judgments for the proud
And justice for th’oppressed.
6 His wondrous works and ways
He made by Moses known,
But sent the world His truth and grace
By His belovèd Son.
Text: Isaac Watts, 1674–1748
Text: Public domain
Please stand if able
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 84:3, 1, 9–12
P Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed! For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts,
blessèd is the one who trusts in you!
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P Lord God, heavenly Father, send forth Your Son to lead home His bride, the Church, that with all the company of the redeemed we may finally enter into His eternal wedding feast; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Amos 5:18–24
18Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why would you have the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, and not light,
19as if a man fled from a lion,
and a bear met him,
or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,
and a serpent bit him.
20Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?
21“I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
I will not look upon them.
23Take away from me the noise of your songs;
to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
24But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm (sung) Psalm 70
1Make haste, O God, to de- | liver me!*
O Lord, make haste to | help me!
2Let them be put to shame and confusion
who | seek my life!*
Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor
who de- | sire my hurt!
3Let them turn back because | of their shame*
who say, “A- | ha, Aha!”
4May all who seek you
rejoice and be | glad in you!*
May those who love your salvation
say evermore, | “God is great!”
5But I am poor and needy;
hasten to me, | O God!*
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do | not delay!
Epistle 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18
13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia
Holy Gospel Matthew 25:1–13
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-fifth chapter.
1[Jesus said:] “The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 516 “Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying”
1 “Wake, awake, for night is flying,”
The watchmen on the heights are crying;
“Awake, Jerusalem, arise!”
Midnight hears the welcome voices
And at the thrilling cry rejoices:
“Oh, where are ye, ye virgins wise?
The Bridegroom comes, awake!
Your lamps with gladness take!
Alleluia!
With bridal care
Yourselves prepare
To meet the Bridegroom, who is near.”
2 Zion hears the watchmen singing,
And all her heart with joy is springing;
She wakes, she rises from her gloom.
For her Lord comes down all-glorious,
The strong in grace, in truth victorious;
Her star is ris’n, her light is come.
Now come, Thou Blessèd One,
Lord Jesus, God’s own Son,
Hail! Hosanna!
We enter all
The wedding hall
To eat the Supper at Thy call.
3 Now let all the heav’ns adore Thee,
Let saints and angels sing before Thee
With harp and cymbals’ clearest tone.
Of one pearl each shining portal,
Where, joining with the choir immortal,
We gather round Thy radiant throne.
No eye has seen the light,
No ear has heard the might
Of Thy glory;
Therefore will we
Eternally
Sing hymns of praise and joy to Thee!
Text: tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.; Philipp Nicolai, 1556–1608
Text: Public domain
Sermon “Called by the Gospel” Matthew 25:1-13
Called by the Gospel – Matthew 25:1-13
Back in October, we joined Jesus as He taught in the temple just a few days before He died on the cross. Two weeks ago, we broke away from the temple as we celebrated the 506th anniversary of Luther posting the 95 Theses. Last week, we observed the Feast of All Saints. Today, we return to the teachings of Jesus on that day.
The teaching we just heard happened later in the day. Jesus finished His debates with the Pharisees, the Herodians, and the Sadducees. Then He condemned their hypocrisy. Finally, He and His disciples left the temple. As the disciples looked at the temple, they remarked on its majesty and beauty. Jesus used their remarks to warn them about the future destruction of Jerusalem. When they returned to their camp on the Mount of Olives, Jesus continued to teach about the end of Jerusalem, the end of life, and the end of time. The Gospel we heard this morning is one of the parables He used to illustrate the end.
Earlier in the day, when Jesus was still in the temple, He compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a royal wedding banquet. In today's Gospel, we heard Him use the more common community wedding celebration as the background for His parable. Since we are talking about peasant farmers, the customs were not as lavish as the royal wedding. Still, there are differences between wedding customs back then and the wedding customs of our culture. I've shared some of these differences with you in the past, but a quick review won't hurt.
Marriages in first century Jewish culture began with two ceremonies. One ceremony began a time called the betrothal. The second came when the groom and the bride began living together as husband and wife.
During the betrothal ceremony, the groom and the bride officially became husband and wife, but they did not begin living together. Instead, they began a time of preparation. The husband built and decorated a home for his bride. The wife gathered together the things she needed to set up housekeeping with her groom. This period of betrothal could last more than a year.
After everything was ready, there would be a second ceremony and a great community celebration as the groom and the bride began to live together as husband and wife. The ceremony began at the groom's home. He would send out a messenger to let the bride know that everything was ready. Then, he would call together his family and friends and form a procession. The procession would then proceed to the bride's home celebrating along the way. If the groom and the bride lived in the same town, this procession would be over quickly. On the other hand, if they lived in different towns, the procession could be quite an adventure.
Travel was not as reliable back then as it is today. There were no planes, trains, or automobiles. While the groom and a few others might ride an animal or use a cart, most of the procession went on foot. They might encounter obstacles on the way. There was no telling when they might arrive at the bride's house. It could be at any time of the day or night.
In the meantime, the messenger would arrive at the bride's home. He would let the family know that the groom was on his way. Soon all the neighbors would help the bride get ready to travel. The anticipation would build. Everything would be ready and waiting.
Ordinarily, the watchmen on the walls would be looking for danger approaching the city, but now they had the joyful duty of watching for the groom. Day and night, they would scan the horizon looking for his procession. Eventually, the shout would go up, "The groom is here!" Then the bride's family and friends would join the procession.
Now the process is reversed. Once the groom arrived and the bride was ready, the entire community would accompany them in grand procession to their new home. There they would celebrate the beginning of this new family for about a week. No one in the community would miss it.
This is the culture into which Jesus told the parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins. All ten women were part of the community who wished to celebrate the beginning of a new family. At first, all ten of them were ready for the arrival of the groom. But then, Jesus said that the groom was delayed. As I said earlier, travel was unpredictable, and delays were the rule rather than the exception.
The delay separated the wise from the foolish. The wise were prepared. They had extra oil. The foolish ran out. The wise virgins joined the community in grand procession to the new home and the wedding feast. The foolish were not ready and so they missed out.
Jesus gave many warnings on that day. Earlier in the day, back at the temple, He had warned about the wicked tenants who killed, not only the servants, but even the son of the landowner. He warned of the wedding guest who refused to wear the clothing provided by the king. He warned of an evil son who promised to work in the vineyard, but did not. These parables illustrate the warning. God offered His gift of salvation and the people who should have known better rejected it.
The psalmist says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." (Psalm 111:10) He also says, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" (Psalm 53:1) Within the parable, the wise were those who took the simple precaution of extra fuel for their lamps. The fools were those who thought the fuel in their lamp would last long enough.
In real life, the wise are those who fear the Lord. They examine their lives in light of the Ten Commandments and find themselves lacking. The serious nature of their sin terrifies them. They know that they do not have enough in themselves to work their own salvation. They know that their only hope for salvation must come from elsewhere. It must come from God.
The fools believe that they are sufficient to themselves. Salvation lies within. Self-esteem, confidence, positive thinking--these are the things that bring salvation. These are all things that we can produce in ourselves. We need nothing extra. We need nothing outside of ourselves. A little bit of self-improvement, a little bit of elbow-grease, that's all it takes. We can pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. We can be winners.
Even those who follow false religions still rely on themselves. The Buddhist must walk the eight-fold path and follow the middle way. The Moslem must keep the five pillars. The Baal worshipers of the Old Testament drew their own blood to get the attention of their false god. Even when you believe in a false god, that god gives you things to do to earn salvation. Your salvation still depends on you. You are still acting foolishly.
The wise one believes in the God who “loved the world by giving his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) The wise believes in the God who earns salvation Himself and then gives it freely. The wise one has salvation that does not come from within. Instead, the wise one has salvation that comes from God in the person of Jesus Christ.
The writer to the Hebrews reminds us of reality. “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) At the time of death, the wise one trusts the God who took on humanity and died on the cross. The wise one knows that the God who died also rose from the dead and lives forever. The promise of that God is certain. The wise one is ready.
The fool suddenly becomes wise when death strikes, but by then it is too late. The fool suddenly realizes he has nothing. At death, the fool learns who the true God is, but by then the door is closed. There is no entry to eternal life. The fool is lost forever.
What about you? When you do a good work, does it flow out of confidence in and thankfulness for your salvation? Does it flow out of love for your neighbor? OR does a little part of you think that God is a little more kindly disposed toward you because of your good deeds?
The wise one rests in God. God sends the Holy Spirit to fill us with the Gospel: the Gospel that we hear the wet Gospel of Holy Baptism; the Gospel consumed in the body and blood of Jesus. It is by these Means of Grace that God keeps us ready. It is by the Means of Grace that we are like the wise virgins who had the oil they needed.
The devil, the world, and even our own sinful flesh use us up and empty us out. If we rely on the flame within, we rely on nothing. Instead, the Holy Spirit calls us by the Gospel, enlightens us with His gifts, sanctifies and keeps us in the true faith. In this way, He supplies us with all we need for eternal life. We are like those who were ready [and] went in with [the groom] to the marriage feast. (Matthew 25:10) Amen
Offertory
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church - Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost - 12 November 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Lord, You are our help and deliverer. We bring to You the prayers and petitions of Your people, that You may grant us all things needful and guard us against all things harmful. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, preserve Your people from believing that You are pleased with us because of our works or ceremonies. Grant that what we do in worship and prayer may proclaim salvation in Christ Jesus alone. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord God, You bestow favor and honor and withhold nothing from those who walk uprightly. Bless parents and those who teach children Your ways, that generations to come would love Your promises, walk in Your truth and dwell in Your house. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Righteous God, You despise corruption and command justice. Embolden our rulers and all in authority to enact and defend measures that preserve peace and provide justice for all. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, show mercy to those who cry aloud as they await Your Son’s coming in glory [including _____________]. Answer them with strength and healing, comfort and hope. Make them confident in Christ, who will raise His people on the Last Day. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, Your Son will descend from heaven with a cry of command, raise those who have fallen asleep and deliver us to Your kingdom of glory. Until that day, strengthen us by His body and blood and prepare us for His coming in glory. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Gracious Lord, grant that we may not grieve as those who have no hope but rejoice and encourage each other in the promise of the resurrection to life everlasting. [Especially strengthen and comfort the families of _____________.] Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of our salvation, we know neither the day nor the hour of Christ’s return, but we know that He has died and is risen again to open the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Until that day, preserve us in faith and guard us from temptation. Do not let us be caught unprepared for His coming. Let us live our days in loving service and joyful expectation of the life of the world to come; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P It is truly meet, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who on this day overcame death and the grave and by His glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Lord’s Prayer
C 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.
The Words of Our Lord / Words of Institution
Pax Domini
Agnus Dei
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
663 “Rise, My Soul, to Watch and Pray”
1 Rise, my soul, to watch and pray;
From your sleep awaken!
Be not by the evil day
Unawares o’ertaken;
For the foe,
Well we know,
Is a harvest reaping
While the saints are sleeping.
2 Watch against the devil’s snares
Lest asleep he find you;
For indeed no pains he spares
To deceive and blind you.
Satan’s prey
Oft are they
Who secure are sleeping
And no watch are keeping.
3 Watch! Let not the wicked world
With its lies defeat you
Lest with bold deceptions hurled
It betray and cheat you.
Watch and see
Lest there be
Faithless friends to charm you,
Who but seek to harm you.
4 Watch against yourself, my soul,
Lest with grace you trifle;
Let not self your thoughts control
Nor God’s mercy stifle.
Pride and sin
Lurk within,
All your hopes to shatter;
Heed not when they flatter.
5 But while watching, also pray
To the Lord unceasing.
God protects you day by day,
Strength and faith increasing,
So that still
Mind and will
Shall unite to serve Him
And forever love Him.
Text: Johann Burkhard Freystein, 1671–1718; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
621 “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”
1 Let all mortal flesh keep silence
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly-minded,
For with blessing in His hand
Christ our God to earth descending
Comes our homage to demand.
2 King of kings yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords in human vesture,
In the body and the blood,
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heav’nly food.
3 Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way
As the Light of Light, descending
From the realms of endless day,
Comes the pow’rs of hell to vanquish
As the darkness clears away.
4 At His feet the six-winged seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
“Alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia, Lord Most High!”
Text: Liturgy of St. James, 5th cent.; tr. Gerard Moultrie, 1829–85, alt.
Text: Public domain
Stand
Nunc Dimittis
Thanksgiving
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Benedicamus
Benediction
Closing Hymn: 515 “Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers”
1 Rejoice, rejoice, believers,
And let your lights appear;
The evening is advancing,
And darker night is near.
The Bridegroom is arising
And soon is drawing nigh.
Up, pray and watch and wrestle;
At midnight comes the cry.
2 The watchers on the mountain
Proclaim the Bridegroom near;
Go forth as He approaches
With alleluias clear.
The marriage feast is waiting;
The gates wide open stand.
Arise, O heirs of glory;
The Bridegroom is at hand.
3 The saints, who here in patience
Their cross and suff’rings bore,
Shall live and reign forever
When sorrow is no more.
Around the throne of glory
The Lamb they shall behold;
In triumph cast before Him
Their diadems of gold.
4 Our hope and expectation,
O Jesus, now appear;
Arise, O Sun so longed for,
O’er this benighted sphere.
With hearts and hands uplifted,
We plead, O Lord, to see
The day of earth’s redemption
That sets Your people free!
Text: Laurentius Laurenti, 1660–1722; tr. Sarah B. Findlater, 1823–1907, alt.
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting Three 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost – November 12, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Gil McMillan
Acolyte Gena Dillon
Organist Fred Weber
Communion Preparation Pam Trocha
Ushers Wayne Helley, Lynn Tallman,
Steve Broach (captain)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THE CHURCH COUNCIL will meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
+On Sunday, December 3rd, there will be a voters’ meeting for the purpose of electing officers for 2024 and approving the 2024 budget. This will be followed by a Christmas Potluck.
+On Sunday, December 10th at 2 p.m., we are privileged to have an encore performance of “Advent: Isaiah Proclamation” featuring Sam Williams and Fred Weber (our frequent organist). This will be a jazzy musical celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Sam and Fred will weave song, tap dance, piano, and storytelling to embody six Advent passages from the book of Isaiah. Come and bring along a friend or two! A free-will offering will be taken for the event.
+Reservations need to be made now for the annual Church Camping Trip which will be October 10th-13th, 2024 at the Coloma Resort. The length of the stay would be from Thursday until Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. This includes a visit to the annual “Gold Discovery Days” re-enactment at Marshall Gold Discovery Site. A sign-up sheet is posted on the church bulletin board. See Randy Peeters for details.
+++
The LORD is my light and my salvation.
Whom shall I fear?
Psalm 27:1
The Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
November 12, 2023
Prelude, Prayer, and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 814 “O Bless the Lord, My Soul”
1 O bless the Lord, my soul!
Let all within me join
And aid my tongue to bless His name
Whose favors are divine.
2 O bless the Lord, my soul,
Nor let His mercies lie
Forgotten in unthankfulness
And without praises die!
3 ’Tis He forgives thy sins;
’Tis He relieves thy pain;
’Tis He that heals thy sicknesses
And makes thee young again.
4 He crowns thy life with love
When ransomed from the grave;
He that redeemed my soul from hell
Hath sov’reign pow’r to save.
5 He fills the poor with good;
He gives the suff’rers rest.
The Lord hath judgments for the proud
And justice for th’oppressed.
6 His wondrous works and ways
He made by Moses known,
But sent the world His truth and grace
By His belovèd Son.
Text: Isaac Watts, 1674–1748
Text: Public domain
Please stand if able
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 84:3, 1, 9–12
P Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed! For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts,
blessèd is the one who trusts in you!
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P Lord God, heavenly Father, send forth Your Son to lead home His bride, the Church, that with all the company of the redeemed we may finally enter into His eternal wedding feast; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Amos 5:18–24
18Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why would you have the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, and not light,
19as if a man fled from a lion,
and a bear met him,
or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,
and a serpent bit him.
20Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?
21“I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
I will not look upon them.
23Take away from me the noise of your songs;
to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
24But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm (sung) Psalm 70
1Make haste, O God, to de- | liver me!*
O Lord, make haste to | help me!
2Let them be put to shame and confusion
who | seek my life!*
Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor
who de- | sire my hurt!
3Let them turn back because | of their shame*
who say, “A- | ha, Aha!”
4May all who seek you
rejoice and be | glad in you!*
May those who love your salvation
say evermore, | “God is great!”
5But I am poor and needy;
hasten to me, | O God!*
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do | not delay!
Epistle 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18
13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia
Holy Gospel Matthew 25:1–13
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-fifth chapter.
1[Jesus said:] “The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 516 “Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying”
1 “Wake, awake, for night is flying,”
The watchmen on the heights are crying;
“Awake, Jerusalem, arise!”
Midnight hears the welcome voices
And at the thrilling cry rejoices:
“Oh, where are ye, ye virgins wise?
The Bridegroom comes, awake!
Your lamps with gladness take!
Alleluia!
With bridal care
Yourselves prepare
To meet the Bridegroom, who is near.”
2 Zion hears the watchmen singing,
And all her heart with joy is springing;
She wakes, she rises from her gloom.
For her Lord comes down all-glorious,
The strong in grace, in truth victorious;
Her star is ris’n, her light is come.
Now come, Thou Blessèd One,
Lord Jesus, God’s own Son,
Hail! Hosanna!
We enter all
The wedding hall
To eat the Supper at Thy call.
3 Now let all the heav’ns adore Thee,
Let saints and angels sing before Thee
With harp and cymbals’ clearest tone.
Of one pearl each shining portal,
Where, joining with the choir immortal,
We gather round Thy radiant throne.
No eye has seen the light,
No ear has heard the might
Of Thy glory;
Therefore will we
Eternally
Sing hymns of praise and joy to Thee!
Text: tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.; Philipp Nicolai, 1556–1608
Text: Public domain
Sermon “Called by the Gospel” Matthew 25:1-13
Called by the Gospel – Matthew 25:1-13
Back in October, we joined Jesus as He taught in the temple just a few days before He died on the cross. Two weeks ago, we broke away from the temple as we celebrated the 506th anniversary of Luther posting the 95 Theses. Last week, we observed the Feast of All Saints. Today, we return to the teachings of Jesus on that day.
The teaching we just heard happened later in the day. Jesus finished His debates with the Pharisees, the Herodians, and the Sadducees. Then He condemned their hypocrisy. Finally, He and His disciples left the temple. As the disciples looked at the temple, they remarked on its majesty and beauty. Jesus used their remarks to warn them about the future destruction of Jerusalem. When they returned to their camp on the Mount of Olives, Jesus continued to teach about the end of Jerusalem, the end of life, and the end of time. The Gospel we heard this morning is one of the parables He used to illustrate the end.
Earlier in the day, when Jesus was still in the temple, He compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a royal wedding banquet. In today's Gospel, we heard Him use the more common community wedding celebration as the background for His parable. Since we are talking about peasant farmers, the customs were not as lavish as the royal wedding. Still, there are differences between wedding customs back then and the wedding customs of our culture. I've shared some of these differences with you in the past, but a quick review won't hurt.
Marriages in first century Jewish culture began with two ceremonies. One ceremony began a time called the betrothal. The second came when the groom and the bride began living together as husband and wife.
During the betrothal ceremony, the groom and the bride officially became husband and wife, but they did not begin living together. Instead, they began a time of preparation. The husband built and decorated a home for his bride. The wife gathered together the things she needed to set up housekeeping with her groom. This period of betrothal could last more than a year.
After everything was ready, there would be a second ceremony and a great community celebration as the groom and the bride began to live together as husband and wife. The ceremony began at the groom's home. He would send out a messenger to let the bride know that everything was ready. Then, he would call together his family and friends and form a procession. The procession would then proceed to the bride's home celebrating along the way. If the groom and the bride lived in the same town, this procession would be over quickly. On the other hand, if they lived in different towns, the procession could be quite an adventure.
Travel was not as reliable back then as it is today. There were no planes, trains, or automobiles. While the groom and a few others might ride an animal or use a cart, most of the procession went on foot. They might encounter obstacles on the way. There was no telling when they might arrive at the bride's house. It could be at any time of the day or night.
In the meantime, the messenger would arrive at the bride's home. He would let the family know that the groom was on his way. Soon all the neighbors would help the bride get ready to travel. The anticipation would build. Everything would be ready and waiting.
Ordinarily, the watchmen on the walls would be looking for danger approaching the city, but now they had the joyful duty of watching for the groom. Day and night, they would scan the horizon looking for his procession. Eventually, the shout would go up, "The groom is here!" Then the bride's family and friends would join the procession.
Now the process is reversed. Once the groom arrived and the bride was ready, the entire community would accompany them in grand procession to their new home. There they would celebrate the beginning of this new family for about a week. No one in the community would miss it.
This is the culture into which Jesus told the parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins. All ten women were part of the community who wished to celebrate the beginning of a new family. At first, all ten of them were ready for the arrival of the groom. But then, Jesus said that the groom was delayed. As I said earlier, travel was unpredictable, and delays were the rule rather than the exception.
The delay separated the wise from the foolish. The wise were prepared. They had extra oil. The foolish ran out. The wise virgins joined the community in grand procession to the new home and the wedding feast. The foolish were not ready and so they missed out.
Jesus gave many warnings on that day. Earlier in the day, back at the temple, He had warned about the wicked tenants who killed, not only the servants, but even the son of the landowner. He warned of the wedding guest who refused to wear the clothing provided by the king. He warned of an evil son who promised to work in the vineyard, but did not. These parables illustrate the warning. God offered His gift of salvation and the people who should have known better rejected it.
The psalmist says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." (Psalm 111:10) He also says, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" (Psalm 53:1) Within the parable, the wise were those who took the simple precaution of extra fuel for their lamps. The fools were those who thought the fuel in their lamp would last long enough.
In real life, the wise are those who fear the Lord. They examine their lives in light of the Ten Commandments and find themselves lacking. The serious nature of their sin terrifies them. They know that they do not have enough in themselves to work their own salvation. They know that their only hope for salvation must come from elsewhere. It must come from God.
The fools believe that they are sufficient to themselves. Salvation lies within. Self-esteem, confidence, positive thinking--these are the things that bring salvation. These are all things that we can produce in ourselves. We need nothing extra. We need nothing outside of ourselves. A little bit of self-improvement, a little bit of elbow-grease, that's all it takes. We can pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. We can be winners.
Even those who follow false religions still rely on themselves. The Buddhist must walk the eight-fold path and follow the middle way. The Moslem must keep the five pillars. The Baal worshipers of the Old Testament drew their own blood to get the attention of their false god. Even when you believe in a false god, that god gives you things to do to earn salvation. Your salvation still depends on you. You are still acting foolishly.
The wise one believes in the God who “loved the world by giving his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) The wise believes in the God who earns salvation Himself and then gives it freely. The wise one has salvation that does not come from within. Instead, the wise one has salvation that comes from God in the person of Jesus Christ.
The writer to the Hebrews reminds us of reality. “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” (Hebrews 9:27) At the time of death, the wise one trusts the God who took on humanity and died on the cross. The wise one knows that the God who died also rose from the dead and lives forever. The promise of that God is certain. The wise one is ready.
The fool suddenly becomes wise when death strikes, but by then it is too late. The fool suddenly realizes he has nothing. At death, the fool learns who the true God is, but by then the door is closed. There is no entry to eternal life. The fool is lost forever.
What about you? When you do a good work, does it flow out of confidence in and thankfulness for your salvation? Does it flow out of love for your neighbor? OR does a little part of you think that God is a little more kindly disposed toward you because of your good deeds?
The wise one rests in God. God sends the Holy Spirit to fill us with the Gospel: the Gospel that we hear the wet Gospel of Holy Baptism; the Gospel consumed in the body and blood of Jesus. It is by these Means of Grace that God keeps us ready. It is by the Means of Grace that we are like the wise virgins who had the oil they needed.
The devil, the world, and even our own sinful flesh use us up and empty us out. If we rely on the flame within, we rely on nothing. Instead, the Holy Spirit calls us by the Gospel, enlightens us with His gifts, sanctifies and keeps us in the true faith. In this way, He supplies us with all we need for eternal life. We are like those who were ready [and] went in with [the groom] to the marriage feast. (Matthew 25:10) Amen
Offertory
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church - Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost - 12 November 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Lord, You are our help and deliverer. We bring to You the prayers and petitions of Your people, that You may grant us all things needful and guard us against all things harmful. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, preserve Your people from believing that You are pleased with us because of our works or ceremonies. Grant that what we do in worship and prayer may proclaim salvation in Christ Jesus alone. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord God, You bestow favor and honor and withhold nothing from those who walk uprightly. Bless parents and those who teach children Your ways, that generations to come would love Your promises, walk in Your truth and dwell in Your house. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Righteous God, You despise corruption and command justice. Embolden our rulers and all in authority to enact and defend measures that preserve peace and provide justice for all. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, show mercy to those who cry aloud as they await Your Son’s coming in glory [including _____________]. Answer them with strength and healing, comfort and hope. Make them confident in Christ, who will raise His people on the Last Day. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, Your Son will descend from heaven with a cry of command, raise those who have fallen asleep and deliver us to Your kingdom of glory. Until that day, strengthen us by His body and blood and prepare us for His coming in glory. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Gracious Lord, grant that we may not grieve as those who have no hope but rejoice and encourage each other in the promise of the resurrection to life everlasting. [Especially strengthen and comfort the families of _____________.] Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of our salvation, we know neither the day nor the hour of Christ’s return, but we know that He has died and is risen again to open the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Until that day, preserve us in faith and guard us from temptation. Do not let us be caught unprepared for His coming. Let us live our days in loving service and joyful expectation of the life of the world to come; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P It is truly meet, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who on this day overcame death and the grave and by His glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Lord’s Prayer
C 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.
The Words of Our Lord / Words of Institution
Pax Domini
Agnus Dei
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
663 “Rise, My Soul, to Watch and Pray”
1 Rise, my soul, to watch and pray;
From your sleep awaken!
Be not by the evil day
Unawares o’ertaken;
For the foe,
Well we know,
Is a harvest reaping
While the saints are sleeping.
2 Watch against the devil’s snares
Lest asleep he find you;
For indeed no pains he spares
To deceive and blind you.
Satan’s prey
Oft are they
Who secure are sleeping
And no watch are keeping.
3 Watch! Let not the wicked world
With its lies defeat you
Lest with bold deceptions hurled
It betray and cheat you.
Watch and see
Lest there be
Faithless friends to charm you,
Who but seek to harm you.
4 Watch against yourself, my soul,
Lest with grace you trifle;
Let not self your thoughts control
Nor God’s mercy stifle.
Pride and sin
Lurk within,
All your hopes to shatter;
Heed not when they flatter.
5 But while watching, also pray
To the Lord unceasing.
God protects you day by day,
Strength and faith increasing,
So that still
Mind and will
Shall unite to serve Him
And forever love Him.
Text: Johann Burkhard Freystein, 1671–1718; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
621 “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”
1 Let all mortal flesh keep silence
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly-minded,
For with blessing in His hand
Christ our God to earth descending
Comes our homage to demand.
2 King of kings yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords in human vesture,
In the body and the blood,
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heav’nly food.
3 Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way
As the Light of Light, descending
From the realms of endless day,
Comes the pow’rs of hell to vanquish
As the darkness clears away.
4 At His feet the six-winged seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
“Alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia, Lord Most High!”
Text: Liturgy of St. James, 5th cent.; tr. Gerard Moultrie, 1829–85, alt.
Text: Public domain
Stand
Nunc Dimittis
Thanksgiving
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Benedicamus
Benediction
Closing Hymn: 515 “Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers”
1 Rejoice, rejoice, believers,
And let your lights appear;
The evening is advancing,
And darker night is near.
The Bridegroom is arising
And soon is drawing nigh.
Up, pray and watch and wrestle;
At midnight comes the cry.
2 The watchers on the mountain
Proclaim the Bridegroom near;
Go forth as He approaches
With alleluias clear.
The marriage feast is waiting;
The gates wide open stand.
Arise, O heirs of glory;
The Bridegroom is at hand.
3 The saints, who here in patience
Their cross and suff’rings bore,
Shall live and reign forever
When sorrow is no more.
Around the throne of glory
The Lamb they shall behold;
In triumph cast before Him
Their diadems of gold.
4 Our hope and expectation,
O Jesus, now appear;
Arise, O Sun so longed for,
O’er this benighted sphere.
With hearts and hands uplifted,
We plead, O Lord, to see
The day of earth’s redemption
That sets Your people free!
Text: Laurentius Laurenti, 1660–1722; tr. Sarah B. Findlater, 1823–1907, alt.
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting Three 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
All Saints’ Day (Observed) – November 5, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Gil McMillan
Acolyte Becca Potts
Organist Fred Weber
Communion Preparation Becca Potts
Ushers Wayne Helley, Lynn Tallman,
Steve Broach (captain)
WE REMEMBER THOSE SAINTS WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE US SINCE OUR LAST ALL SAINTS’ DAY OBSERVANCE:
Karen Taylor (11-19-22) Carol Kletke (11-29-22)
Dick Seiler (3-15-23) Gloria Rusch (5-21-23)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
A THOT TO PONDER:
“The Law gives way to the Gospel. There is another righteousness ‘apart from law,’ a righteousness freely given by God, not dependent on what we do or fail to do at all. We read that the righteousness of Jesus—so complete and compelling—is imputed to us. Conversely, our sins are imputed to Jesus, who took their punishment and bore the curse we deserve. When we are united to Christ in faith, our sins are covered by the blood Jesus shed on the cross; and when God looks for our good works, he sees the works of Jesus.” Gene Edward Veith in “Why God’s Word Is All We Need”
In Your presence
there is fullness of joy.
At Your right hand are pleasures
forevermore.
Psalm 16:1
All Saints’ Day (Observed)
November 5, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 815 “All Praise to Thee, for Thou, O King Divine”
1 All praise to Thee, for Thou, O King divine,
Didst yield the glory that of right was Thine,
That in our darkened hearts Thy grace might shine.
Alleluia!
2 Thou cam’st to us in lowliness of thought;
By Thee the outcast and the poor were sought;
And by Thy death was God’s salvation wrought.
Alleluia!
3 Let this mind be in us which was in Thee,
Who wast a servant that we might be free,
Humbling Thyself to death on Calvary.
Alleluia!
4 Wherefore, by God’s eternal purpose, Thou
Art high exalted o’er all creatures now,
And giv’n the name to which all knees shall bow.
Alleluia!
5 Let ev’ry tongue confess with one accord,
In heav’n and earth, that Jesus Christ is Lord,
And God the Father be by all adored.
Alleluia!
Text: F. Bland Tucker, 1895–1984
Text: © The Church Pension Fund. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Please stand if able
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
C But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.
P Since we are gathered to hear God’s Word, call upon Him in prayer and praise, and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fellowship of this altar, let us first consider our unworthiness and confess before God and one another that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, and that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition. Together as His people let us take refuge in the infinite mercy of God, our heavenly Father, seeking His grace for the sake of Christ, and saying:
C God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen.
P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Revelation 7:14b; Psalm 31:1, 3, 5
P These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me. For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me.
Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Let us pray.
Almighty and everlasting God, You knit together Your faithful people of all times and places into one holy communion, the mystical body of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Grant us so to follow Your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that, together with them, we may come to the unspeakable joys You have prepared for those who love You; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Sit
First Reading Revelation 7:9–17
9After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
13Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15“Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
16They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
17For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm (sung by all) Psalm 149
1Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a | new song,*
his praise in the assembly of the | godly!
2Let Israel be glad in his | Maker;*
let the children of Zion rejoice | in their King!
3Let them praise his name with | dancing,*
making melody to him with tambou- | rine and lyre!
4For the Lord takes pleasure in his | people;*
he adorns the humble with sal- | vation.
5Let the godly exult in | glory;*
let them sing for joy | on their beds.
6Let the high praises of God be | in their throats*
and two-edged swords | in their hands,
7to execute vengeance on the | nations*
and punishments on the | peoples,
8to bind their | kings with chains*
and their nobles with fet- | ters of iron,
9to execute on them the judgment | written!*
This is honor for all his godly ones. | Praise the Lord!
Epistle 1 John 3:1–3
1See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia and Verse
Holy Gospel Matthew 5:1–12
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the fifth chapter.
C Glory to You, O Lord.
1Seeing the crowds, [Jesus] went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C Praise to You, O Christ.
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 677 “For All the Saints” sts. 1-3
1 For all the saints who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
2 Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might;
Thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true light.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
3 Oh, may Thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Sermon “Blessings and Banes—Saints and Sinners” Rev. 7:9-17
Blessings and Banes—Saints and Sinners Matthew 5:1-12
We live in a world full of contrasts. Naturally, our language reflects this. Black and white, up and down, east and west, apples and oranges, hot and cold—these are just some of the expressions we use all the time to express differences and contrasts in our lives. It is this same idea of contrast that I find so interesting with the language in our Gospel lesson for this morning. You might be thinking: "Pastor…I don't think you're on the same page here. There are no contrasting statements in these Beatitudes." Let me know what you think after the sermon!
Before we go any farther, we need to start off by first explaining what these Beatitudes are and what they are not. Contrary to popular opinion, these are not rules and guidelines you need to follow in order to attain blessings from God. I say that because so often that's exactly how these are treated. "If I want the kingdom of heaven, I need to become poor in spirit. I need to be persecuted. If I want comfort, I need to mourn. If I want mercy, I need to be merciful." Here's the problem with this mentality: It puts the onus on you to first hold up your end of the bargain and do your part. After you've done your part, then God will bless you. I can't tell you how often I've seen people struggle in their faith because they're working hard to keep these Beatitudes and they're still not attaining blessings in their lives. "I do and I do and do, and I'm still getting hammered. The more I try and do, the more banes—not blessings—do I receive."
Here's something that will probably rattle your cage a bit: These Beatitudes aren't about you; at least, not primarily about you. That may be difficult to swallow for some of you because, let’s face it, everything is always about you. If you aren't happy, then no one is happy. These Beatitudes, first and foremost, are about Jesus. These Beatitudes—these statements of blessedness—are not prescriptions for us, but descriptions of Christ Jesus. Jesus has the perfect faith in His Father. He is pure in heart. He is totally poor in spirit, meaning that He brings nothing to the table except faith and trust in His Father alone. Jesus does mourn for the sinner in their sin. Almighty God Himself is meek and lowly. He doesn't force anyone to believe. He doesn't bully you into being faithful. He doesn't strike you down the moment you mess up. He is patient and merciful and long-suffering. He is the true peacemaker, and He is persecuted and reviled for doing it.
Contrast these Christological realities with your realities. And notice how I worded this. I didn't ask you to take a look around and determine how everyone else is falling short of these Christ-centered descriptions. I want you to take a look in the mirror and contrast yourself with these Christological realities. If we're honest—faithfully, repentantly honest—we know the truth…and it isn't pretty!
Perfect faith, poor in spirit, trusting in God above all things? Not me. I confess. Mourning and grieving over sin—my sin—the sin I commit against God and against my neighbor? Again, notice how I worded this. We're very good at mourning and grieving and warring over the sin somebody else commits. However, when it comes to our own sin, we rarely mourn and grieve, unless we get caught. We'll justify our sin. We'll defend our sin, calling it something other than sin, declaring it to be "okay" in this particular instance, but we rarely mourn and express grief over the fact that we have indeed committed sin; sin that caused Christ Jesus to give up heaven and die on a cross. Yes—that should grieve you! Jesus died because of you and your sin, and yet all too often we're too busy defending and justifying ourselves to let that sink in and take effect and bear abundant faithful fruit.
Meek and lowly, patient and long-suffering, a persecuted peacemaker? Let me tell you what true meekness and lowliness is all about. True meekness and lowliness takes up the cross and journeys on. True meekness and lowliness gets reviled and persecuted and spit at and beaten and cursed because of righteous, justifying faith…and takes it. Meek and lowly stands like a lamb, silent before the shearers. How about you? Meek and lowly…or a resounding gong and clanging cymbal?
And don't be fooled into thinking that you're going to make the Beatitude cut by playing the persecution card. Why are you feeling persecuted? Is it because of matters pertaining to faith and righteousness and justification, or is it because of matters pertaining to self? And here, again, meekness and lowliness comes into play. There are times when we are called to stand and fight. But what are we to stand and fight and defend? The faith! The purity of the doctrine of salvation through faith alone in God's grace alone because of Jesus Christ alone! The purity of "This is My body and blood. This is My baptism. All for the forgiveness of your sin." This is what we are to stand and fight and defend. This is what we vow on confirmation day (page 273 LSB). This is what I vowed on ordination day. We vow that we would rather suffer death than allow false doctrine to be taught and promulgated in our midst.
Sadly, this is where things often take a terrible twist. We become meek and lowly and impotent when it comes to defending orthodox doctrine and practice, but we'll stand and fight and war over such things as light fixtures, bylaws, plants, coffee cups, and the like. We'll get our way, or there will be hell to pay! And then we wonder why we're feeling so persecuted. Perhaps it's not the devil persecuting you in your own self-righteous war. Perhaps its God fighting against the sinful, non-theological things you're so mightily defending. Perhaps that persecuted feeling you are experiencing is the just and loving hand of God, pulling you back from the cliff you're blindly trying to steamroller yourself over.
Here's the reality with these Beatitudes—We can't do them in order to attain God's blessing. Like I said earlier, a good, honest look in the mirror reveals that we have all sinned and failed miserably when it comes to earning the blessings of God. But that's just it! We don't earn the blessings of God! We don't earn blessedness. We can't earn blessedness. Blessedness is not a goal we achieve. It's a condition we're found to be in. We're found to be blessed. Blessedness is a perspective thing. In faith, we are poor and lowly and persecuted and reviled and beat down. Man looks at us in our faith and calls us "cursed." He sees banes, not blessings in our lives. And yet…God looks at us in the midst of our faith; in the midst of all the banes of living in this fallen and sinful world, and sees blessedness. He finds us and declares us to be blessed. And why does He find us in the state of blessedness? Why does He declare us to be blessed? Because of Christ alone! Because we cling to Christ alone!
This is why I love this reading for All Saints Day. The very Lutheran doctrine of simul justus et peccator (at one and the same time a saint and a sinner) comes through loud and clear in this lesson of contrasts. We can look, as we did, at these descriptions of Christological blessedness and recognize the fact that Christ Jesus, and only Christ Jesus, fulfills these descriptions perfectly. And for this we rejoice. We give thanks for these Christ-centered realities because we know the truth that as prescriptions, we'd be doomed. We can't do them. Not even a little bit. We fail miserably in our sin.
And yet…on this day that celebrates and gives thanks to God for all the saints of His one, holy Christian Church, we can look at this same text and rejoice because we know that the saints of God have always and will always cling to Christ alone and therefore be found by Him to be in a state of true, everlasting blessedness and grace. The saints of God who've gone on before us and who make up the membership of the heavenly Church—the Church Triumphant—are there precisely because of this Christ-centered, Beatitudinal reality. They are members of the eternal Church Triumphant, not because they were good people who did all these good and saintly works, but because they were damned sinners who deserved nothing but present and eternal punishment, but who also clung to the grace and mercy of their heavenly Father; grace and mercy which He so lovingly bestowed upon them because Jesus Himself declared, "It is finished." The saints of God cling to these words. These words of justification were the basis and boundary for the lives of those dearly departed saints of God, even as they lived out their sinful lives in this sin-filled world. Did those saints do good works and wonderful things? Sure! But that's not why God called them saints. They didn't trust in those works or merits. Those good works were a result of their justification. The joy of their justification produced these fruits of faith. When it came down to it, they trusted in nothing but their justification in Christ alone, because of Christ alone. That's why they were (and are) saints of God.
And here's the thing that is so often forgotten on All Saints Day: We're saints too! All too often we think of the saints of God only in terms of those who died in the faith and have now gone home to heaven. My fellow redeemed: Look around you! You are surrounded by saints! You are surrounded by souls whom God has found to be in a state of blessedness. Why are they blessed? Because of faith, and faith alone in Christ alone. Now, does that faith produce good works and good fruits? Absolutely! That's only natural. Faith without works is dead. But take notice: The justified faith naturally produces good, sanctified fruits; not the other way around. Good works do not produce blessedness. In fact, as Scripture tells us, the good works we rely upon and present to God apart from the cross of Christ—the fruits that do not flow from the basis and boundary of justification, but rather flow from the depths of our own selfish, sinful natures—are viewed as nothing more than dirty, soiled rags; a dirty diaper.
May God bless you and keep you in the one, true saving faith; the faith that clings to the cross of Christ alone; the faith that is grounded in justification by God's grace alone because of Christ alone. My fellow saints and sinners: May God bless you and keep you continually grounded in your justification so that He may continually find you in the state and condition of saintly blessedness; blessedness that is known only through faith in Christ Jesus. May this Good News of your justification bring you peace that surpasses all human understanding, and may this same peace take root in your heart and bear abundant, faithful fruit in all that you say and do. May your confession of faith correspond to the fruits you bear. May there be no contrast. May you be, not a bane, but a blessing—God's justified and saintly blessing—to all those whom your Lord calls you to serve.
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church - All Saints’ Day - 1 November 2023 (observed 5 November 2023)
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
O Lord, faithful God, we commend ourselves, our bodies and souls, and all things into Your keeping. Deliver us in Your righteousness from all that would harm the body or assault the soul. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, send Your Spirit to the ministers of the Church who bring the Good News of Christ’s death and resurrection, that they may work through the preaching of this Gospel to gather the lost, kindle faith in those who do not yet believe and sustain us all to the day of Christ’s coming. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Gentle Lord, visit the homes of Your people, that they may be places where faith is nurtured and where we learn to live our new lives in holiness and righteousness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Blessed are You, O God, and blessed are the persecuted, who suffer for Your sake and whose witness calls all to faithfulness. Bring peace to the nations; make our leaders wise, just and honorable; and deliver us from terror, violence and oppression. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, comfort us by Your abiding presence and satisfy all who call on You in need [especially _____________]. Grant them patience in the midst of suffering and, according to Your will, release them from their afflictions. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, be with Your Church and all her members who belong to You by Baptism and faith. At the bidding of the Lamb, our Shepherd, give us ears to hear Your Word and faith to receive Him in His blessed Sacrament. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, grant that we may be brought to everlasting life with the faithful who have gone before us who now rest from their labors. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty Father, we give You thanks that You have washed us in the blood of the Lamb, written our names in the Book of Life, and made us a royal priesthood and heirs of an eternal inheritance. Though we are unworthy of Your saving grace, we pray You to hear us in the name of Jesus Christ, in whom, with whom and through whom all honor and glory is Yours, heavenly Father, with the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Offering Prayer
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, for the countless blessings You so freely bestow on us and all creation. Above all, we give thanks for Your boundless love shown to us when You sent Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into our flesh and laid on Him our sin, giving Him into death that we might not die eternally. Because He is now risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity, all who believe in Him will overcome sin and death and will rise again to new life. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Prayer of Thanksgiving
P Blessed are You, O Lord our God, king of all creation, for You have had mercy on us and given Your only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
By faith the saints of old held fast to Your promise of things hoped for though not yet seen, leaving an example and encouragement for us who walk now by faith and not by sight.
Grant that we may faithfully eat and drink this Holy Supper of Your Son’s body and blood and in the union of His mystical body, the Church, be joined in unending praise with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Moses, Elijah, and all the faithful prophets; the blessed apostles and evangelists, the holy martyrs, and all the saints in glory who fought the good fight of faith before us.
Hear us as we pray in His name and as He has taught us:
Lord’s Prayer
C 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.
The Words of Our Lord
P Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My T body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”
In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My T blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
Pax Domini
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C Amen.
Agnus Dei
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
821 “Alleluia! Sing to Jesus”
1 Alleluia! Sing to Jesus;
His the scepter, His the throne;
Alleluia! His the triumph,
His the victory alone.
Hark! The songs of peaceful Zion
Thunder like a mighty flood:
“Jesus out of ev’ry nation
Has redeemed us by His blood.”
2 Alleluia! Not as orphans
Are we left in sorrow now;
Alleluia! He is near us;
Faith believes, nor questions how.
Though the cloud from sight received Him
When the forty days were o’er,
Shall our hearts forget His promise:
“I am with you evermore”?
3 Alleluia! Bread of heaven,
Here on earth our food, our stay;
Alleluia! Here the sinful
Flee to You from day to day.
Intercessor, Friend of sinners,
Earth’s Redeemer, hear our plea
Where the songs of all the sinless
Sweep across the crystal sea.
4 Alleluia! King eternal,
Lord omnipotent we own;
Alleluia! Born of Mary,
Earth Your footstool, heav’n Your throne.
As within the veil You entered,
Robed in flesh, our great High Priest,
Here on earth both priest and victim
In the eucharistic feast.
5 Alleluia! Sing to Jesus;
His the scepter, His the throne;
Alleluia! His the triumph,
His the victory alone.
Hark! The songs of peaceful Zion
Thunder like a mighty flood:
“Jesus out of ev’ry nation
Has redeemed us by His blood.”
Text: William C. Dix, 1837–98, alt.
Text: Public domain
680 “Thine the Amen, Thine the Praise”
1 Thine the amen Thine the praise
Alleluias angels raise
Thine the everlasting head
Thine the breaking of the bread
Thine the glory Thine the story
Thine the harvest then the cup
Thine the vineyard then the cup is lifted up lifted up.
2 Thine the life eternally
Thine the promise let there be
Thine the vision Thine the tree
All the earth on bended knee
Gone the nailing gone the railing
Gone the pleading gone the cry
Gone the sighing gone the dying what was loss lifted high.
3 Thine the truly Thine the yes
Thine the table we the guest
Thine the mercy all from Thee
Thine the glory yet to be
Then the ringing and the singing
Then the end of all the war
Thine the living Thine the loving evermore evermore.
4 Thine the kingdom Thine the prize
Thine the wonder full surprise
Thine the banquet then the praise
Then the justice of Thy ways
Thine the glory Thine the story
Then the welcome to the least
Then the wonder all increasing at Thy feast at Thy feast.
5 Thine the glory in the night
No more dying only light
Thine the river Thine the tree
Then the Lamb eternally
Then the holy holy holy
Celebration jubilee
Thine the splendor Thine the brightness only Thee only Thee.
Text: Herbert F. Brokering, 1926–2009
Text: © 1983 Augsburg Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Stand
Nunc Dimittis
Post-Communion Collect
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benedicamus
A Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Benediction
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and T give you peace.
C Amen.
Closing Hymn: 677 “For All the Saints” sts. 4-8
4 Oh, blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
5 And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
6 The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors cometh rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blest.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
7 But, lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day:
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of Glory passes on His way.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
D 8 From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Text: William W. How, 1823–97, alt.
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
Reformation Day (Observed) – October 29, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Mark Klein
Lay Reader Sue Hullen
Acolyte Sue Hullen
Organist Allison Yee
Communion Preparation Kathy McCarthy
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley, Ted Smith,
Oroville Harshbarger (honorary)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
TRUNKS OF TREATS FALL FESTIVAL is scheduled for TOMORROW, Monday, October 30th from 5 – 7 p.m. It will be held in the upper parking lot and playground. Please speak with Barb Whitley for more information and if you would like to volunteer to help. Wrapped candy and/or money to help purchase Christian books are welcome.
WE FINALLY “FALL BACK” and end Daylight Saving Time at 2 a.m. next Sunday. Enjoy the extra hour!
Hang on! God will remain faithful. Don't despair. Cling to the truth the psalmist proclaims: "Wait with hope for the Lord. Be strong, and let your heart be courageous" (Psalm 27:14). The Lord won't extinguish a smoking wick but instead will make it glow brightly. He won't break the damaged cattail but instead will strengthen it (Isaiah 42:3)—Martin Luther.
In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song,
This Cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm;
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, When strivings cease,
My Comforter, My All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand!
MORNING SERVICE WITH HOLY COMMUNION
Reformation Day (Observed) – October 29, 2023
PRESERVICE MUSIC AND RINGING OF THE CHURCH BELL
OPENING HYMN 947, “All Glory Be to God on High”
INVOCATION, CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
P: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
ALL: Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Maker of all
things, Judge of all people, we admit and confess our sinful-
ness. We have turned away from you and from each other in
our thoughts, words, and actions. We do repent and are truly
sorry for our sins. Have mercy on us, kind Father, because of
the obedience of our Brother, Jesus Christ, your Son. Forgive
us all that is past, renew us with the power of the Holy Spirit,
and move us to faithful service in the kingdom of Jesus Christ
our Lord.
P: God has promised forgiveness of sins to those who repent and turn to
Him. May He keep you in His grace by the Holy Spirit, lead you to
greater faith and obedience, and bring you to live with Him forever,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
C: Amen.
KYRIE [sung to the tune of the hymn Amazing Grace]
Have mercy on Your people, Lord.
Have mercy, Christ our King.
Renew us by Your mercy, Lord;
Accept the prayers we bring.
HYMN OF PRAISE [tune – Hark the Herald Angels Sing]
“Glory be to God on high.” This is now our joyful cry.
Peace to all who live on earth, Grace and favor for new birth.
You we praise and glorify, Worship You, O Lord most high.
Gracious Father, heav’nly King, To Your name alone we sing:
Praise the glory of Your name, Now and evermore the same.
Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, Sole-begotten, Holy One,
Born on earth from realms on high, Born true man for us to die,
Lamb of God, You take away This world’s sin: Grant peace we pray.
With the Spirit, You alone Are most high, O God the Son,
And the Father, God above. Praise we now Your glorious love.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Sit
FIRST LESSON Revelation 14:6–7
6Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
EPISTLE LESSON Romans 3:19–28
19Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
21But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
27Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
GOSPEL LESSON John 8:31–36
31So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
34Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Sit
SERMON HYMN 656, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”
SERMON “The Reformation—It’s Still All About Jesus” various texts
The Reformation: It’s Still About Jesus! - Topical sermon
We gather here today to affirm on this 506th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation that what we do in the Church is still all about Jesus; that is, faithfully preaching and teaching the good news of Jesus Christ and standing for the teachings of God’s Word as they have been confessed in all times and all places wherever the Gospel is purely taught according to a pure understanding of it and where the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are administered according to Christ’s institution. With Martin Luther, we still say, “Here we stand, we cannot do otherwise. God help us. Amen.”
The Lutheran Reformation then (back in 1517), and today, is not about throwing away the past, but about retaining and preserving the very best of the Church’s rich history and teachings, while filtering out whatever covers and contradicts God’s Word and denies the good news of salvation by grace alone, though faith alone, on account of Christ alone.
The Lutherans never wanted to rebel against the Roman Church. They were, however, held captive by the force of the clear truth of God’s Word. Martin Luther refused to compromise that truth and was excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church, precisely because of his defense of the pure Gospel and truths of God’s Word.
Perhaps Christianity has never been explained more simply and eloquently than in the words Martin Luther wrote to explain the Apostles’ Creed. Here is his timeless explanation that is a superb summary of what the theology of the Reformation was all about then and is all about today:
I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true. [Luther’s explanation to the First Article of the Apostles’ Creed.]
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord. Who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true. [Luther’s explanation to the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed.]
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true. [Luther’s explanation to the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed.]
Our faith, all of it, is most certainly true. May freedom ring! As St. Paul stated, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!”
“A mighty fortress is our God, A trusty shield and weapon;
He helps us free from ev’ry need That hath us now o’ertaken.
The old evil foe, Now means deadly woe;
Deep guile and great might, Are his dread arms in fight;
On earth is not his equal.
With might of ours can naught be done, Soon were our loss effected;
“But for us fights the valiant One, Whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye, Who is this? Jesus Christ it is, Of Sabaoth Lord
And there’s none other God; He holds the field forever.”
Yes, it is still all about Jesus!
CREEDAL HYMN [tune – Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise]
In God we believe: the creator whose pow’r
In mercy has brought us for worship this hour.
He graciously grants us our years and our days
And blesses with kindness our work and our ways.
In Jesus, the Savior, our hope is secured,
True God and true man once the cross He endured,
To grant our lives wholeness, forgiveness of sin.
With hearts freed from guilt, we know true peace within.
God’s Spirit at work in our lives we confess;
With power and truth the Church now He does bless.
As saints, God’s forgiven, one day we shall then,
Be living in glory forever. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH/PRAYERS FOR HEALING
P: In our prayers we pray for the whole Church and the world, we lift
before God specific needs especially in our own parish, and we
remember and give thanks for the faithful departed….. Great God our
Healer, by Your power, the Lord Jesus healed the sick and gave hope
to the hopeless. In His name and for His sake,
C: look upon us with mercy and bless us with your healing Spirit.
P: Bring us comfort in the midst of pain, strength to transform our
weakness,
C: and light to illuminate our darkness.
P: Grant Your healing grace to all who are sick, injured, or disabled, that
they may be made whole; Lord in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Grant to all who are lonely, anxious, or despondent, the awareness of
Your presence; Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Mend broken relationships, and restore those in emotional distress to
soundness of mind and serenity of spirit; Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Bless physicians, nurses, and all others who minister to the suffering;
grant them wisdom and skill, sympathy and patience; Lord, in Your
mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Grant to the dying a peaceful, holy death, and with Your grace
strengthen those who mourn; Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Restore to wholeness whatever is broken in our lives, in this nation,
and in the world; Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Gracious God, in baptism You anointed us with the oil of salvation, and
joined us to the death and resurrection of Your Son. Bless all who seek
Your healing presence in their lives. In their suffering draw them more
deeply into the mystery of Your love, that following Christ in the way of
the cross they may know the power of His resurrection; who lives and
reigns forever and ever. Amen
Prayer of the Church--Reformation Day--31 October 2023 (observed 29 October 2023)
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Mighty Fortress, Rock of refuge, sustain Your Church. Deliver her from error and preserve in her the proclamation of Your Gospel, that it would resound to every nation, tribe, people and language and that all may fear and give You glory. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Mighty Fortress, Rock of refuge, bless all ministers of Your Word. Help them rightly to preach Your Law so that all are held accountable to You without excuse and joyfully proclaim Your Gospel, that all would know Jesus Christ as their Savior. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Mighty Fortress, Rock of refuge, look with compassion on all who are blind to the bondage of their sin. Open their eyes by the words of Jesus, and grant them the true freedom of sonship and a permanent place in Your household. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Mighty Fortress, Rock of refuge, make us truly Your disciples. Keep us in Your Word, free us from all errors, and make our homes and families peaceful. Preserve all fathers and encourage them for their godly task, that children would be brought up in the fear and instruction of the Lord. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Mighty Fortress, Rock of refuge, bless all civil authorities, especially our president; Congress; and all who make, administer and judge our laws. Protect them from the temptations that beset their offices, and grant them wisdom and courage to serve with integrity. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Mighty Fortress, Rock of refuge, be near to all who cry to You for healing of body and soul [especially _____________]. Grant them release from their afflictions according to Your will. Sustain their hope in the full and final healing that awaits them at the day of Christ’s appearing. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Mighty Fortress, Rock of refuge, bless all who come to the altar to partake of Christ’s own body and blood for the forgiveness of their sins. Grant them repentant hearts that seek to amend their lives, and by Your Spirit align them with Your will and purpose. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Mighty Fortress, Rock of refuge, we give You thanks for all Your servants who have departed this life in faith. We especially bless You today for the great reformers of Your Church who call us back to the Gospel and to the righteousness we have in Christ alone. Keep us in fellowship with them, and bring us at last to our heavenly home to see our Redeemer face to face; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
OFFERING PRAYER
Stand
PREPARATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Lift up your hearts.
C: We lift them to the Lord.
P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C: It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P: It is truly good, right, and salutary…..evermore praising You and saying:
SANCTUS [tune – Holy, Holy, Holy]
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty!
Day and night we join to praise Your love and majesty.
You alone are holy, worthy and righteous.
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty!
We rejoice to join the hymn of earth and sky and sea.
Generations praise You, with saints and angels,
Holy and bless’d through all eternity.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
LORD’S PRAYER
AGNUS DEI [tune – My Faith Looks Up to Thee]
O Lamb of God, we pray: Take all our sins away,
Our faith increase. Have mercy on us all,
Strengthen us when we fall,
Answer our fervent call And grant us peace.
Sit
DISTRIBUTION OF HOLY COMMUNION and
THE OPTIONAL RITE OF ANOINTING WITH OIL
[Note: If you wish to be anointed with oil, please remain kneeling after
pastor dismisses the communion table. You may then return to your
seat after being anointed.]
HYMNS DURING DISTRIBUTION:
556 “Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice”
657 “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”
Stand
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER
BENEDICTION
P: Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
CLOSING HYMN 582, “God’s Word Is Our Great Heritage”
sung to the melody of “A Mighty Fortress”
+ spes mea Christus – My Hope is in Christ +
ANNOUNCEMENTS
POST-SERVICE MUSIC
REFRESHMENTS
BIBLE CLASSES
Anointing with Oil Oil was and is effective medicine. As Jesus shared the story of the Good Samaritan who bandaged wounds and poured oil on them in Luke 10:30-34, He also instructed His disciples to anoint and cure the ill (Mark 6:7,13). The extended Church and its elders [pastors] in James 5:14-16 were urged to pray for healing and anoint with oil. Oil, applied to the forehead in a service of healing, has no healing effect on its own. However, anointing with the sign of the cross using a forefinger or thumb, touches us with the fingerprint of the Great Physician. Anointing points to the presence of our healing Savior as the source of our restoration to wholeness.
For this reason, some may wish to receive this special anointing. If you do not wish to do so, it does not mean that you do not wish God’s healing presence in your life. It is simply an optional rite in the Church that some have found helpful/advantageous over the centuries, as Psalm 23:5 indicates—“you anoint my head with oil.”
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
Reformation Day (Observed) – October 29, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Mark Klein
Lay Reader Sue Hullen
Acolyte Sue Hullen
Organist Allison Yee
Communion Preparation Kathy McCarthy
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley, Ted Smith,
Oroville Harshbarger (honorary)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
TRUNKS OF TREATS FALL FESTIVAL is scheduled for TOMORROW, Monday, October 30th from 5 – 7 p.m. It will be held in the upper parking lot and playground. Please speak with Barb Whitley for more information and if you would like to volunteer to help. Wrapped candy and/or money to help purchase Christian books are welcome.
WE FINALLY “FALL BACK” and end Daylight Saving Time at 2 a.m. next Sunday. Enjoy the extra hour!
Hang on! God will remain faithful. Don't despair. Cling to the truth the psalmist proclaims: "Wait with hope for the Lord. Be strong, and let your heart be courageous" (Psalm 27:14). The Lord won't extinguish a smoking wick but instead will make it glow brightly. He won't break the damaged cattail but instead will strengthen it (Isaiah 42:3)—Martin Luther.
In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song,
This Cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm;
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, When strivings cease,
My Comforter, My All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand!
MORNING SERVICE WITH HOLY COMMUNION
Reformation Day (Observed) – October 29, 2023
PRESERVICE MUSIC AND RINGING OF THE CHURCH BELL
OPENING HYMN 947, “All Glory Be to God on High”
INVOCATION, CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
P: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
ALL: Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Maker of all
things, Judge of all people, we admit and confess our sinful-
ness. We have turned away from you and from each other in
our thoughts, words, and actions. We do repent and are truly
sorry for our sins. Have mercy on us, kind Father, because of
the obedience of our Brother, Jesus Christ, your Son. Forgive
us all that is past, renew us with the power of the Holy Spirit,
and move us to faithful service in the kingdom of Jesus Christ
our Lord.
P: God has promised forgiveness of sins to those who repent and turn to
Him. May He keep you in His grace by the Holy Spirit, lead you to
greater faith and obedience, and bring you to live with Him forever,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
C: Amen.
KYRIE [sung to the tune of the hymn Amazing Grace]
Have mercy on Your people, Lord.
Have mercy, Christ our King.
Renew us by Your mercy, Lord;
Accept the prayers we bring.
HYMN OF PRAISE [tune – Hark the Herald Angels Sing]
“Glory be to God on high.” This is now our joyful cry.
Peace to all who live on earth, Grace and favor for new birth.
You we praise and glorify, Worship You, O Lord most high.
Gracious Father, heav’nly King, To Your name alone we sing:
Praise the glory of Your name, Now and evermore the same.
Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, Sole-begotten, Holy One,
Born on earth from realms on high, Born true man for us to die,
Lamb of God, You take away This world’s sin: Grant peace we pray.
With the Spirit, You alone Are most high, O God the Son,
And the Father, God above. Praise we now Your glorious love.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Sit
FIRST LESSON Revelation 14:6–7
6Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
EPISTLE LESSON Romans 3:19–28
19Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
21But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
27Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
GOSPEL LESSON John 8:31–36
31So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
34Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Sit
SERMON HYMN 656, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”
SERMON “The Reformation—It’s Still All About Jesus” various texts
The Reformation: It’s Still About Jesus! - Topical sermon
We gather here today to affirm on this 506th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation that what we do in the Church is still all about Jesus; that is, faithfully preaching and teaching the good news of Jesus Christ and standing for the teachings of God’s Word as they have been confessed in all times and all places wherever the Gospel is purely taught according to a pure understanding of it and where the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are administered according to Christ’s institution. With Martin Luther, we still say, “Here we stand, we cannot do otherwise. God help us. Amen.”
The Lutheran Reformation then (back in 1517), and today, is not about throwing away the past, but about retaining and preserving the very best of the Church’s rich history and teachings, while filtering out whatever covers and contradicts God’s Word and denies the good news of salvation by grace alone, though faith alone, on account of Christ alone.
The Lutherans never wanted to rebel against the Roman Church. They were, however, held captive by the force of the clear truth of God’s Word. Martin Luther refused to compromise that truth and was excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church, precisely because of his defense of the pure Gospel and truths of God’s Word.
Perhaps Christianity has never been explained more simply and eloquently than in the words Martin Luther wrote to explain the Apostles’ Creed. Here is his timeless explanation that is a superb summary of what the theology of the Reformation was all about then and is all about today:
I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true. [Luther’s explanation to the First Article of the Apostles’ Creed.]
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord. Who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true. [Luther’s explanation to the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed.]
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true. [Luther’s explanation to the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed.]
Our faith, all of it, is most certainly true. May freedom ring! As St. Paul stated, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!”
“A mighty fortress is our God, A trusty shield and weapon;
He helps us free from ev’ry need That hath us now o’ertaken.
The old evil foe, Now means deadly woe;
Deep guile and great might, Are his dread arms in fight;
On earth is not his equal.
With might of ours can naught be done, Soon were our loss effected;
“But for us fights the valiant One, Whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye, Who is this? Jesus Christ it is, Of Sabaoth Lord
And there’s none other God; He holds the field forever.”
Yes, it is still all about Jesus!
CREEDAL HYMN [tune – Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise]
In God we believe: the creator whose pow’r
In mercy has brought us for worship this hour.
He graciously grants us our years and our days
And blesses with kindness our work and our ways.
In Jesus, the Savior, our hope is secured,
True God and true man once the cross He endured,
To grant our lives wholeness, forgiveness of sin.
With hearts freed from guilt, we know true peace within.
God’s Spirit at work in our lives we confess;
With power and truth the Church now He does bless.
As saints, God’s forgiven, one day we shall then,
Be living in glory forever. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH/PRAYERS FOR HEALING
P: In our prayers we pray for the whole Church and the world, we lift
before God specific needs especially in our own parish, and we
remember and give thanks for the faithful departed….. Great God our
Healer, by Your power, the Lord Jesus healed the sick and gave hope
to the hopeless. In His name and for His sake,
C: look upon us with mercy and bless us with your healing Spirit.
P: Bring us comfort in the midst of pain, strength to transform our
weakness,
C: and light to illuminate our darkness.
P: Grant Your healing grace to all who are sick, injured, or disabled, that
they may be made whole; Lord in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Grant to all who are lonely, anxious, or despondent, the awareness of
Your presence; Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Mend broken relationships, and restore those in emotional distress to
soundness of mind and serenity of spirit; Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Bless physicians, nurses, and all others who minister to the suffering;
grant them wisdom and skill, sympathy and patience; Lord, in Your
mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Grant to the dying a peaceful, holy death, and with Your grace
strengthen those who mourn; Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Restore to wholeness whatever is broken in our lives, in this nation,
and in the world; Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Gracious God, in baptism You anointed us with the oil of salvation, and
joined us to the death and resurrection of Your Son. Bless all who seek
Your healing presence in their lives. In their suffering draw them more
deeply into the mystery of Your love, that following Christ in the way of
the cross they may know the power of His resurrection; who lives and
reigns forever and ever. Amen
Prayer of the Church--Reformation Day--31 October 2023 (observed 29 October 2023)
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Mighty Fortress, Rock of refuge, sustain Your Church. Deliver her from error and preserve in her the proclamation of Your Gospel, that it would resound to every nation, tribe, people and language and that all may fear and give You glory. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Mighty Fortress, Rock of refuge, bless all ministers of Your Word. Help them rightly to preach Your Law so that all are held accountable to You without excuse and joyfully proclaim Your Gospel, that all would know Jesus Christ as their Savior. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Mighty Fortress, Rock of refuge, look with compassion on all who are blind to the bondage of their sin. Open their eyes by the words of Jesus, and grant them the true freedom of sonship and a permanent place in Your household. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Mighty Fortress, Rock of refuge, make us truly Your disciples. Keep us in Your Word, free us from all errors, and make our homes and families peaceful. Preserve all fathers and encourage them for their godly task, that children would be brought up in the fear and instruction of the Lord. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Mighty Fortress, Rock of refuge, bless all civil authorities, especially our president; Congress; and all who make, administer and judge our laws. Protect them from the temptations that beset their offices, and grant them wisdom and courage to serve with integrity. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Mighty Fortress, Rock of refuge, be near to all who cry to You for healing of body and soul [especially _____________]. Grant them release from their afflictions according to Your will. Sustain their hope in the full and final healing that awaits them at the day of Christ’s appearing. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Mighty Fortress, Rock of refuge, bless all who come to the altar to partake of Christ’s own body and blood for the forgiveness of their sins. Grant them repentant hearts that seek to amend their lives, and by Your Spirit align them with Your will and purpose. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Mighty Fortress, Rock of refuge, we give You thanks for all Your servants who have departed this life in faith. We especially bless You today for the great reformers of Your Church who call us back to the Gospel and to the righteousness we have in Christ alone. Keep us in fellowship with them, and bring us at last to our heavenly home to see our Redeemer face to face; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
OFFERING PRAYER
Stand
PREPARATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Lift up your hearts.
C: We lift them to the Lord.
P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C: It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P: It is truly good, right, and salutary…..evermore praising You and saying:
SANCTUS [tune – Holy, Holy, Holy]
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty!
Day and night we join to praise Your love and majesty.
You alone are holy, worthy and righteous.
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty!
We rejoice to join the hymn of earth and sky and sea.
Generations praise You, with saints and angels,
Holy and bless’d through all eternity.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
LORD’S PRAYER
AGNUS DEI [tune – My Faith Looks Up to Thee]
O Lamb of God, we pray: Take all our sins away,
Our faith increase. Have mercy on us all,
Strengthen us when we fall,
Answer our fervent call And grant us peace.
Sit
DISTRIBUTION OF HOLY COMMUNION and
THE OPTIONAL RITE OF ANOINTING WITH OIL
[Note: If you wish to be anointed with oil, please remain kneeling after
pastor dismisses the communion table. You may then return to your
seat after being anointed.]
HYMNS DURING DISTRIBUTION:
556 “Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice”
657 “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”
Stand
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER
BENEDICTION
P: Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
CLOSING HYMN 582, “God’s Word Is Our Great Heritage”
sung to the melody of “A Mighty Fortress”
+ spes mea Christus – My Hope is in Christ +
ANNOUNCEMENTS
POST-SERVICE MUSIC
REFRESHMENTS
BIBLE CLASSES
Anointing with Oil Oil was and is effective medicine. As Jesus shared the story of the Good Samaritan who bandaged wounds and poured oil on them in Luke 10:30-34, He also instructed His disciples to anoint and cure the ill (Mark 6:7,13). The extended Church and its elders [pastors] in James 5:14-16 were urged to pray for healing and anoint with oil. Oil, applied to the forehead in a service of healing, has no healing effect on its own. However, anointing with the sign of the cross using a forefinger or thumb, touches us with the fingerprint of the Great Physician. Anointing points to the presence of our healing Savior as the source of our restoration to wholeness.
For this reason, some may wish to receive this special anointing. If you do not wish to do so, it does not mean that you do not wish God’s healing presence in your life. It is simply an optional rite in the Church that some have found helpful/advantageous over the centuries, as Psalm 23:5 indicates—“you anoint my head with oil.”
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost – October 22, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Howard Holman
Lay Reader Pat Tavare
Acolyte Kathy McCarthy
Organist Coleen Tallman
Communion Preparation Coleen Tallman
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley, Ted Smith,
Oroville Harshbarger (honorary)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
TRUNKS OF TREATS FALL FESTIVAL is scheduled for Monday, October 30th from 5 – 7 p.m. It will be held in the upper parking lot and playground. Please speak with Barb Whitley for more information and if you would like to volunteer to help. Wrapped candy and/or money to help purchase Christian books are welcome.
THERE IS NO GOD, you say? Consider this--
"Is hell-fire a physical or hyperphysical fire? As a rule our old theologians concluded their presentation with the remark: 'It is wiser to be concerned about escaping this eternal fire by true repentance then to engage in an unprofitable argument as to the nature of this fire.' One thing is sure, hell contains no atheists because the damned actually experience God as the righteous Judge. There is no more room in hell for the lie that there is no God” (Christian Dogmatics, Vol. III, p. 546, Francis Pieper).
WHEN EXPERIENCING LIFE’S UNCERTAINTIES, PRAY--
Lord God, You have called Your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that Your hand is leading us, Your love supporting us; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
And when I am oppressed, beat down, By devil, world, and flesh,
His Supper does with grace abound, His blood shall e’er refresh.
[sung to the tune of “Amazing Grace”]
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
October 22, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 940 “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name”
1 Holy God, we praise Thy name;
Lord of all, we bow before Thee.
All on earth Thy scepter claim,
All in heav’n above adore Thee.
Infinite Thy vast domain,
Everlasting is Thy reign.
2 Hark! The glad celestial hymn
Angel choirs above are raising;
Cherubim and seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising,
Fill the heav’ns with sweet accord:
Holy, holy, holy Lord!
3 Lo, the_apostles’ holy train
Join Thy sacred name to hallow;
Prophets swell the glad refrain,
And the white-robed martyrs follow,
And from morn to set of sun
Through the Church the song goes on.
4 Thou art King of Glory, Christ;
Son of God, yet born of Mary.
For us sinners sacrificed,
As to death a Tributary,
First to break the bars of death,
Thou hast opened heav’n to faith.
D 5 Holy Father, holy Son,
Holy Spirit, three we name Thee;
Though in essence only one,
Undivided God we claim Thee
And, adoring, bend the knee
While we own the mystery.
Text: Latin, c. 4th cent.; German version Katholisches Gesangbuch, 1774, Vienna; tr. Clarence A. Walworth, 1820–1900, alt.
Text: Public domain
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 121:5, 1–4, 7–8
P The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P O God, the protector of all who trust in You, have mercy on us that with You as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 45:1–7
1Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
2“I will go before you
and level the exalted places,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
4For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I name you, though you do not know me.
5I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
6that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and create calamity,
I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung by all] Psalm 96:1–9
1Oh sing to the Lord a | new song;*
sing to the Lord, | all the earth!
2Sing to the Lord, | bless his name;*
tell of his salvation from | day to day.
3Declare his glory among the | nations,*
his marvelous works among all the | peoples!
4For great is the Lord, and greatly | to be praised;*
he is to be feared a- | bove all gods.
5For all the gods of the peoples are worthless | idols,*
but the Lord made the | heavens.
6Splendor and majesty are be- | fore him;*
strength and beauty are in his sanctu- | ary.
7Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the | peoples,*
ascribe to the Lord glo- | ry and strength!
8Ascribe to the Lord the glory | due his name;*
bring an offering, and come in- | to his courts!
9Worship the Lord in the splendor of | holiness;*
tremble before him, | all the earth!
Epistle 1 Thessalonians 1:1–10
1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
2We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia
Holy Gospel Matthew 22:15–22
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-second chapter.
15Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle [Jesus] in his talk. 16And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 734 “I Trust, O Lord, Your Holy Name”
1 I trust, O Lord, Your holy name;
O let me not be put to shame
Nor let me be confounded.
My faith, O Lord,
Be in Your Word
Forever firmly grounded.
2 Bow down Your gracious ear to me
And hear my cry, my prayer, my plea;
Make haste for my protection,
For woes and fear
Surround me here.
Help me in my affliction.
3 You are my strength, my shield, my rock,
My fortress that withstands each shock,
My help, my life, my tower,
My battle sword,
Almighty Lord--
Who can resist Your power?
4 With You, O Lord, I cast my lot;
O faithful God, forsake me not,
To You my soul commending.
Lord, be my stay,
And lead the way
Now and when life is ending.
D 5 All honor, praise, and majesty
To Father, Son, and Spirit be,
Our God forever glorious,
In whose rich grace
We run our race
Till we depart victorious.
Text: Adam Reusner, 1496–c. 1575; (sts. 1–4): tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.; (st. 5): tr. Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book, 1907, Pittsburgh, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “The Things of God” Matthew 22:15-22
The Things of God - Matthew 22:15-22
v. 15 – “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Jesus said, "Render to God what is God's." We must recognize here what belongs to God, so that we can deliver it to Him. Christ pointed to the coin with the image of Caesar to show the Jews that they should render to Caesar the things that bear his image. So also, we should render to God the things that bear God's image.
In the beginning, Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. But the image did not last long. It was soon broken by the first sin, and has remained broken in us as children of Adam and Eve.
You might say that the image of God in you still remains, although it is broken and corrupted. But does God accept an offering that is broken or corrupted? No, that would be a mockery of God. The works produced by the corrupted image are corrupt. Every act that comes from a sinful heart is sinful. The Pharisees and Herodians mentioned in our text didn’t want to own up to that. They thought that they were good enough to attract God’s attention by their own good deeds, when in truth, they were only sinful as well. They even went so far as wanting to trick Jesus and “entangle Him in His words,” even though it would turn out to be the other way around. For which sinner, Pharisee, Herodian, or the likes of us can profess to tell God how things should be?
What would happen if we tried to render to Caesar our taxes and attempted to pay the IRS and state franchise tax board using tiny shreds of dollar bills? If you handed them an envelope with the itty bitty fragments, do you think they would accept it? Of course not. In the same way, God cannot accept the works that proceed from a broken image.
We can see evidence of this broken image in many aspects of our lives. When it comes time to obey God's commandments, the efforts of the broken image in us are weak at best. We shatter the commandments by continually transgressing them every day. It is unavoidable, no matter how hard we try. A bad tree cannot bear good fruit, and, in truth, in and of ourselves, we are bad trees, worse than any of the gray pines that have had to be removed from our church property. That’s because our “badness” causes us to be separated from God, AND there’s nothing we can do to make things any better. We heard from the prophet Ezekiel a few Sundays back the sad and sorry truth, “the soul that sins, it shall die eternally.”
If we were a stained glass window and we were shattered into a million pieces, then there would be nothing left to do but sweep us up and put us in the garbage heap. With the broken image of God, the logical conclusion is to be swept away by the angels on judgment day and dumped into the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, the abyss of hell. That is what we and every other human being deserve, because God's image in us has been broken by sin.
But Christ Jesus has no broken image. Although He received His flesh and blood from the Virgin Mary, yet He was conceived by the Holy Spirit without sin. Therefore, He is the only Man with the perfect image of God intact. As it says in Hebrews chapter one, Christ is the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of His person. It also says in Colossians chapter one, Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. And as Christ Himself said, "When you see Me, you have seen the Father."
So when Christ lived His life, He rendered perfect obedience to His Father. He fulfilled every commandment as no man has done before, and none have since. Christ, with His perfect image of God intact, was able to do what we could not. He kept the whole Law, down to the last jot and tittle. His entire life was one continual offering of loving obedience to His Father.
When He offered Himself up on the Cross, He rendered to His Father the perfect sacrifice for sin. He gave Himself freely as the innocent Lamb. Because the image of God in Him was perfect, the sacrifice had infinite value. The blood was more precious than silver or gold, or diamonds, or anything. Every shudder and sigh of pain was priceless to make payment for sin.
Therefore, the life and death of Christ are the true rendering to God what belongs to God. Christ gave to His Father what needed to be paid, His holy, sinless life.
But it does not only count for Him. When you were baptized, God placed the image of Christ on you. That changes everything about your life. Now God does not see the broken image that is in you and broken works, but He sees only the perfect image of God that Christ gave you. When He looks at your life, He sees a life of perfect obedience rendered to Him. He sees no sins. He sees only the unbroken image of Christ. For when God looks at us through the shed blood of Jesus, it is as if we had never sinned—“clothed in Christ’s righteousness alone,” made faultless to stand before God’s throne.
Our entire life is now an offering made acceptable in God's sight. God receives everything we do as the proper rendering to Him. That’s why St. Paul could say that whatever we do, in word or deed, we are to do it for God’s glory. Paul even went so far, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit to write to the Roman Christians and to us that we are to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. When we sacrifice for Him, whether in pain or persecution or in the offering plate, God sees it as immaculately holy works done in His own image. Even though our thoughts and actions are still stained by sin, yet the image of Christ lifts us up as an offering without any blemish or impurity, holy and accept able to God, which is our spiritual worship. We sadly note that the Pharisees and Herodians were not willing to do this. Yes, they marveled when they heard Jesus’ answer to their supposedly tricky question, but they left Him and went away. May our response not mirror theirs. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” May we only walk hand in hand with Jesus. As one poet put it--
Lord, take my hand and lead me Upon life’s way;
Direct, protect, and feed me From day nto day.
Without Your grace and favor I go astray;
So take my hand, O Savior, and lead the way.
Lord, when the shadows lengthen And night has come,
I know that You will strength My steps toward home.
Then nothing can impede me, O blessed Friend;
So take my hand and lead me Unto the end.
As we continue on our life’s journey under the cross of Christ, may we always remember that the final judgment has already been declared for us. We don’t need to wait for the last Day. We are already judged righteous in Christ, whose image covers us. When we arrive at the pearly gates on that glorious and wonderful Day, we will walk straight in, since we are fully dressed in clothing whiter than snow, richer than the clothing of any earthly king. For we are dressed in the image of the King of kings and Lord of lords, in whose glorious presence we shall live in joy and peace, forever and ever.
Give to God the things that are God’s. Live as a forgiven child of the King for we were bought with a price, that we might be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as Jesus is risen from the dead, and lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true, for it is the only way that brings us life now, and forever. Amen
Offertory
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church--Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 24A)--22 October 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
God of our salvation, You deliver Your Son’s work through Your Word in power and in the Holy Spirit. Strengthen the Church’s pastors to proclaim Your truth. Increase the faith of all who hear, that they may respond in love, steadfast in their hope. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of all truth, from the rising of the sun to its setting, You make known Your salvation in Christ. Bless fathers and mothers as they teach their children Your Word and Your ways. Let them know that there is no God besides You and so rejoice in Your faithfulness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God our Father, You appointed Cyrus as Your instrument to return Your people to Jerusalem. Uphold the authorities of our nation in wisdom and integrity, that we might live in peace with a good conscience. Grant that they would make salutary use of the taxes we render, and lead us to recognize them as Your instruments, honoring them as You command. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, our help comes from You, who made heaven and earth. You preserve our life. Have mercy on [_____________ and] all who are afflicted. Keep them from all evil and shade them from all harm. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, guard those who travel. Keep their going out and their coming in. Protect them from every trouble, prosper their journey according to Your will and make their homecomings joyful. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
True and living God, You have turned us from idols to serve You and live. As we await Your Son’s return in glory, grant that we would faithfully receive Him at this altar with repentance and joy. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And God’s people said: Amen.
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P It is truly meet, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Lord’s Prayer
C 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.
The Words of Our Lord
Pax Domini
Agnus Dei
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
839 “O Christ, Our True and Only Light”
1 O Christ, our true and only light,
Enlighten those who sit in night;
Let those afar now hear Your voice
And in Your fold with us rejoice.
2 Fill with the radiance of Your grace
The souls now lost in error’s maze;
Enlighten those whose inmost minds
Some dark delusion haunts and blinds.
3 O gently call those gone astray
That they may find the saving way!
Let ev’ry conscience sore oppressed
In You find peace and heav’nly rest.
4 Shine on the darkened and the cold;
Recall the wand’rers to Your fold.
Unite all those who walk apart;
Confirm the weak and doubting heart,
5 That they with us may evermore
Such grace with wond’ring thanks adore
And endless praise to You be giv’n
By all Your Church in earth and heav’n.
Text: Johann Heermann, 1585–1647; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
641 “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart”
ref You satisfy the hungry heart
With gift of finest wheat.
Come give to us, O saving Lord,
The bread of life to eat.
1 As when the shepherd calls his sheep,
They know and heed his voice;
So when You call Your fam’ly, Lord,
We follow and rejoice. Refrain
2 With joyful lips we sing to You
Our praise and gratitude
That You should count us worthy, Lord,
To share this heav’nly food. Refrain
3 Is not the cup we bless and share
The blood of Christ outpoured?
Do not one cup, one loaf, declare
Our oneness in the Lord? Refrain
4 The myst’ry of Your presence, Lord,
No mortal tongue can tell:
Whom all the world cannot contain
Comes in our hearts to dwell. Refrain
5 You give Yourself to us, O Lord;
Then selfless let us be,
To serve each other in Your name
In truth and charity. Refrain
Text: Omer E. Westendorf, 1916–97
Text: © 1977 Archdiocese of Philadelphia, admin. International Liturgy Publications. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Stand
Nunc Dimittis
Thanksgiving
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Benedicamus
Benediction
Closing Hymn: 781 “We Give Thee But Thine Own”
1 We give Thee but Thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee.
2 May we Thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive
And gladly, as Thou blessest us,
To Thee our firstfruits give!
3 Oh, hearts are bruised and dead,
And homes are bare and cold,
And lambs for whom the Shepherd bled
Are straying from the fold.
4 To comfort and to bless,
To find a balm for woe,
To tend the lone and fatherless
Is angels’ work below.
5 The captive to release,
To God the lost to bring,
To teach the way of life and peace,
It is a Christ-like thing.
6 And we believe Thy Word,
Though dim our faith may be:
Whate’er for Thine we do, O Lord,
We do it unto Thee.
Text: William W. How, 1823–97
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Annoucements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting Three 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing
St Paul Lutheran Church LCMS Auburn, California was live.
Published by Barbara Brandenburg Whitley · · Shared with Public
Sunday School with Becca and Barb
October 22, 2023
THE STORY OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN
Matthew 22:34-40
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St Paul Lutheran Church LCMS Auburn, California was live.
Published by Robert Gloria Potts · · Shared with Public
October 22, 2023
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
"The Things of God"
Matthew 22:15-22
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski… See more
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St Paul Lutheran Church LCMS Auburn, California
Published by Barbara Brandenburg Whitley · ·
Join us at 9 AM in person or here online!ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost – October 22, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Howard Holman
Lay Reader Pat Tavare
Acolyte Kathy McCarthy
Organist Coleen Tallman
Communion Preparation Coleen Tallman
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley, Ted Smith,
Oroville Harshbarger (honorary)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
TRUNKS OF TREATS FALL FESTIVAL is scheduled for Monday, October 30th from 5 – 7 p.m. It will be held in the upper parking lot and playground. Please speak with Barb Whitley for more information and if you would like to volunteer to help. Wrapped candy and/or money to help purchase Christian books are welcome.
THERE IS NO GOD, you say? Consider this--
"Is hell-fire a physical or hyperphysical fire? As a rule our old theologians concluded their presentation with the remark: 'It is wiser to be concerned about escaping this eternal fire by true repentance then to engage in an unprofitable argument as to the nature of this fire.' One thing is sure, hell contains no atheists because the damned actually experience God as the righteous Judge. There is no more room in hell for the lie that there is no God” (Christian Dogmatics, Vol. III, p. 546, Francis Pieper).
WHEN EXPERIENCING LIFE’S UNCERTAINTIES, PRAY--
Lord God, You have called Your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that Your hand is leading us, Your love supporting us; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
And when I am oppressed, beat down, By devil, world, and flesh,
His Supper does with grace abound, His blood shall e’er refresh.
[sung to the tune of “Amazing Grace”]
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
October 22, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 940 “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name”
1 Holy God, we praise Thy name;
Lord of all, we bow before Thee.
All on earth Thy scepter claim,
All in heav’n above adore Thee.
Infinite Thy vast domain,
Everlasting is Thy reign.
2 Hark! The glad celestial hymn
Angel choirs above are raising;
Cherubim and seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising,
Fill the heav’ns with sweet accord:
Holy, holy, holy Lord!
3 Lo, the_apostles’ holy train
Join Thy sacred name to hallow;
Prophets swell the glad refrain,
And the white-robed martyrs follow,
And from morn to set of sun
Through the Church the song goes on.
4 Thou art King of Glory, Christ;
Son of God, yet born of Mary.
For us sinners sacrificed,
As to death a Tributary,
First to break the bars of death,
Thou hast opened heav’n to faith.
D 5 Holy Father, holy Son,
Holy Spirit, three we name Thee;
Though in essence only one,
Undivided God we claim Thee
And, adoring, bend the knee
While we own the mystery.
Text: Latin, c. 4th cent.; German version Katholisches Gesangbuch, 1774, Vienna; tr. Clarence A. Walworth, 1820–1900, alt.
Text: Public domain
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 121:5, 1–4, 7–8
P The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P O God, the protector of all who trust in You, have mercy on us that with You as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 45:1–7
1Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
2“I will go before you
and level the exalted places,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
4For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I name you, though you do not know me.
5I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
6that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and create calamity,
I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung by all] Psalm 96:1–9
1Oh sing to the Lord a | new song;*
sing to the Lord, | all the earth!
2Sing to the Lord, | bless his name;*
tell of his salvation from | day to day.
3Declare his glory among the | nations,*
his marvelous works among all the | peoples!
4For great is the Lord, and greatly | to be praised;*
he is to be feared a- | bove all gods.
5For all the gods of the peoples are worthless | idols,*
but the Lord made the | heavens.
6Splendor and majesty are be- | fore him;*
strength and beauty are in his sanctu- | ary.
7Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the | peoples,*
ascribe to the Lord glo- | ry and strength!
8Ascribe to the Lord the glory | due his name;*
bring an offering, and come in- | to his courts!
9Worship the Lord in the splendor of | holiness;*
tremble before him, | all the earth!
Epistle 1 Thessalonians 1:1–10
1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
2We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia
Holy Gospel Matthew 22:15–22
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-second chapter.
15Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle [Jesus] in his talk. 16And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 734 “I Trust, O Lord, Your Holy Name”
1 I trust, O Lord, Your holy name;
O let me not be put to shame
Nor let me be confounded.
My faith, O Lord,
Be in Your Word
Forever firmly grounded.
2 Bow down Your gracious ear to me
And hear my cry, my prayer, my plea;
Make haste for my protection,
For woes and fear
Surround me here.
Help me in my affliction.
3 You are my strength, my shield, my rock,
My fortress that withstands each shock,
My help, my life, my tower,
My battle sword,
Almighty Lord--
Who can resist Your power?
4 With You, O Lord, I cast my lot;
O faithful God, forsake me not,
To You my soul commending.
Lord, be my stay,
And lead the way
Now and when life is ending.
D 5 All honor, praise, and majesty
To Father, Son, and Spirit be,
Our God forever glorious,
In whose rich grace
We run our race
Till we depart victorious.
Text: Adam Reusner, 1496–c. 1575; (sts. 1–4): tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.; (st. 5): tr. Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book, 1907, Pittsburgh, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “The Things of God” Matthew 22:15-22
The Things of God - Matthew 22:15-22
v. 15 – “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Jesus said, "Render to God what is God's." We must recognize here what belongs to God, so that we can deliver it to Him. Christ pointed to the coin with the image of Caesar to show the Jews that they should render to Caesar the things that bear his image. So also, we should render to God the things that bear God's image.
In the beginning, Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. But the image did not last long. It was soon broken by the first sin, and has remained broken in us as children of Adam and Eve.
You might say that the image of God in you still remains, although it is broken and corrupted. But does God accept an offering that is broken or corrupted? No, that would be a mockery of God. The works produced by the corrupted image are corrupt. Every act that comes from a sinful heart is sinful. The Pharisees and Herodians mentioned in our text didn’t want to own up to that. They thought that they were good enough to attract God’s attention by their own good deeds, when in truth, they were only sinful as well. They even went so far as wanting to trick Jesus and “entangle Him in His words,” even though it would turn out to be the other way around. For which sinner, Pharisee, Herodian, or the likes of us can profess to tell God how things should be?
What would happen if we tried to render to Caesar our taxes and attempted to pay the IRS and state franchise tax board using tiny shreds of dollar bills? If you handed them an envelope with the itty bitty fragments, do you think they would accept it? Of course not. In the same way, God cannot accept the works that proceed from a broken image.
We can see evidence of this broken image in many aspects of our lives. When it comes time to obey God's commandments, the efforts of the broken image in us are weak at best. We shatter the commandments by continually transgressing them every day. It is unavoidable, no matter how hard we try. A bad tree cannot bear good fruit, and, in truth, in and of ourselves, we are bad trees, worse than any of the gray pines that have had to be removed from our church property. That’s because our “badness” causes us to be separated from God, AND there’s nothing we can do to make things any better. We heard from the prophet Ezekiel a few Sundays back the sad and sorry truth, “the soul that sins, it shall die eternally.”
If we were a stained glass window and we were shattered into a million pieces, then there would be nothing left to do but sweep us up and put us in the garbage heap. With the broken image of God, the logical conclusion is to be swept away by the angels on judgment day and dumped into the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, the abyss of hell. That is what we and every other human being deserve, because God's image in us has been broken by sin.
But Christ Jesus has no broken image. Although He received His flesh and blood from the Virgin Mary, yet He was conceived by the Holy Spirit without sin. Therefore, He is the only Man with the perfect image of God intact. As it says in Hebrews chapter one, Christ is the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of His person. It also says in Colossians chapter one, Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. And as Christ Himself said, "When you see Me, you have seen the Father."
So when Christ lived His life, He rendered perfect obedience to His Father. He fulfilled every commandment as no man has done before, and none have since. Christ, with His perfect image of God intact, was able to do what we could not. He kept the whole Law, down to the last jot and tittle. His entire life was one continual offering of loving obedience to His Father.
When He offered Himself up on the Cross, He rendered to His Father the perfect sacrifice for sin. He gave Himself freely as the innocent Lamb. Because the image of God in Him was perfect, the sacrifice had infinite value. The blood was more precious than silver or gold, or diamonds, or anything. Every shudder and sigh of pain was priceless to make payment for sin.
Therefore, the life and death of Christ are the true rendering to God what belongs to God. Christ gave to His Father what needed to be paid, His holy, sinless life.
But it does not only count for Him. When you were baptized, God placed the image of Christ on you. That changes everything about your life. Now God does not see the broken image that is in you and broken works, but He sees only the perfect image of God that Christ gave you. When He looks at your life, He sees a life of perfect obedience rendered to Him. He sees no sins. He sees only the unbroken image of Christ. For when God looks at us through the shed blood of Jesus, it is as if we had never sinned—“clothed in Christ’s righteousness alone,” made faultless to stand before God’s throne.
Our entire life is now an offering made acceptable in God's sight. God receives everything we do as the proper rendering to Him. That’s why St. Paul could say that whatever we do, in word or deed, we are to do it for God’s glory. Paul even went so far, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit to write to the Roman Christians and to us that we are to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. When we sacrifice for Him, whether in pain or persecution or in the offering plate, God sees it as immaculately holy works done in His own image. Even though our thoughts and actions are still stained by sin, yet the image of Christ lifts us up as an offering without any blemish or impurity, holy and accept able to God, which is our spiritual worship. We sadly note that the Pharisees and Herodians were not willing to do this. Yes, they marveled when they heard Jesus’ answer to their supposedly tricky question, but they left Him and went away. May our response not mirror theirs. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” May we only walk hand in hand with Jesus. As one poet put it--
Lord, take my hand and lead me Upon life’s way;
Direct, protect, and feed me From day nto day.
Without Your grace and favor I go astray;
So take my hand, O Savior, and lead the way.
Lord, when the shadows lengthen And night has come,
I know that You will strength My steps toward home.
Then nothing can impede me, O blessed Friend;
So take my hand and lead me Unto the end.
As we continue on our life’s journey under the cross of Christ, may we always remember that the final judgment has already been declared for us. We don’t need to wait for the last Day. We are already judged righteous in Christ, whose image covers us. When we arrive at the pearly gates on that glorious and wonderful Day, we will walk straight in, since we are fully dressed in clothing whiter than snow, richer than the clothing of any earthly king. For we are dressed in the image of the King of kings and Lord of lords, in whose glorious presence we shall live in joy and peace, forever and ever.
Give to God the things that are God’s. Live as a forgiven child of the King for we were bought with a price, that we might be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as Jesus is risen from the dead, and lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true, for it is the only way that brings us life now, and forever. Amen
Offertory
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church--Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 24A)--22 October 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
God of our salvation, You deliver Your Son’s work through Your Word in power and in the Holy Spirit. Strengthen the Church’s pastors to proclaim Your truth. Increase the faith of all who hear, that they may respond in love, steadfast in their hope. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of all truth, from the rising of the sun to its setting, You make known Your salvation in Christ. Bless fathers and mothers as they teach their children Your Word and Your ways. Let them know that there is no God besides You and so rejoice in Your faithfulness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God our Father, You appointed Cyrus as Your instrument to return Your people to Jerusalem. Uphold the authorities of our nation in wisdom and integrity, that we might live in peace with a good conscience. Grant that they would make salutary use of the taxes we render, and lead us to recognize them as Your instruments, honoring them as You command. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, our help comes from You, who made heaven and earth. You preserve our life. Have mercy on [_____________ and] all who are afflicted. Keep them from all evil and shade them from all harm. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, guard those who travel. Keep their going out and their coming in. Protect them from every trouble, prosper their journey according to Your will and make their homecomings joyful. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
True and living God, You have turned us from idols to serve You and live. As we await Your Son’s return in glory, grant that we would faithfully receive Him at this altar with repentance and joy. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And God’s people said: Amen.
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P It is truly meet, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Lord’s Prayer
C 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.
The Words of Our Lord
Pax Domini
Agnus Dei
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
839 “O Christ, Our True and Only Light”
1 O Christ, our true and only light,
Enlighten those who sit in night;
Let those afar now hear Your voice
And in Your fold with us rejoice.
2 Fill with the radiance of Your grace
The souls now lost in error’s maze;
Enlighten those whose inmost minds
Some dark delusion haunts and blinds.
3 O gently call those gone astray
That they may find the saving way!
Let ev’ry conscience sore oppressed
In You find peace and heav’nly rest.
4 Shine on the darkened and the cold;
Recall the wand’rers to Your fold.
Unite all those who walk apart;
Confirm the weak and doubting heart,
5 That they with us may evermore
Such grace with wond’ring thanks adore
And endless praise to You be giv’n
By all Your Church in earth and heav’n.
Text: Johann Heermann, 1585–1647; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
641 “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart”
ref You satisfy the hungry heart
With gift of finest wheat.
Come give to us, O saving Lord,
The bread of life to eat.
1 As when the shepherd calls his sheep,
They know and heed his voice;
So when You call Your fam’ly, Lord,
We follow and rejoice. Refrain
2 With joyful lips we sing to You
Our praise and gratitude
That You should count us worthy, Lord,
To share this heav’nly food. Refrain
3 Is not the cup we bless and share
The blood of Christ outpoured?
Do not one cup, one loaf, declare
Our oneness in the Lord? Refrain
4 The myst’ry of Your presence, Lord,
No mortal tongue can tell:
Whom all the world cannot contain
Comes in our hearts to dwell. Refrain
5 You give Yourself to us, O Lord;
Then selfless let us be,
To serve each other in Your name
In truth and charity. Refrain
Text: Omer E. Westendorf, 1916–97
Text: © 1977 Archdiocese of Philadelphia, admin. International Liturgy Publications. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Stand
Nunc Dimittis
Thanksgiving
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Benedicamus
Benediction
Closing Hymn: 781 “We Give Thee But Thine Own”
1 We give Thee but Thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee.
2 May we Thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive
And gladly, as Thou blessest us,
To Thee our firstfruits give!
3 Oh, hearts are bruised and dead,
And homes are bare and cold,
And lambs for whom the Shepherd bled
Are straying from the fold.
4 To comfort and to bless,
To find a balm for woe,
To tend the lone and fatherless
Is angels’ work below.
5 The captive to release,
To God the lost to bring,
To teach the way of life and peace,
It is a Christ-like thing.
6 And we believe Thy Word,
Though dim our faith may be:
Whate’er for Thine we do, O Lord,
We do it unto Thee.
Text: William W. How, 1823–97
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Annoucements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting Three 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishin
St Paul Lutheran Church LCMS Auburn, California was live.
Published by Barbara Brandenburg Whitley · · Shared with Public
Sunday School with Becca and Barb
October 22, 2023
THE STORY OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN
Matthew 22:34-40
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St Paul Lutheran Church LCMS Auburn, California was live.
Published by Robert Gloria Potts · · Shared with Public
October 22, 2023
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
"The Things of God"
Matthew 22:15-22
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski… See more
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St Paul Lutheran Church LCMS Auburn, California
Published by Barbara Brandenburg Whitley · ·
Join us at 9 AM in person or here online!ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost – October 22, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Howard Holman
Lay Reader Pat Tavare
Acolyte Kathy McCarthy
Organist Coleen Tallman
Communion Preparation Coleen Tallman
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley, Ted Smith,
Oroville Harshbarger (honorary)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
TRUNKS OF TREATS FALL FESTIVAL is scheduled for Monday, October 30th from 5 – 7 p.m. It will be held in the upper parking lot and playground. Please speak with Barb Whitley for more information and if you would like to volunteer to help. Wrapped candy and/or money to help purchase Christian books are welcome.
THERE IS NO GOD, you say? Consider this--
"Is hell-fire a physical or hyperphysical fire? As a rule our old theologians concluded their presentation with the remark: 'It is wiser to be concerned about escaping this eternal fire by true repentance then to engage in an unprofitable argument as to the nature of this fire.' One thing is sure, hell contains no atheists because the damned actually experience God as the righteous Judge. There is no more room in hell for the lie that there is no God” (Christian Dogmatics, Vol. III, p. 546, Francis Pieper).
WHEN EXPERIENCING LIFE’S UNCERTAINTIES, PRAY--
Lord God, You have called Your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that Your hand is leading us, Your love supporting us; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
And when I am oppressed, beat down, By devil, world, and flesh,
His Supper does with grace abound, His blood shall e’er refresh.
[sung to the tune of “Amazing Grace”]
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
October 22, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 940 “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name”
1 Holy God, we praise Thy name;
Lord of all, we bow before Thee.
All on earth Thy scepter claim,
All in heav’n above adore Thee.
Infinite Thy vast domain,
Everlasting is Thy reign.
2 Hark! The glad celestial hymn
Angel choirs above are raising;
Cherubim and seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising,
Fill the heav’ns with sweet accord:
Holy, holy, holy Lord!
3 Lo, the_apostles’ holy train
Join Thy sacred name to hallow;
Prophets swell the glad refrain,
And the white-robed martyrs follow,
And from morn to set of sun
Through the Church the song goes on.
4 Thou art King of Glory, Christ;
Son of God, yet born of Mary.
For us sinners sacrificed,
As to death a Tributary,
First to break the bars of death,
Thou hast opened heav’n to faith.
D 5 Holy Father, holy Son,
Holy Spirit, three we name Thee;
Though in essence only one,
Undivided God we claim Thee
And, adoring, bend the knee
While we own the mystery.
Text: Latin, c. 4th cent.; German version Katholisches Gesangbuch, 1774, Vienna; tr. Clarence A. Walworth, 1820–1900, alt.
Text: Public domain
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 121:5, 1–4, 7–8
P The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P O God, the protector of all who trust in You, have mercy on us that with You as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 45:1–7
1Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
2“I will go before you
and level the exalted places,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
4For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I name you, though you do not know me.
5I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
6that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and create calamity,
I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung by all] Psalm 96:1–9
1Oh sing to the Lord a | new song;*
sing to the Lord, | all the earth!
2Sing to the Lord, | bless his name;*
tell of his salvation from | day to day.
3Declare his glory among the | nations,*
his marvelous works among all the | peoples!
4For great is the Lord, and greatly | to be praised;*
he is to be feared a- | bove all gods.
5For all the gods of the peoples are worthless | idols,*
but the Lord made the | heavens.
6Splendor and majesty are be- | fore him;*
strength and beauty are in his sanctu- | ary.
7Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the | peoples,*
ascribe to the Lord glo- | ry and strength!
8Ascribe to the Lord the glory | due his name;*
bring an offering, and come in- | to his courts!
9Worship the Lord in the splendor of | holiness;*
tremble before him, | all the earth!
Epistle 1 Thessalonians 1:1–10
1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
2We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia
Holy Gospel Matthew 22:15–22
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-second chapter.
15Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle [Jesus] in his talk. 16And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 734 “I Trust, O Lord, Your Holy Name”
1 I trust, O Lord, Your holy name;
O let me not be put to shame
Nor let me be confounded.
My faith, O Lord,
Be in Your Word
Forever firmly grounded.
2 Bow down Your gracious ear to me
And hear my cry, my prayer, my plea;
Make haste for my protection,
For woes and fear
Surround me here.
Help me in my affliction.
3 You are my strength, my shield, my rock,
My fortress that withstands each shock,
My help, my life, my tower,
My battle sword,
Almighty Lord--
Who can resist Your power?
4 With You, O Lord, I cast my lot;
O faithful God, forsake me not,
To You my soul commending.
Lord, be my stay,
And lead the way
Now and when life is ending.
D 5 All honor, praise, and majesty
To Father, Son, and Spirit be,
Our God forever glorious,
In whose rich grace
We run our race
Till we depart victorious.
Text: Adam Reusner, 1496–c. 1575; (sts. 1–4): tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.; (st. 5): tr. Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book, 1907, Pittsburgh, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “The Things of God” Matthew 22:15-22
The Things of God - Matthew 22:15-22
v. 15 – “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Jesus said, "Render to God what is God's." We must recognize here what belongs to God, so that we can deliver it to Him. Christ pointed to the coin with the image of Caesar to show the Jews that they should render to Caesar the things that bear his image. So also, we should render to God the things that bear God's image.
In the beginning, Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. But the image did not last long. It was soon broken by the first sin, and has remained broken in us as children of Adam and Eve.
You might say that the image of God in you still remains, although it is broken and corrupted. But does God accept an offering that is broken or corrupted? No, that would be a mockery of God. The works produced by the corrupted image are corrupt. Every act that comes from a sinful heart is sinful. The Pharisees and Herodians mentioned in our text didn’t want to own up to that. They thought that they were good enough to attract God’s attention by their own good deeds, when in truth, they were only sinful as well. They even went so far as wanting to trick Jesus and “entangle Him in His words,” even though it would turn out to be the other way around. For which sinner, Pharisee, Herodian, or the likes of us can profess to tell God how things should be?
What would happen if we tried to render to Caesar our taxes and attempted to pay the IRS and state franchise tax board using tiny shreds of dollar bills? If you handed them an envelope with the itty bitty fragments, do you think they would accept it? Of course not. In the same way, God cannot accept the works that proceed from a broken image.
We can see evidence of this broken image in many aspects of our lives. When it comes time to obey God's commandments, the efforts of the broken image in us are weak at best. We shatter the commandments by continually transgressing them every day. It is unavoidable, no matter how hard we try. A bad tree cannot bear good fruit, and, in truth, in and of ourselves, we are bad trees, worse than any of the gray pines that have had to be removed from our church property. That’s because our “badness” causes us to be separated from God, AND there’s nothing we can do to make things any better. We heard from the prophet Ezekiel a few Sundays back the sad and sorry truth, “the soul that sins, it shall die eternally.”
If we were a stained glass window and we were shattered into a million pieces, then there would be nothing left to do but sweep us up and put us in the garbage heap. With the broken image of God, the logical conclusion is to be swept away by the angels on judgment day and dumped into the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, the abyss of hell. That is what we and every other human being deserve, because God's image in us has been broken by sin.
But Christ Jesus has no broken image. Although He received His flesh and blood from the Virgin Mary, yet He was conceived by the Holy Spirit without sin. Therefore, He is the only Man with the perfect image of God intact. As it says in Hebrews chapter one, Christ is the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of His person. It also says in Colossians chapter one, Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. And as Christ Himself said, "When you see Me, you have seen the Father."
So when Christ lived His life, He rendered perfect obedience to His Father. He fulfilled every commandment as no man has done before, and none have since. Christ, with His perfect image of God intact, was able to do what we could not. He kept the whole Law, down to the last jot and tittle. His entire life was one continual offering of loving obedience to His Father.
When He offered Himself up on the Cross, He rendered to His Father the perfect sacrifice for sin. He gave Himself freely as the innocent Lamb. Because the image of God in Him was perfect, the sacrifice had infinite value. The blood was more precious than silver or gold, or diamonds, or anything. Every shudder and sigh of pain was priceless to make payment for sin.
Therefore, the life and death of Christ are the true rendering to God what belongs to God. Christ gave to His Father what needed to be paid, His holy, sinless life.
But it does not only count for Him. When you were baptized, God placed the image of Christ on you. That changes everything about your life. Now God does not see the broken image that is in you and broken works, but He sees only the perfect image of God that Christ gave you. When He looks at your life, He sees a life of perfect obedience rendered to Him. He sees no sins. He sees only the unbroken image of Christ. For when God looks at us through the shed blood of Jesus, it is as if we had never sinned—“clothed in Christ’s righteousness alone,” made faultless to stand before God’s throne.
Our entire life is now an offering made acceptable in God's sight. God receives everything we do as the proper rendering to Him. That’s why St. Paul could say that whatever we do, in word or deed, we are to do it for God’s glory. Paul even went so far, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit to write to the Roman Christians and to us that we are to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. When we sacrifice for Him, whether in pain or persecution or in the offering plate, God sees it as immaculately holy works done in His own image. Even though our thoughts and actions are still stained by sin, yet the image of Christ lifts us up as an offering without any blemish or impurity, holy and accept able to God, which is our spiritual worship. We sadly note that the Pharisees and Herodians were not willing to do this. Yes, they marveled when they heard Jesus’ answer to their supposedly tricky question, but they left Him and went away. May our response not mirror theirs. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” May we only walk hand in hand with Jesus. As one poet put it--
Lord, take my hand and lead me Upon life’s way;
Direct, protect, and feed me From day nto day.
Without Your grace and favor I go astray;
So take my hand, O Savior, and lead the way.
Lord, when the shadows lengthen And night has come,
I know that You will strength My steps toward home.
Then nothing can impede me, O blessed Friend;
So take my hand and lead me Unto the end.
As we continue on our life’s journey under the cross of Christ, may we always remember that the final judgment has already been declared for us. We don’t need to wait for the last Day. We are already judged righteous in Christ, whose image covers us. When we arrive at the pearly gates on that glorious and wonderful Day, we will walk straight in, since we are fully dressed in clothing whiter than snow, richer than the clothing of any earthly king. For we are dressed in the image of the King of kings and Lord of lords, in whose glorious presence we shall live in joy and peace, forever and ever.
Give to God the things that are God’s. Live as a forgiven child of the King for we were bought with a price, that we might be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as Jesus is risen from the dead, and lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true, for it is the only way that brings us life now, and forever. Amen
Offertory
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church--Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 24A)--22 October 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
God of our salvation, You deliver Your Son’s work through Your Word in power and in the Holy Spirit. Strengthen the Church’s pastors to proclaim Your truth. Increase the faith of all who hear, that they may respond in love, steadfast in their hope. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of all truth, from the rising of the sun to its setting, You make known Your salvation in Christ. Bless fathers and mothers as they teach their children Your Word and Your ways. Let them know that there is no God besides You and so rejoice in Your faithfulness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God our Father, You appointed Cyrus as Your instrument to return Your people to Jerusalem. Uphold the authorities of our nation in wisdom and integrity, that we might live in peace with a good conscience. Grant that they would make salutary use of the taxes we render, and lead us to recognize them as Your instruments, honoring them as You command. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, our help comes from You, who made heaven and earth. You preserve our life. Have mercy on [_____________ and] all who are afflicted. Keep them from all evil and shade them from all harm. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, guard those who travel. Keep their going out and their coming in. Protect them from every trouble, prosper their journey according to Your will and make their homecomings joyful. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
True and living God, You have turned us from idols to serve You and live. As we await Your Son’s return in glory, grant that we would faithfully receive Him at this altar with repentance and joy. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And God’s people said: Amen.
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P It is truly meet, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Lord’s Prayer
C 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.
The Words of Our Lord
Pax Domini
Agnus Dei
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
839 “O Christ, Our True and Only Light”
1 O Christ, our true and only light,
Enlighten those who sit in night;
Let those afar now hear Your voice
And in Your fold with us rejoice.
2 Fill with the radiance of Your grace
The souls now lost in error’s maze;
Enlighten those whose inmost minds
Some dark delusion haunts and blinds.
3 O gently call those gone astray
That they may find the saving way!
Let ev’ry conscience sore oppressed
In You find peace and heav’nly rest.
4 Shine on the darkened and the cold;
Recall the wand’rers to Your fold.
Unite all those who walk apart;
Confirm the weak and doubting heart,
5 That they with us may evermore
Such grace with wond’ring thanks adore
And endless praise to You be giv’n
By all Your Church in earth and heav’n.
Text: Johann Heermann, 1585–1647; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
641 “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart”
ref You satisfy the hungry heart
With gift of finest wheat.
Come give to us, O saving Lord,
The bread of life to eat.
1 As when the shepherd calls his sheep,
They know and heed his voice;
So when You call Your fam’ly, Lord,
We follow and rejoice. Refrain
2 With joyful lips we sing to You
Our praise and gratitude
That You should count us worthy, Lord,
To share this heav’nly food. Refrain
3 Is not the cup we bless and share
The blood of Christ outpoured?
Do not one cup, one loaf, declare
Our oneness in the Lord? Refrain
4 The myst’ry of Your presence, Lord,
No mortal tongue can tell:
Whom all the world cannot contain
Comes in our hearts to dwell. Refrain
5 You give Yourself to us, O Lord;
Then selfless let us be,
To serve each other in Your name
In truth and charity. Refrain
Text: Omer E. Westendorf, 1916–97
Text: © 1977 Archdiocese of Philadelphia, admin. International Liturgy Publications. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Stand
Nunc Dimittis
Thanksgiving
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Benedicamus
Benediction
Closing Hymn: 781 “We Give Thee But Thine Own”
1 We give Thee but Thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee.
2 May we Thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive
And gladly, as Thou blessest us,
To Thee our firstfruits give!
3 Oh, hearts are bruised and dead,
And homes are bare and cold,
And lambs for whom the Shepherd bled
Are straying from the fold.
4 To comfort and to bless,
To find a balm for woe,
To tend the lone and fatherless
Is angels’ work below.
5 The captive to release,
To God the lost to bring,
To teach the way of life and peace,
It is a Christ-like thing.
6 And we believe Thy Word,
Though dim our faith may be:
Whate’er for Thine we do, O Lord,
We do it unto Thee.
Text: William W. How, 1823–97
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Annoucements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting Three 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishin
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost – October 22, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Howard Holman
Lay Reader Pat Tavare
Acolyte Kathy McCarthy
Organist Coleen Tallman
Communion Preparation Coleen Tallman
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley, Ted Smith,
Oroville Harshbarger (honorary)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
TRUNKS OF TREATS FALL FESTIVAL is scheduled for Monday, October 30th from 5 – 7 p.m. It will be held in the upper parking lot and playground. Please speak with Barb Whitley for more information and if you would like to volunteer to help. Wrapped candy and/or money to help purchase Christian books are welcome.
THERE IS NO GOD, you say? Consider this--
"Is hell-fire a physical or hyperphysical fire? As a rule our old theologians concluded their presentation with the remark: 'It is wiser to be concerned about escaping this eternal fire by true repentance then to engage in an unprofitable argument as to the nature of this fire.' One thing is sure, hell contains no atheists because the damned actually experience God as the righteous Judge. There is no more room in hell for the lie that there is no God” (Christian Dogmatics, Vol. III, p. 546, Francis Pieper).
WHEN EXPERIENCING LIFE’S UNCERTAINTIES, PRAY--
Lord God, You have called Your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that Your hand is leading us, Your love supporting us; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
And when I am oppressed, beat down, By devil, world, and flesh,
His Supper does with grace abound, His blood shall e’er refresh.
[sung to the tune of “Amazing Grace”]
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
October 22, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 940 “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name”
1 Holy God, we praise Thy name;
Lord of all, we bow before Thee.
All on earth Thy scepter claim,
All in heav’n above adore Thee.
Infinite Thy vast domain,
Everlasting is Thy reign.
2 Hark! The glad celestial hymn
Angel choirs above are raising;
Cherubim and seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising,
Fill the heav’ns with sweet accord:
Holy, holy, holy Lord!
3 Lo, the_apostles’ holy train
Join Thy sacred name to hallow;
Prophets swell the glad refrain,
And the white-robed martyrs follow,
And from morn to set of sun
Through the Church the song goes on.
4 Thou art King of Glory, Christ;
Son of God, yet born of Mary.
For us sinners sacrificed,
As to death a Tributary,
First to break the bars of death,
Thou hast opened heav’n to faith.
D 5 Holy Father, holy Son,
Holy Spirit, three we name Thee;
Though in essence only one,
Undivided God we claim Thee
And, adoring, bend the knee
While we own the mystery.
Text: Latin, c. 4th cent.; German version Katholisches Gesangbuch, 1774, Vienna; tr. Clarence A. Walworth, 1820–1900, alt.
Text: Public domain
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 121:5, 1–4, 7–8
P The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P O God, the protector of all who trust in You, have mercy on us that with You as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 45:1–7
1Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
2“I will go before you
and level the exalted places,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
4For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I name you, though you do not know me.
5I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
6that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and create calamity,
I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung by all] Psalm 96:1–9
1Oh sing to the Lord a | new song;*
sing to the Lord, | all the earth!
2Sing to the Lord, | bless his name;*
tell of his salvation from | day to day.
3Declare his glory among the | nations,*
his marvelous works among all the | peoples!
4For great is the Lord, and greatly | to be praised;*
he is to be feared a- | bove all gods.
5For all the gods of the peoples are worthless | idols,*
but the Lord made the | heavens.
6Splendor and majesty are be- | fore him;*
strength and beauty are in his sanctu- | ary.
7Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the | peoples,*
ascribe to the Lord glo- | ry and strength!
8Ascribe to the Lord the glory | due his name;*
bring an offering, and come in- | to his courts!
9Worship the Lord in the splendor of | holiness;*
tremble before him, | all the earth!
Epistle 1 Thessalonians 1:1–10
1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
2We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia
Holy Gospel Matthew 22:15–22
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-second chapter.
15Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle [Jesus] in his talk. 16And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 734 “I Trust, O Lord, Your Holy Name”
1 I trust, O Lord, Your holy name;
O let me not be put to shame
Nor let me be confounded.
My faith, O Lord,
Be in Your Word
Forever firmly grounded.
2 Bow down Your gracious ear to me
And hear my cry, my prayer, my plea;
Make haste for my protection,
For woes and fear
Surround me here.
Help me in my affliction.
3 You are my strength, my shield, my rock,
My fortress that withstands each shock,
My help, my life, my tower,
My battle sword,
Almighty Lord--
Who can resist Your power?
4 With You, O Lord, I cast my lot;
O faithful God, forsake me not,
To You my soul commending.
Lord, be my stay,
And lead the way
Now and when life is ending.
D 5 All honor, praise, and majesty
To Father, Son, and Spirit be,
Our God forever glorious,
In whose rich grace
We run our race
Till we depart victorious.
Text: Adam Reusner, 1496–c. 1575; (sts. 1–4): tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.; (st. 5): tr. Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book, 1907, Pittsburgh, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “The Things of God” Matthew 22:15-22
The Things of God - Matthew 22:15-22
v. 15 – “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Jesus said, "Render to God what is God's." We must recognize here what belongs to God, so that we can deliver it to Him. Christ pointed to the coin with the image of Caesar to show the Jews that they should render to Caesar the things that bear his image. So also, we should render to God the things that bear God's image.
In the beginning, Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. But the image did not last long. It was soon broken by the first sin, and has remained broken in us as children of Adam and Eve.
You might say that the image of God in you still remains, although it is broken and corrupted. But does God accept an offering that is broken or corrupted? No, that would be a mockery of God. The works produced by the corrupted image are corrupt. Every act that comes from a sinful heart is sinful. The Pharisees and Herodians mentioned in our text didn’t want to own up to that. They thought that they were good enough to attract God’s attention by their own good deeds, when in truth, they were only sinful as well. They even went so far as wanting to trick Jesus and “entangle Him in His words,” even though it would turn out to be the other way around. For which sinner, Pharisee, Herodian, or the likes of us can profess to tell God how things should be?
What would happen if we tried to render to Caesar our taxes and attempted to pay the IRS and state franchise tax board using tiny shreds of dollar bills? If you handed them an envelope with the itty bitty fragments, do you think they would accept it? Of course not. In the same way, God cannot accept the works that proceed from a broken image.
We can see evidence of this broken image in many aspects of our lives. When it comes time to obey God's commandments, the efforts of the broken image in us are weak at best. We shatter the commandments by continually transgressing them every day. It is unavoidable, no matter how hard we try. A bad tree cannot bear good fruit, and, in truth, in and of ourselves, we are bad trees, worse than any of the gray pines that have had to be removed from our church property. That’s because our “badness” causes us to be separated from God, AND there’s nothing we can do to make things any better. We heard from the prophet Ezekiel a few Sundays back the sad and sorry truth, “the soul that sins, it shall die eternally.”
If we were a stained glass window and we were shattered into a million pieces, then there would be nothing left to do but sweep us up and put us in the garbage heap. With the broken image of God, the logical conclusion is to be swept away by the angels on judgment day and dumped into the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, the abyss of hell. That is what we and every other human being deserve, because God's image in us has been broken by sin.
But Christ Jesus has no broken image. Although He received His flesh and blood from the Virgin Mary, yet He was conceived by the Holy Spirit without sin. Therefore, He is the only Man with the perfect image of God intact. As it says in Hebrews chapter one, Christ is the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of His person. It also says in Colossians chapter one, Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. And as Christ Himself said, "When you see Me, you have seen the Father."
So when Christ lived His life, He rendered perfect obedience to His Father. He fulfilled every commandment as no man has done before, and none have since. Christ, with His perfect image of God intact, was able to do what we could not. He kept the whole Law, down to the last jot and tittle. His entire life was one continual offering of loving obedience to His Father.
When He offered Himself up on the Cross, He rendered to His Father the perfect sacrifice for sin. He gave Himself freely as the innocent Lamb. Because the image of God in Him was perfect, the sacrifice had infinite value. The blood was more precious than silver or gold, or diamonds, or anything. Every shudder and sigh of pain was priceless to make payment for sin.
Therefore, the life and death of Christ are the true rendering to God what belongs to God. Christ gave to His Father what needed to be paid, His holy, sinless life.
But it does not only count for Him. When you were baptized, God placed the image of Christ on you. That changes everything about your life. Now God does not see the broken image that is in you and broken works, but He sees only the perfect image of God that Christ gave you. When He looks at your life, He sees a life of perfect obedience rendered to Him. He sees no sins. He sees only the unbroken image of Christ. For when God looks at us through the shed blood of Jesus, it is as if we had never sinned—“clothed in Christ’s righteousness alone,” made faultless to stand before God’s throne.
Our entire life is now an offering made acceptable in God's sight. God receives everything we do as the proper rendering to Him. That’s why St. Paul could say that whatever we do, in word or deed, we are to do it for God’s glory. Paul even went so far, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit to write to the Roman Christians and to us that we are to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. When we sacrifice for Him, whether in pain or persecution or in the offering plate, God sees it as immaculately holy works done in His own image. Even though our thoughts and actions are still stained by sin, yet the image of Christ lifts us up as an offering without any blemish or impurity, holy and accept able to God, which is our spiritual worship. We sadly note that the Pharisees and Herodians were not willing to do this. Yes, they marveled when they heard Jesus’ answer to their supposedly tricky question, but they left Him and went away. May our response not mirror theirs. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” May we only walk hand in hand with Jesus. As one poet put it--
Lord, take my hand and lead me Upon life’s way;
Direct, protect, and feed me From day nto day.
Without Your grace and favor I go astray;
So take my hand, O Savior, and lead the way.
Lord, when the shadows lengthen And night has come,
I know that You will strength My steps toward home.
Then nothing can impede me, O blessed Friend;
So take my hand and lead me Unto the end.
As we continue on our life’s journey under the cross of Christ, may we always remember that the final judgment has already been declared for us. We don’t need to wait for the last Day. We are already judged righteous in Christ, whose image covers us. When we arrive at the pearly gates on that glorious and wonderful Day, we will walk straight in, since we are fully dressed in clothing whiter than snow, richer than the clothing of any earthly king. For we are dressed in the image of the King of kings and Lord of lords, in whose glorious presence we shall live in joy and peace, forever and ever.
Give to God the things that are God’s. Live as a forgiven child of the King for we were bought with a price, that we might be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as Jesus is risen from the dead, and lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true, for it is the only way that brings us life now, and forever. Amen
Offertory
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church--Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 24A)--22 October 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
God of our salvation, You deliver Your Son’s work through Your Word in power and in the Holy Spirit. Strengthen the Church’s pastors to proclaim Your truth. Increase the faith of all who hear, that they may respond in love, steadfast in their hope. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of all truth, from the rising of the sun to its setting, You make known Your salvation in Christ. Bless fathers and mothers as they teach their children Your Word and Your ways. Let them know that there is no God besides You and so rejoice in Your faithfulness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God our Father, You appointed Cyrus as Your instrument to return Your people to Jerusalem. Uphold the authorities of our nation in wisdom and integrity, that we might live in peace with a good conscience. Grant that they would make salutary use of the taxes we render, and lead us to recognize them as Your instruments, honoring them as You command. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, our help comes from You, who made heaven and earth. You preserve our life. Have mercy on [_____________ and] all who are afflicted. Keep them from all evil and shade them from all harm. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, guard those who travel. Keep their going out and their coming in. Protect them from every trouble, prosper their journey according to Your will and make their homecomings joyful. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
True and living God, You have turned us from idols to serve You and live. As we await Your Son’s return in glory, grant that we would faithfully receive Him at this altar with repentance and joy. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And God’s people said: Amen.
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P It is truly meet, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Lord’s Prayer
C 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.
The Words of Our Lord
Pax Domini
Agnus Dei
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
839 “O Christ, Our True and Only Light”
1 O Christ, our true and only light,
Enlighten those who sit in night;
Let those afar now hear Your voice
And in Your fold with us rejoice.
2 Fill with the radiance of Your grace
The souls now lost in error’s maze;
Enlighten those whose inmost minds
Some dark delusion haunts and blinds.
3 O gently call those gone astray
That they may find the saving way!
Let ev’ry conscience sore oppressed
In You find peace and heav’nly rest.
4 Shine on the darkened and the cold;
Recall the wand’rers to Your fold.
Unite all those who walk apart;
Confirm the weak and doubting heart,
5 That they with us may evermore
Such grace with wond’ring thanks adore
And endless praise to You be giv’n
By all Your Church in earth and heav’n.
Text: Johann Heermann, 1585–1647; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
641 “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart”
ref You satisfy the hungry heart
With gift of finest wheat.
Come give to us, O saving Lord,
The bread of life to eat.
1 As when the shepherd calls his sheep,
They know and heed his voice;
So when You call Your fam’ly, Lord,
We follow and rejoice. Refrain
2 With joyful lips we sing to You
Our praise and gratitude
That You should count us worthy, Lord,
To share this heav’nly food. Refrain
3 Is not the cup we bless and share
The blood of Christ outpoured?
Do not one cup, one loaf, declare
Our oneness in the Lord? Refrain
4 The myst’ry of Your presence, Lord,
No mortal tongue can tell:
Whom all the world cannot contain
Comes in our hearts to dwell. Refrain
5 You give Yourself to us, O Lord;
Then selfless let us be,
To serve each other in Your name
In truth and charity. Refrain
Text: Omer E. Westendorf, 1916–97
Text: © 1977 Archdiocese of Philadelphia, admin. International Liturgy Publications. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Stand
Nunc Dimittis
Thanksgiving
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Benedicamus
Benediction
Closing Hymn: 781 “We Give Thee But Thine Own”
1 We give Thee but Thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee.
2 May we Thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive
And gladly, as Thou blessest us,
To Thee our firstfruits give!
3 Oh, hearts are bruised and dead,
And homes are bare and cold,
And lambs for whom the Shepherd bled
Are straying from the fold.
4 To comfort and to bless,
To find a balm for woe,
To tend the lone and fatherless
Is angels’ work below.
5 The captive to release,
To God the lost to bring,
To teach the way of life and peace,
It is a Christ-like thing.
6 And we believe Thy Word,
Though dim our faith may be:
Whate’er for Thine we do, O Lord,
We do it unto Thee.
Text: William W. How, 1823–97
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Annoucements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting Three 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing
St Paul Lutheran Church LCMS Auburn, California was live.
Published by Barbara Brandenburg Whitley · · Shared with Public
Sunday School with Becca and Barb
October 22, 2023
THE STORY OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN
Matthew 22:34-40
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St Paul Lutheran Church LCMS Auburn, California was live.
Published by Robert Gloria Potts · · Shared with Public
October 22, 2023
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
"The Things of God"
Matthew 22:15-22
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski… See more
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St Paul Lutheran Church LCMS Auburn, California
Published by Barbara Brandenburg Whitley · ·
Join us at 9 AM in person or here online!ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost – October 22, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Howard Holman
Lay Reader Pat Tavare
Acolyte Kathy McCarthy
Organist Coleen Tallman
Communion Preparation Coleen Tallman
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley, Ted Smith,
Oroville Harshbarger (honorary)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
TRUNKS OF TREATS FALL FESTIVAL is scheduled for Monday, October 30th from 5 – 7 p.m. It will be held in the upper parking lot and playground. Please speak with Barb Whitley for more information and if you would like to volunteer to help. Wrapped candy and/or money to help purchase Christian books are welcome.
THERE IS NO GOD, you say? Consider this--
"Is hell-fire a physical or hyperphysical fire? As a rule our old theologians concluded their presentation with the remark: 'It is wiser to be concerned about escaping this eternal fire by true repentance then to engage in an unprofitable argument as to the nature of this fire.' One thing is sure, hell contains no atheists because the damned actually experience God as the righteous Judge. There is no more room in hell for the lie that there is no God” (Christian Dogmatics, Vol. III, p. 546, Francis Pieper).
WHEN EXPERIENCING LIFE’S UNCERTAINTIES, PRAY--
Lord God, You have called Your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that Your hand is leading us, Your love supporting us; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
And when I am oppressed, beat down, By devil, world, and flesh,
His Supper does with grace abound, His blood shall e’er refresh.
[sung to the tune of “Amazing Grace”]
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
October 22, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 940 “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name”
1 Holy God, we praise Thy name;
Lord of all, we bow before Thee.
All on earth Thy scepter claim,
All in heav’n above adore Thee.
Infinite Thy vast domain,
Everlasting is Thy reign.
2 Hark! The glad celestial hymn
Angel choirs above are raising;
Cherubim and seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising,
Fill the heav’ns with sweet accord:
Holy, holy, holy Lord!
3 Lo, the_apostles’ holy train
Join Thy sacred name to hallow;
Prophets swell the glad refrain,
And the white-robed martyrs follow,
And from morn to set of sun
Through the Church the song goes on.
4 Thou art King of Glory, Christ;
Son of God, yet born of Mary.
For us sinners sacrificed,
As to death a Tributary,
First to break the bars of death,
Thou hast opened heav’n to faith.
D 5 Holy Father, holy Son,
Holy Spirit, three we name Thee;
Though in essence only one,
Undivided God we claim Thee
And, adoring, bend the knee
While we own the mystery.
Text: Latin, c. 4th cent.; German version Katholisches Gesangbuch, 1774, Vienna; tr. Clarence A. Walworth, 1820–1900, alt.
Text: Public domain
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 121:5, 1–4, 7–8
P The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P O God, the protector of all who trust in You, have mercy on us that with You as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 45:1–7
1Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
2“I will go before you
and level the exalted places,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
4For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I name you, though you do not know me.
5I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
6that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and create calamity,
I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung by all] Psalm 96:1–9
1Oh sing to the Lord a | new song;*
sing to the Lord, | all the earth!
2Sing to the Lord, | bless his name;*
tell of his salvation from | day to day.
3Declare his glory among the | nations,*
his marvelous works among all the | peoples!
4For great is the Lord, and greatly | to be praised;*
he is to be feared a- | bove all gods.
5For all the gods of the peoples are worthless | idols,*
but the Lord made the | heavens.
6Splendor and majesty are be- | fore him;*
strength and beauty are in his sanctu- | ary.
7Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the | peoples,*
ascribe to the Lord glo- | ry and strength!
8Ascribe to the Lord the glory | due his name;*
bring an offering, and come in- | to his courts!
9Worship the Lord in the splendor of | holiness;*
tremble before him, | all the earth!
Epistle 1 Thessalonians 1:1–10
1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
2We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia
Holy Gospel Matthew 22:15–22
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-second chapter.
15Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle [Jesus] in his talk. 16And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 734 “I Trust, O Lord, Your Holy Name”
1 I trust, O Lord, Your holy name;
O let me not be put to shame
Nor let me be confounded.
My faith, O Lord,
Be in Your Word
Forever firmly grounded.
2 Bow down Your gracious ear to me
And hear my cry, my prayer, my plea;
Make haste for my protection,
For woes and fear
Surround me here.
Help me in my affliction.
3 You are my strength, my shield, my rock,
My fortress that withstands each shock,
My help, my life, my tower,
My battle sword,
Almighty Lord--
Who can resist Your power?
4 With You, O Lord, I cast my lot;
O faithful God, forsake me not,
To You my soul commending.
Lord, be my stay,
And lead the way
Now and when life is ending.
D 5 All honor, praise, and majesty
To Father, Son, and Spirit be,
Our God forever glorious,
In whose rich grace
We run our race
Till we depart victorious.
Text: Adam Reusner, 1496–c. 1575; (sts. 1–4): tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.; (st. 5): tr. Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book, 1907, Pittsburgh, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “The Things of God” Matthew 22:15-22
The Things of God - Matthew 22:15-22
v. 15 – “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Jesus said, "Render to God what is God's." We must recognize here what belongs to God, so that we can deliver it to Him. Christ pointed to the coin with the image of Caesar to show the Jews that they should render to Caesar the things that bear his image. So also, we should render to God the things that bear God's image.
In the beginning, Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. But the image did not last long. It was soon broken by the first sin, and has remained broken in us as children of Adam and Eve.
You might say that the image of God in you still remains, although it is broken and corrupted. But does God accept an offering that is broken or corrupted? No, that would be a mockery of God. The works produced by the corrupted image are corrupt. Every act that comes from a sinful heart is sinful. The Pharisees and Herodians mentioned in our text didn’t want to own up to that. They thought that they were good enough to attract God’s attention by their own good deeds, when in truth, they were only sinful as well. They even went so far as wanting to trick Jesus and “entangle Him in His words,” even though it would turn out to be the other way around. For which sinner, Pharisee, Herodian, or the likes of us can profess to tell God how things should be?
What would happen if we tried to render to Caesar our taxes and attempted to pay the IRS and state franchise tax board using tiny shreds of dollar bills? If you handed them an envelope with the itty bitty fragments, do you think they would accept it? Of course not. In the same way, God cannot accept the works that proceed from a broken image.
We can see evidence of this broken image in many aspects of our lives. When it comes time to obey God's commandments, the efforts of the broken image in us are weak at best. We shatter the commandments by continually transgressing them every day. It is unavoidable, no matter how hard we try. A bad tree cannot bear good fruit, and, in truth, in and of ourselves, we are bad trees, worse than any of the gray pines that have had to be removed from our church property. That’s because our “badness” causes us to be separated from God, AND there’s nothing we can do to make things any better. We heard from the prophet Ezekiel a few Sundays back the sad and sorry truth, “the soul that sins, it shall die eternally.”
If we were a stained glass window and we were shattered into a million pieces, then there would be nothing left to do but sweep us up and put us in the garbage heap. With the broken image of God, the logical conclusion is to be swept away by the angels on judgment day and dumped into the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, the abyss of hell. That is what we and every other human being deserve, because God's image in us has been broken by sin.
But Christ Jesus has no broken image. Although He received His flesh and blood from the Virgin Mary, yet He was conceived by the Holy Spirit without sin. Therefore, He is the only Man with the perfect image of God intact. As it says in Hebrews chapter one, Christ is the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of His person. It also says in Colossians chapter one, Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. And as Christ Himself said, "When you see Me, you have seen the Father."
So when Christ lived His life, He rendered perfect obedience to His Father. He fulfilled every commandment as no man has done before, and none have since. Christ, with His perfect image of God intact, was able to do what we could not. He kept the whole Law, down to the last jot and tittle. His entire life was one continual offering of loving obedience to His Father.
When He offered Himself up on the Cross, He rendered to His Father the perfect sacrifice for sin. He gave Himself freely as the innocent Lamb. Because the image of God in Him was perfect, the sacrifice had infinite value. The blood was more precious than silver or gold, or diamonds, or anything. Every shudder and sigh of pain was priceless to make payment for sin.
Therefore, the life and death of Christ are the true rendering to God what belongs to God. Christ gave to His Father what needed to be paid, His holy, sinless life.
But it does not only count for Him. When you were baptized, God placed the image of Christ on you. That changes everything about your life. Now God does not see the broken image that is in you and broken works, but He sees only the perfect image of God that Christ gave you. When He looks at your life, He sees a life of perfect obedience rendered to Him. He sees no sins. He sees only the unbroken image of Christ. For when God looks at us through the shed blood of Jesus, it is as if we had never sinned—“clothed in Christ’s righteousness alone,” made faultless to stand before God’s throne.
Our entire life is now an offering made acceptable in God's sight. God receives everything we do as the proper rendering to Him. That’s why St. Paul could say that whatever we do, in word or deed, we are to do it for God’s glory. Paul even went so far, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit to write to the Roman Christians and to us that we are to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. When we sacrifice for Him, whether in pain or persecution or in the offering plate, God sees it as immaculately holy works done in His own image. Even though our thoughts and actions are still stained by sin, yet the image of Christ lifts us up as an offering without any blemish or impurity, holy and accept able to God, which is our spiritual worship. We sadly note that the Pharisees and Herodians were not willing to do this. Yes, they marveled when they heard Jesus’ answer to their supposedly tricky question, but they left Him and went away. May our response not mirror theirs. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” May we only walk hand in hand with Jesus. As one poet put it--
Lord, take my hand and lead me Upon life’s way;
Direct, protect, and feed me From day nto day.
Without Your grace and favor I go astray;
So take my hand, O Savior, and lead the way.
Lord, when the shadows lengthen And night has come,
I know that You will strength My steps toward home.
Then nothing can impede me, O blessed Friend;
So take my hand and lead me Unto the end.
As we continue on our life’s journey under the cross of Christ, may we always remember that the final judgment has already been declared for us. We don’t need to wait for the last Day. We are already judged righteous in Christ, whose image covers us. When we arrive at the pearly gates on that glorious and wonderful Day, we will walk straight in, since we are fully dressed in clothing whiter than snow, richer than the clothing of any earthly king. For we are dressed in the image of the King of kings and Lord of lords, in whose glorious presence we shall live in joy and peace, forever and ever.
Give to God the things that are God’s. Live as a forgiven child of the King for we were bought with a price, that we might be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as Jesus is risen from the dead, and lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true, for it is the only way that brings us life now, and forever. Amen
Offertory
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church--Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 24A)--22 October 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
God of our salvation, You deliver Your Son’s work through Your Word in power and in the Holy Spirit. Strengthen the Church’s pastors to proclaim Your truth. Increase the faith of all who hear, that they may respond in love, steadfast in their hope. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of all truth, from the rising of the sun to its setting, You make known Your salvation in Christ. Bless fathers and mothers as they teach their children Your Word and Your ways. Let them know that there is no God besides You and so rejoice in Your faithfulness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God our Father, You appointed Cyrus as Your instrument to return Your people to Jerusalem. Uphold the authorities of our nation in wisdom and integrity, that we might live in peace with a good conscience. Grant that they would make salutary use of the taxes we render, and lead us to recognize them as Your instruments, honoring them as You command. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, our help comes from You, who made heaven and earth. You preserve our life. Have mercy on [_____________ and] all who are afflicted. Keep them from all evil and shade them from all harm. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, guard those who travel. Keep their going out and their coming in. Protect them from every trouble, prosper their journey according to Your will and make their homecomings joyful. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
True and living God, You have turned us from idols to serve You and live. As we await Your Son’s return in glory, grant that we would faithfully receive Him at this altar with repentance and joy. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And God’s people said: Amen.
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P It is truly meet, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Lord’s Prayer
C 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.
The Words of Our Lord
Pax Domini
Agnus Dei
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
839 “O Christ, Our True and Only Light”
1 O Christ, our true and only light,
Enlighten those who sit in night;
Let those afar now hear Your voice
And in Your fold with us rejoice.
2 Fill with the radiance of Your grace
The souls now lost in error’s maze;
Enlighten those whose inmost minds
Some dark delusion haunts and blinds.
3 O gently call those gone astray
That they may find the saving way!
Let ev’ry conscience sore oppressed
In You find peace and heav’nly rest.
4 Shine on the darkened and the cold;
Recall the wand’rers to Your fold.
Unite all those who walk apart;
Confirm the weak and doubting heart,
5 That they with us may evermore
Such grace with wond’ring thanks adore
And endless praise to You be giv’n
By all Your Church in earth and heav’n.
Text: Johann Heermann, 1585–1647; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
641 “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart”
ref You satisfy the hungry heart
With gift of finest wheat.
Come give to us, O saving Lord,
The bread of life to eat.
1 As when the shepherd calls his sheep,
They know and heed his voice;
So when You call Your fam’ly, Lord,
We follow and rejoice. Refrain
2 With joyful lips we sing to You
Our praise and gratitude
That You should count us worthy, Lord,
To share this heav’nly food. Refrain
3 Is not the cup we bless and share
The blood of Christ outpoured?
Do not one cup, one loaf, declare
Our oneness in the Lord? Refrain
4 The myst’ry of Your presence, Lord,
No mortal tongue can tell:
Whom all the world cannot contain
Comes in our hearts to dwell. Refrain
5 You give Yourself to us, O Lord;
Then selfless let us be,
To serve each other in Your name
In truth and charity. Refrain
Text: Omer E. Westendorf, 1916–97
Text: © 1977 Archdiocese of Philadelphia, admin. International Liturgy Publications. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Stand
Nunc Dimittis
Thanksgiving
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Benedicamus
Benediction
Closing Hymn: 781 “We Give Thee But Thine Own”
1 We give Thee but Thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee.
2 May we Thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive
And gladly, as Thou blessest us,
To Thee our firstfruits give!
3 Oh, hearts are bruised and dead,
And homes are bare and cold,
And lambs for whom the Shepherd bled
Are straying from the fold.
4 To comfort and to bless,
To find a balm for woe,
To tend the lone and fatherless
Is angels’ work below.
5 The captive to release,
To God the lost to bring,
To teach the way of life and peace,
It is a Christ-like thing.
6 And we believe Thy Word,
Though dim our faith may be:
Whate’er for Thine we do, O Lord,
We do it unto Thee.
Text: William W. How, 1823–97
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Annoucements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting Three 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishin
St Paul Lutheran Church LCMS Auburn, California was live.
Published by Barbara Brandenburg Whitley · · Shared with Public
Sunday School with Becca and Barb
October 22, 2023
THE STORY OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN
Matthew 22:34-40
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St Paul Lutheran Church LCMS Auburn, California was live.
Published by Robert Gloria Potts · · Shared with Public
October 22, 2023
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
"The Things of God"
Matthew 22:15-22
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski… See more
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St Paul Lutheran Church LCMS Auburn, California
Published by Barbara Brandenburg Whitley · ·
Join us at 9 AM in person or here online!ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost – October 22, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Howard Holman
Lay Reader Pat Tavare
Acolyte Kathy McCarthy
Organist Coleen Tallman
Communion Preparation Coleen Tallman
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley, Ted Smith,
Oroville Harshbarger (honorary)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
TRUNKS OF TREATS FALL FESTIVAL is scheduled for Monday, October 30th from 5 – 7 p.m. It will be held in the upper parking lot and playground. Please speak with Barb Whitley for more information and if you would like to volunteer to help. Wrapped candy and/or money to help purchase Christian books are welcome.
THERE IS NO GOD, you say? Consider this--
"Is hell-fire a physical or hyperphysical fire? As a rule our old theologians concluded their presentation with the remark: 'It is wiser to be concerned about escaping this eternal fire by true repentance then to engage in an unprofitable argument as to the nature of this fire.' One thing is sure, hell contains no atheists because the damned actually experience God as the righteous Judge. There is no more room in hell for the lie that there is no God” (Christian Dogmatics, Vol. III, p. 546, Francis Pieper).
WHEN EXPERIENCING LIFE’S UNCERTAINTIES, PRAY--
Lord God, You have called Your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that Your hand is leading us, Your love supporting us; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
And when I am oppressed, beat down, By devil, world, and flesh,
His Supper does with grace abound, His blood shall e’er refresh.
[sung to the tune of “Amazing Grace”]
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
October 22, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 940 “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name”
1 Holy God, we praise Thy name;
Lord of all, we bow before Thee.
All on earth Thy scepter claim,
All in heav’n above adore Thee.
Infinite Thy vast domain,
Everlasting is Thy reign.
2 Hark! The glad celestial hymn
Angel choirs above are raising;
Cherubim and seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising,
Fill the heav’ns with sweet accord:
Holy, holy, holy Lord!
3 Lo, the_apostles’ holy train
Join Thy sacred name to hallow;
Prophets swell the glad refrain,
And the white-robed martyrs follow,
And from morn to set of sun
Through the Church the song goes on.
4 Thou art King of Glory, Christ;
Son of God, yet born of Mary.
For us sinners sacrificed,
As to death a Tributary,
First to break the bars of death,
Thou hast opened heav’n to faith.
D 5 Holy Father, holy Son,
Holy Spirit, three we name Thee;
Though in essence only one,
Undivided God we claim Thee
And, adoring, bend the knee
While we own the mystery.
Text: Latin, c. 4th cent.; German version Katholisches Gesangbuch, 1774, Vienna; tr. Clarence A. Walworth, 1820–1900, alt.
Text: Public domain
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 121:5, 1–4, 7–8
P The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P O God, the protector of all who trust in You, have mercy on us that with You as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 45:1–7
1Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
2“I will go before you
and level the exalted places,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
4For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I name you, though you do not know me.
5I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
6that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and create calamity,
I am the Lord, who does all these things.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung by all] Psalm 96:1–9
1Oh sing to the Lord a | new song;*
sing to the Lord, | all the earth!
2Sing to the Lord, | bless his name;*
tell of his salvation from | day to day.
3Declare his glory among the | nations,*
his marvelous works among all the | peoples!
4For great is the Lord, and greatly | to be praised;*
he is to be feared a- | bove all gods.
5For all the gods of the peoples are worthless | idols,*
but the Lord made the | heavens.
6Splendor and majesty are be- | fore him;*
strength and beauty are in his sanctu- | ary.
7Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the | peoples,*
ascribe to the Lord glo- | ry and strength!
8Ascribe to the Lord the glory | due his name;*
bring an offering, and come in- | to his courts!
9Worship the Lord in the splendor of | holiness;*
tremble before him, | all the earth!
Epistle 1 Thessalonians 1:1–10
1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
2We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia
Holy Gospel Matthew 22:15–22
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-second chapter.
15Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle [Jesus] in his talk. 16And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 734 “I Trust, O Lord, Your Holy Name”
1 I trust, O Lord, Your holy name;
O let me not be put to shame
Nor let me be confounded.
My faith, O Lord,
Be in Your Word
Forever firmly grounded.
2 Bow down Your gracious ear to me
And hear my cry, my prayer, my plea;
Make haste for my protection,
For woes and fear
Surround me here.
Help me in my affliction.
3 You are my strength, my shield, my rock,
My fortress that withstands each shock,
My help, my life, my tower,
My battle sword,
Almighty Lord--
Who can resist Your power?
4 With You, O Lord, I cast my lot;
O faithful God, forsake me not,
To You my soul commending.
Lord, be my stay,
And lead the way
Now and when life is ending.
D 5 All honor, praise, and majesty
To Father, Son, and Spirit be,
Our God forever glorious,
In whose rich grace
We run our race
Till we depart victorious.
Text: Adam Reusner, 1496–c. 1575; (sts. 1–4): tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.; (st. 5): tr. Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book, 1907, Pittsburgh, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “The Things of God” Matthew 22:15-22
The Things of God - Matthew 22:15-22
v. 15 – “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Jesus said, "Render to God what is God's." We must recognize here what belongs to God, so that we can deliver it to Him. Christ pointed to the coin with the image of Caesar to show the Jews that they should render to Caesar the things that bear his image. So also, we should render to God the things that bear God's image.
In the beginning, Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. But the image did not last long. It was soon broken by the first sin, and has remained broken in us as children of Adam and Eve.
You might say that the image of God in you still remains, although it is broken and corrupted. But does God accept an offering that is broken or corrupted? No, that would be a mockery of God. The works produced by the corrupted image are corrupt. Every act that comes from a sinful heart is sinful. The Pharisees and Herodians mentioned in our text didn’t want to own up to that. They thought that they were good enough to attract God’s attention by their own good deeds, when in truth, they were only sinful as well. They even went so far as wanting to trick Jesus and “entangle Him in His words,” even though it would turn out to be the other way around. For which sinner, Pharisee, Herodian, or the likes of us can profess to tell God how things should be?
What would happen if we tried to render to Caesar our taxes and attempted to pay the IRS and state franchise tax board using tiny shreds of dollar bills? If you handed them an envelope with the itty bitty fragments, do you think they would accept it? Of course not. In the same way, God cannot accept the works that proceed from a broken image.
We can see evidence of this broken image in many aspects of our lives. When it comes time to obey God's commandments, the efforts of the broken image in us are weak at best. We shatter the commandments by continually transgressing them every day. It is unavoidable, no matter how hard we try. A bad tree cannot bear good fruit, and, in truth, in and of ourselves, we are bad trees, worse than any of the gray pines that have had to be removed from our church property. That’s because our “badness” causes us to be separated from God, AND there’s nothing we can do to make things any better. We heard from the prophet Ezekiel a few Sundays back the sad and sorry truth, “the soul that sins, it shall die eternally.”
If we were a stained glass window and we were shattered into a million pieces, then there would be nothing left to do but sweep us up and put us in the garbage heap. With the broken image of God, the logical conclusion is to be swept away by the angels on judgment day and dumped into the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, the abyss of hell. That is what we and every other human being deserve, because God's image in us has been broken by sin.
But Christ Jesus has no broken image. Although He received His flesh and blood from the Virgin Mary, yet He was conceived by the Holy Spirit without sin. Therefore, He is the only Man with the perfect image of God intact. As it says in Hebrews chapter one, Christ is the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of His person. It also says in Colossians chapter one, Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. And as Christ Himself said, "When you see Me, you have seen the Father."
So when Christ lived His life, He rendered perfect obedience to His Father. He fulfilled every commandment as no man has done before, and none have since. Christ, with His perfect image of God intact, was able to do what we could not. He kept the whole Law, down to the last jot and tittle. His entire life was one continual offering of loving obedience to His Father.
When He offered Himself up on the Cross, He rendered to His Father the perfect sacrifice for sin. He gave Himself freely as the innocent Lamb. Because the image of God in Him was perfect, the sacrifice had infinite value. The blood was more precious than silver or gold, or diamonds, or anything. Every shudder and sigh of pain was priceless to make payment for sin.
Therefore, the life and death of Christ are the true rendering to God what belongs to God. Christ gave to His Father what needed to be paid, His holy, sinless life.
But it does not only count for Him. When you were baptized, God placed the image of Christ on you. That changes everything about your life. Now God does not see the broken image that is in you and broken works, but He sees only the perfect image of God that Christ gave you. When He looks at your life, He sees a life of perfect obedience rendered to Him. He sees no sins. He sees only the unbroken image of Christ. For when God looks at us through the shed blood of Jesus, it is as if we had never sinned—“clothed in Christ’s righteousness alone,” made faultless to stand before God’s throne.
Our entire life is now an offering made acceptable in God's sight. God receives everything we do as the proper rendering to Him. That’s why St. Paul could say that whatever we do, in word or deed, we are to do it for God’s glory. Paul even went so far, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit to write to the Roman Christians and to us that we are to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice. When we sacrifice for Him, whether in pain or persecution or in the offering plate, God sees it as immaculately holy works done in His own image. Even though our thoughts and actions are still stained by sin, yet the image of Christ lifts us up as an offering without any blemish or impurity, holy and accept able to God, which is our spiritual worship. We sadly note that the Pharisees and Herodians were not willing to do this. Yes, they marveled when they heard Jesus’ answer to their supposedly tricky question, but they left Him and went away. May our response not mirror theirs. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” May we only walk hand in hand with Jesus. As one poet put it--
Lord, take my hand and lead me Upon life’s way;
Direct, protect, and feed me From day nto day.
Without Your grace and favor I go astray;
So take my hand, O Savior, and lead the way.
Lord, when the shadows lengthen And night has come,
I know that You will strength My steps toward home.
Then nothing can impede me, O blessed Friend;
So take my hand and lead me Unto the end.
As we continue on our life’s journey under the cross of Christ, may we always remember that the final judgment has already been declared for us. We don’t need to wait for the last Day. We are already judged righteous in Christ, whose image covers us. When we arrive at the pearly gates on that glorious and wonderful Day, we will walk straight in, since we are fully dressed in clothing whiter than snow, richer than the clothing of any earthly king. For we are dressed in the image of the King of kings and Lord of lords, in whose glorious presence we shall live in joy and peace, forever and ever.
Give to God the things that are God’s. Live as a forgiven child of the King for we were bought with a price, that we might be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as Jesus is risen from the dead, and lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true, for it is the only way that brings us life now, and forever. Amen
Offertory
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church--Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 24A)--22 October 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
God of our salvation, You deliver Your Son’s work through Your Word in power and in the Holy Spirit. Strengthen the Church’s pastors to proclaim Your truth. Increase the faith of all who hear, that they may respond in love, steadfast in their hope. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of all truth, from the rising of the sun to its setting, You make known Your salvation in Christ. Bless fathers and mothers as they teach their children Your Word and Your ways. Let them know that there is no God besides You and so rejoice in Your faithfulness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God our Father, You appointed Cyrus as Your instrument to return Your people to Jerusalem. Uphold the authorities of our nation in wisdom and integrity, that we might live in peace with a good conscience. Grant that they would make salutary use of the taxes we render, and lead us to recognize them as Your instruments, honoring them as You command. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, our help comes from You, who made heaven and earth. You preserve our life. Have mercy on [_____________ and] all who are afflicted. Keep them from all evil and shade them from all harm. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, guard those who travel. Keep their going out and their coming in. Protect them from every trouble, prosper their journey according to Your will and make their homecomings joyful. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
True and living God, You have turned us from idols to serve You and live. As we await Your Son’s return in glory, grant that we would faithfully receive Him at this altar with repentance and joy. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And God’s people said: Amen.
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P It is truly meet, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Lord’s Prayer
C 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.
The Words of Our Lord
Pax Domini
Agnus Dei
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
839 “O Christ, Our True and Only Light”
1 O Christ, our true and only light,
Enlighten those who sit in night;
Let those afar now hear Your voice
And in Your fold with us rejoice.
2 Fill with the radiance of Your grace
The souls now lost in error’s maze;
Enlighten those whose inmost minds
Some dark delusion haunts and blinds.
3 O gently call those gone astray
That they may find the saving way!
Let ev’ry conscience sore oppressed
In You find peace and heav’nly rest.
4 Shine on the darkened and the cold;
Recall the wand’rers to Your fold.
Unite all those who walk apart;
Confirm the weak and doubting heart,
5 That they with us may evermore
Such grace with wond’ring thanks adore
And endless praise to You be giv’n
By all Your Church in earth and heav’n.
Text: Johann Heermann, 1585–1647; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
641 “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart”
ref You satisfy the hungry heart
With gift of finest wheat.
Come give to us, O saving Lord,
The bread of life to eat.
1 As when the shepherd calls his sheep,
They know and heed his voice;
So when You call Your fam’ly, Lord,
We follow and rejoice. Refrain
2 With joyful lips we sing to You
Our praise and gratitude
That You should count us worthy, Lord,
To share this heav’nly food. Refrain
3 Is not the cup we bless and share
The blood of Christ outpoured?
Do not one cup, one loaf, declare
Our oneness in the Lord? Refrain
4 The myst’ry of Your presence, Lord,
No mortal tongue can tell:
Whom all the world cannot contain
Comes in our hearts to dwell. Refrain
5 You give Yourself to us, O Lord;
Then selfless let us be,
To serve each other in Your name
In truth and charity. Refrain
Text: Omer E. Westendorf, 1916–97
Text: © 1977 Archdiocese of Philadelphia, admin. International Liturgy Publications. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Stand
Nunc Dimittis
Thanksgiving
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Benedicamus
Benediction
Closing Hymn: 781 “We Give Thee But Thine Own”
1 We give Thee but Thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee.
2 May we Thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive
And gladly, as Thou blessest us,
To Thee our firstfruits give!
3 Oh, hearts are bruised and dead,
And homes are bare and cold,
And lambs for whom the Shepherd bled
Are straying from the fold.
4 To comfort and to bless,
To find a balm for woe,
To tend the lone and fatherless
Is angels’ work below.
5 The captive to release,
To God the lost to bring,
To teach the way of life and peace,
It is a Christ-like thing.
6 And we believe Thy Word,
Though dim our faith may be:
Whate’er for Thine we do, O Lord,
We do it unto Thee.
Text: William W. How, 1823–97
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Annoucements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting Three 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishin
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost – October 15, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Mark Klein
Acolyte Kathy McCarthy
Organist Karen Broach
Communion Preparation Jeri Bliss
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley, Ted Smith,
Oroville Harshbarger (honorary)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
A WORSHIP COMMITTEE meeting is scheduled for TODAY following Adult Bible Class.
A CHURCH COUNCIL meeting will be held on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here. ALSO at 10 a.m., there will be a WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY on Zoom.
TRUNK OF TREATS FALL FESTIVAL is scheduled for Monday, October 30th from 5 – 7 p.m. It will be held in the upper parking lot and playground. Please speak with Barb Whitley for more information and if you would like to volunteer to help. Wrapped candy and/or money to help purchase Christian books are welcome.
WHAT DOES THE GREATEST COMMAND HINGE UPON?
Love. What will be the defining characteristic of followers of Jesus? Love. What will never pass away, even after faith and hope are gone? Love. Love is the mark of the disciple. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Not our Bible knowledge. Not our fasting. Not our stance on public issues. Those things are important indeed, but according to Jesus, the defining mark of Christian discipleship is love. It makes sense, then, that Christians should not only be marked by love, but that Christians should be growing in love.
Trust in the Lord; don’t lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
October 15, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 692 “Praise to You and Adoration”
1 Praise to You and adoration,
Blessèd Jesus, Son of God,
Who, to serve Your own creation,
Came to share our flesh and blood.
Guide me that I never may
From Your fold or pastures stray,
But with zeal and joy exceeding
Follow where Your steps are leading.
2 Hold me ever in Your keeping;
Comfort me in pain and strife.
In my laughter and my weeping
Be with me throughout my life.
Give me greater love for You,
And my faith and hope renew
In Your birth, Your life, and passion,
In Your death and resurrection.
Text: Thomas Hansen Kingo, 1634–1703; (st. 1): tr. Kristen Kvamme, 1866–1938, alt.; (st. 2): tr. Christian Worship, 1993
Text: Public domain
Confession and Absolution
Please stand if able
[The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.]
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
C But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.
P Since we are gathered to hear God’s Word, call upon Him in prayer and praise, and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fellowship of this altar, let us first consider our unworthiness and confess before God and one another that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, and that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition. Together as His people let us take refuge in the infinite mercy of God, our heavenly Father, seeking His grace for the sake of Christ, and saying:
C God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen.
P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 146:2, Isaiah 61:10
P I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Let us pray.
Almighty God, You invite us to trust in You for our salvation. Deal with us not in the severity of Your judgment but by the greatness of Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 25:6–9
6On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
7And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
8He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
9It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung by all] Psalm 23
1The Lord is my | shepherd;*
I | shall not want.
2He makes me lie down in green | pastures.*
He leads me beside still | waters.
3He re- | stores my soul.*
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his | name’s sake.
4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are | with me;*
your rod and your staff, they | comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my | enemies;*
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup | overflows.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days | of my life,*
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for- | ever.
Epistle Philippians 4:4–13
4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
10I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia and Verse
Holy Gospel Matthew 22:1–14
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-second chapter.
C Glory to You, O Lord.
1Again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ 5But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14For many are called, but few are chosen.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C Praise to You, O Christ.
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Sit
Hymn: 510 “A Multitude Comes from the East and the West”
1 A multitude comes from the east and the west
To sit at the feast of salvation
With Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the blest,
Obeying the Lord’s invitation.
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
2 O God, let us hear when our Shepherd shall call
In accents persuasive and tender,
That while there is time we make haste, one and all,
And find Him, our mighty defender.
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
3 All trials shall be like a dream that is past,
Forgotten all trouble and mourning.
All questions and doubts have been answered at last,
When rises the light of that morning.
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
4 The heavens shall ring with an anthem more grand
Than ever on earth was recorded.
The blest of the Lord shall receive at His hand
The crown to the victors awarded.
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
Text: Magnus Brostrup Landstad, 1802–80; tr. Peer O. Strömme, 1856–1921, adapt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “The Wedding Feast” Matthew 22:1-14
The Wedding Feast – Matthew 22:1-14
Today's Gospel is still part of the conversation that began when the high priests and elders asked Jesus about His authority. It is probably Tuesday of Holy Week. Jesus continued to use parables as He taught. This time, the parable is about a royal wedding. The traditions of first century royal weddings are very different from our modern traditions. One of the ways to understand a text like this is to imagine the same customs as they might happen in our time and place. So, imagine a first century Israeli wedding transplanted into the 21st century. And you are there.
One day, a special courier shows up at your home with an invitation from the royal family. The king and queen would like you and your family to attend the wedding of the prince. The courier explains that you and your family will spend ten days as royal guests. The courier waits for your reply and you say, "Yes, of course!" Then you and your spouse get out your appointment books and re-arrange your calendars so that you can attend.
The day arrives and a limousine arrives for you and your family. The chauffeur seems a little nervous. You ask what's wrong and he tells you that some of his friends were killed when they went to pick up some of the other guests. The king sent his guards to arrest the murderers and hold them for trial. Why would people kill a chauffeur when all he wants to do is escort them to a once in a lifetime event? Thankfully, the limo takes you to the airport. A private jet takes you to the royal airport. Another limo takes you to the wedding hall. The wedding hall staff escorts you to a luxury suite for you and your family. Even though it has been an exciting day, you and your family are exhausted. Soon, everyone is off to bed and asleep.
The next morning, after breakfast, a very familiar looking man approaches you. "Good morning," He says, "I hope you had a good breakfast. My name is Giorgio. The king has commissioned me to supervise the wardrobe of his guests." He then motioned to a woman standing next to him, and said, "This is Sarah. If the ladies in your party would follow her, and the gentlemen would follow me, we will introduce you to our staffs who will prepare the clothing you will wear at the celebration." You suddenly realize that Sarah is the same Sarah Burton who designed Kate Middleton's wedding dress, and Giorgio is Giorgio Armani. The king is giving you wedding clothes designed specifically for you by two of the most famous fashion designers in the world.
A few days later, all is ready. Servants arrive in your suite to work on your appearance. It's like a morning at the spa. They work on your hair, give you manicures, pedicures, and so forth. About noon, other servants bring your new wardrobe and help you get dressed. You and your family look like a million bucks. You are ready to go to the wedding.
The wedding is everything that a royal wedding can be. The prince is dashing. His bride is gorgeous. The king and queen are elegant. There are orchestras, choirs, a pipe organ of course, and all the clergy of the land in attendance.
After the wedding, there is a marvelous reception. World class chefs have prepared their best food. The best wine of the royal vineyard is there. The best musicians of the land take their turn in the dance hall. It is all marvelous. As you take in the sights and the sounds around you, you wonder how it was that you and your family were so blessed to be in this place at this time.
Suddenly, there is a disturbance. You hear the king shout, "Guards! Detain this man!" As you move to get a better view, you see a man standing before the king and he is definitely not wearing Armani. Amidst all the elegance of this wedding celebration, the man looks very shabby. Then the king said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' (Matthew 22:12) Although the king had given clothes to everyone and commissioned some of the best fashion designers in the world to design those clothes, this man was wearing casual street clothes. What an insult to the king and his generosity. The king had the man arrested and taken away.
That is how someone might tell the parable if it happened today instead of back in the first century. The big difference is the emphasis on clothing and fashion in the 21st century version. When Jesus first told this parable, he was talking to people who knew that a king always provided special wedding clothes for his guests. When a king held a royal wedding, he not only provided lodging and food for his guests, but he provided special clothes for them as well. Jesus did not have to mention it because everyone who heard him knew that this is how it was done.
So what does this parable have to teach us today? It is very easy for us to look through the pages of the Old Testament and see the many ways that people rejected the prophets. We hear how the people put the prophets in prison, drove them out of their homes, and put them to death, and we rightly condemn such activity. We hear that of the original twelve apostles, only John died of old age. All the others died martyrs' deaths. We wonder at such cruelty and once again, condemn it. It is very easy to point a finger of condemnation at people who lived long ago and far away, but what about you and me. What does Jesus say to us today?
You are gathered in the king's wedding hall right now. The smallest chapel … the largest cathedral … they are places where God comes to be with His people. This is the place of the wedding feast of the lamb that John described in Revelation. Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure” for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." (Revelation 19:6-9)
The man who refused to wear the king's clothes is a warning to you and me today. The king condemned him because he refused the king's clothes. How are we dressed?
Imagine what this man had to do to get into the wedding hall without the right clothes. When he arrived, the servants of the king came to him and offered to clean him up and heal his wounds. They offered him clothing that was just the right style for the feast. They wanted to give him everything he needed to fully enjoy the wedding banquet of the king. The servants offered it all and he refused. He insisted on doing things his way instead of the king's way. He insisted on wearing his clothes instead of the king's clothes. He entered the wedding hall, but rejected the gifts of the king.
God wants to remove the filthy fashion of sin and clothe you in the heavenly style the robes of Christ's righteousness. Hear the words that the Lord gave to Isaiah and that we read earlier in the Introit. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (Isaiah 61:10)
The righteousness of Christ is a very expensive style. Jesus had to buy this style with His holy, precious blood, and His innocent suffering and death. When Jesus shed His precious blood on the cross, He washed away your sin and covered you with the righteousness of His holy life. The righteousness of Jesus Christ is the only style that is elegant enough for eternal life. It is the only style that you can wear to the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Sadly, Jesus teaches that there are those who reject the style of heaven. Jesus says that there will always be some in the banquet hall of heaven who insist on wearing their own clothes their clothes of arrogance, narcissism, self-righteousness, adultery, hatred, and so forth. The old sinful nature insists that he is good enough. He has no sin. He does not need the heavenly style of the righteousness of Christ. His style is just fine. "Besides," the old sinful nature will say, "A loving god doesn't really send people to hell."
Jesus tells it differently. The party crasher may have been able to fool the servants, but the servants are not the ultimate judge. We must all stand before almighty God. There is but one verdict for those who trust themselves and refuse the clothing of the righteousness of Christ. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' (Matthew 22:13) Those who reject Christ, reject salvation. Those who in any way depend on their own efforts for even the smallest fraction of their salvation will meet the king and He will order them out of the wedding hall.
“The king said to his servants, 'Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.'” (Matthew 22:8-9) It is a different story for these. The Holy Spirit works through His precious gifts to bring them to the wedding hall and wash away all their sins. He covers them with the righteousness of Christ, the righteousness earned on the cross. The day will come when they, like Christ, will rise from the dead and enter the wedding feast of the Lamb. There they will receive the fulfillment of today's Old Testament lesson:
“On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 25:6-8) They will rejoice at the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb. Amen
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church--Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 23A)--15 October 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Heavenly King, Your Son, Jesus Christ, purchased the Church with His precious blood. Preserve her in the pure teaching of Your Word, in the right use of the Sacraments and in the unity of the faith. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King, You send out Your invitation that all who believe in Your Son should take their seats at His feast. By the proclamation of Your Church, gather many, however evil they may be, to repent and fill Your eternal banquet hall. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King, bless all families and the homes in which our people dwell. Grant grace to husbands and wives, that they may fulfill their vocations to one another and to their children. Grant also that, as a family, they may faithfully teach and learn the faith. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King, keep the coming of Your Son always at the forefront of heart and mind, that subject for His sake to the fleeting powers of this world, we may live in continual godliness and the peace that passes all understanding. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King for whom we wait, You promise to wipe away the tears from all faces. Bless [_____________ and] all who weep here, that at the last they may be comforted, restored and received into the banquet of heaven. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King, You have prepared a table before us in the midst of those who refuse Your invitation. Keep Your Church unstained by the world, that we may partake of our Lord’s Supper worthily, clothed in His baptismal grace. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King, give us such joy in pursuing what is true, just, pure and worthy of praise that, spurning the temptations of this world, we would suffer no anxiety. Let our trust be placed fully in Christ and let our hope rest in the life of the world to come; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Offering Prayer
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, for the countless blessings You so freely bestow on us and all creation. Above all, we give thanks for Your boundless love shown to us when You sent Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into our flesh and laid on Him our sin, giving Him into death that we might not die eternally. Because He is now risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity, all who believe in Him will overcome sin and death and will rise again to new life. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Prayer of Thanksgiving
P Blessed are You, O Lord our God, king of all creation, for You have had mercy on us and given Your only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
In Your righteous judgment You condemned the sin of Adam and Eve, who ate the forbidden fruit, and You justly barred them and all their children from the tree of life. Yet, in Your great mercy, You promised salvation by a second Adam, Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and made His cross a life-giving tree for all who trust in Him.
We give You thanks for the redemption You have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may faithfully eat and drink of the fruits of His cross and receive the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation that come to us in His body and blood.
Hear us as we pray in His name and as He has taught us:
Lord’s Prayer
C 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.
The Words of Our Lord
Pax Domini
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C Amen.
Agnus Dei
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
516 “Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying”
1 “Wake, awake, for night is flying,”
The watchmen on the heights are crying;
“Awake, Jerusalem, arise!”
Midnight hears the welcome voices
And at the thrilling cry rejoices:
“Oh, where are ye, ye virgins wise?
The Bridegroom comes, awake!
Your lamps with gladness take!
Alleluia!
With bridal care
Yourselves prepare
To meet the Bridegroom, who is near.”
2 Zion hears the watchmen singing,
And all her heart with joy is springing;
She wakes, she rises from her gloom.
For her Lord comes down all-glorious,
The strong in grace, in truth victorious;
Her star is ris’n, her light is come.
Now come, Thou Blessèd One,
Lord Jesus, God’s own Son,
Hail! Hosanna!
We enter all
The wedding hall
To eat the Supper at Thy call.
3 Now let all the heav’ns adore Thee,
Let saints and angels sing before Thee
With harp and cymbals’ clearest tone.
Of one pearl each shining portal,
Where, joining with the choir immortal,
We gather round Thy radiant throne.
No eye has seen the light,
No ear has heard the might
Of Thy glory;
Therefore will we
Eternally
Sing hymns of praise and joy to Thee!
Text: tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.; Philipp Nicolai, 1556–1608
Text: Public domain
626 “Come, Let Us Eat”
1 Come, let us eat, for now the feast is spread,
Come, let us eat, for now the feast is spread.
Our Lord’s body let us take together,
Our Lord’s body let us take together.
2 Come, let us drink, for now the wine is poured,
Come, let us drink, for now the wine is poured.
Jesus’ blood poured let us drink together,
Jesus’ blood poured let us drink together.
3 In His presence now we meet and rest,
In His presence now we meet and rest.
In the presence of our Lord we gather,
In the presence of our Lord we gather.
4 Rise, then, to spread abroad God’s mighty Word,
Rise, then, to spread abroad God’s mighty Word.
Jesus risen will bring in the Kingdom,
Jesus risen will bring in the Kingdom.
Text (sts. 1–3): tr. Margaret D. Miller, 1927, alt.; (sts. 1–3): Billema Kwillia, 1925; (st. 4): Gilbert E. Doan, 1930, alt.
Text (sts. 1–3): © Lutheran World Federation; (st. 4): © 1972 Augsburg Fortress. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Stand
Nunc Dimittis
Post-Communion Collect
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benediction
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and T give you peace.
C Amen.
Closing Hymn: 830 “Spread the Reign of God the Lord”
1 Spread the reign of God the Lord,
Spoken, written, mighty Word;
Ev’rywhere His creatures call
To His heav’nly banquet hall.
2 Tell how God the Father’s will
Made the world, upholds it still,
How His own dear Son He gave
Us from sin and death to save.
3 Tell of our Redeemer’s grace,
Who, to save our human race
And to pay rebellion’s price,
Gave Himself as sacrifice.
4 Tell of God the Spirit giv’n
Now to guide us on to heav’n,
Strong and holy, just and true,
Working both to will and do.
5 Enter, mighty Word, the field;
Ripe the promise of its yield.
But the reapers, oh, how few
For the work there is to do!
6 Lord of harvest, great and kind,
Rouse to action heart and mind;
Let the gath’ring nations all
See Your light and heed Your call.
Text: Jonathan Friedrich Bahnmaier, 1774–1841; tr. composite
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost – October 15, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Mark Klein
Acolyte Kathy McCarthy
Organist Karen Broach
Communion Preparation Jeri Bliss
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley, Ted Smith,
Oroville Harshbarger (honorary)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
A WORSHIP COMMITTEE meeting is scheduled for TODAY following Adult Bible Class.
A CHURCH COUNCIL meeting will be held on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here. ALSO at 10 a.m., there will be a WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY on Zoom.
TRUNK OF TREATS FALL FESTIVAL is scheduled for Monday, October 30th from 5 – 7 p.m. It will be held in the upper parking lot and playground. Please speak with Barb Whitley for more information and if you would like to volunteer to help. Wrapped candy and/or money to help purchase Christian books are welcome.
WHAT DOES THE GREATEST COMMAND HINGE UPON?
Love. What will be the defining characteristic of followers of Jesus? Love. What will never pass away, even after faith and hope are gone? Love. Love is the mark of the disciple. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Not our Bible knowledge. Not our fasting. Not our stance on public issues. Those things are important indeed, but according to Jesus, the defining mark of Christian discipleship is love. It makes sense, then, that Christians should not only be marked by love, but that Christians should be growing in love.
Trust in the Lord; don’t lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
October 15, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 692 “Praise to You and Adoration”
1 Praise to You and adoration,
Blessèd Jesus, Son of God,
Who, to serve Your own creation,
Came to share our flesh and blood.
Guide me that I never may
From Your fold or pastures stray,
But with zeal and joy exceeding
Follow where Your steps are leading.
2 Hold me ever in Your keeping;
Comfort me in pain and strife.
In my laughter and my weeping
Be with me throughout my life.
Give me greater love for You,
And my faith and hope renew
In Your birth, Your life, and passion,
In Your death and resurrection.
Text: Thomas Hansen Kingo, 1634–1703; (st. 1): tr. Kristen Kvamme, 1866–1938, alt.; (st. 2): tr. Christian Worship, 1993
Text: Public domain
Confession and Absolution
Please stand if able
[The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.]
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
C But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.
P Since we are gathered to hear God’s Word, call upon Him in prayer and praise, and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fellowship of this altar, let us first consider our unworthiness and confess before God and one another that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, and that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition. Together as His people let us take refuge in the infinite mercy of God, our heavenly Father, seeking His grace for the sake of Christ, and saying:
C God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen.
P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 146:2, Isaiah 61:10
P I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Let us pray.
Almighty God, You invite us to trust in You for our salvation. Deal with us not in the severity of Your judgment but by the greatness of Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 25:6–9
6On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
7And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
8He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
9It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung by all] Psalm 23
1The Lord is my | shepherd;*
I | shall not want.
2He makes me lie down in green | pastures.*
He leads me beside still | waters.
3He re- | stores my soul.*
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his | name’s sake.
4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are | with me;*
your rod and your staff, they | comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my | enemies;*
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup | overflows.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days | of my life,*
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for- | ever.
Epistle Philippians 4:4–13
4Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
10I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia and Verse
Holy Gospel Matthew 22:1–14
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-second chapter.
C Glory to You, O Lord.
1Again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ 5But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14For many are called, but few are chosen.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C Praise to You, O Christ.
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Sit
Hymn: 510 “A Multitude Comes from the East and the West”
1 A multitude comes from the east and the west
To sit at the feast of salvation
With Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the blest,
Obeying the Lord’s invitation.
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
2 O God, let us hear when our Shepherd shall call
In accents persuasive and tender,
That while there is time we make haste, one and all,
And find Him, our mighty defender.
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
3 All trials shall be like a dream that is past,
Forgotten all trouble and mourning.
All questions and doubts have been answered at last,
When rises the light of that morning.
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
4 The heavens shall ring with an anthem more grand
Than ever on earth was recorded.
The blest of the Lord shall receive at His hand
The crown to the victors awarded.
Have mercy upon us, O Jesus!
Text: Magnus Brostrup Landstad, 1802–80; tr. Peer O. Strömme, 1856–1921, adapt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “The Wedding Feast” Matthew 22:1-14
The Wedding Feast – Matthew 22:1-14
Today's Gospel is still part of the conversation that began when the high priests and elders asked Jesus about His authority. It is probably Tuesday of Holy Week. Jesus continued to use parables as He taught. This time, the parable is about a royal wedding. The traditions of first century royal weddings are very different from our modern traditions. One of the ways to understand a text like this is to imagine the same customs as they might happen in our time and place. So, imagine a first century Israeli wedding transplanted into the 21st century. And you are there.
One day, a special courier shows up at your home with an invitation from the royal family. The king and queen would like you and your family to attend the wedding of the prince. The courier explains that you and your family will spend ten days as royal guests. The courier waits for your reply and you say, "Yes, of course!" Then you and your spouse get out your appointment books and re-arrange your calendars so that you can attend.
The day arrives and a limousine arrives for you and your family. The chauffeur seems a little nervous. You ask what's wrong and he tells you that some of his friends were killed when they went to pick up some of the other guests. The king sent his guards to arrest the murderers and hold them for trial. Why would people kill a chauffeur when all he wants to do is escort them to a once in a lifetime event? Thankfully, the limo takes you to the airport. A private jet takes you to the royal airport. Another limo takes you to the wedding hall. The wedding hall staff escorts you to a luxury suite for you and your family. Even though it has been an exciting day, you and your family are exhausted. Soon, everyone is off to bed and asleep.
The next morning, after breakfast, a very familiar looking man approaches you. "Good morning," He says, "I hope you had a good breakfast. My name is Giorgio. The king has commissioned me to supervise the wardrobe of his guests." He then motioned to a woman standing next to him, and said, "This is Sarah. If the ladies in your party would follow her, and the gentlemen would follow me, we will introduce you to our staffs who will prepare the clothing you will wear at the celebration." You suddenly realize that Sarah is the same Sarah Burton who designed Kate Middleton's wedding dress, and Giorgio is Giorgio Armani. The king is giving you wedding clothes designed specifically for you by two of the most famous fashion designers in the world.
A few days later, all is ready. Servants arrive in your suite to work on your appearance. It's like a morning at the spa. They work on your hair, give you manicures, pedicures, and so forth. About noon, other servants bring your new wardrobe and help you get dressed. You and your family look like a million bucks. You are ready to go to the wedding.
The wedding is everything that a royal wedding can be. The prince is dashing. His bride is gorgeous. The king and queen are elegant. There are orchestras, choirs, a pipe organ of course, and all the clergy of the land in attendance.
After the wedding, there is a marvelous reception. World class chefs have prepared their best food. The best wine of the royal vineyard is there. The best musicians of the land take their turn in the dance hall. It is all marvelous. As you take in the sights and the sounds around you, you wonder how it was that you and your family were so blessed to be in this place at this time.
Suddenly, there is a disturbance. You hear the king shout, "Guards! Detain this man!" As you move to get a better view, you see a man standing before the king and he is definitely not wearing Armani. Amidst all the elegance of this wedding celebration, the man looks very shabby. Then the king said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' (Matthew 22:12) Although the king had given clothes to everyone and commissioned some of the best fashion designers in the world to design those clothes, this man was wearing casual street clothes. What an insult to the king and his generosity. The king had the man arrested and taken away.
That is how someone might tell the parable if it happened today instead of back in the first century. The big difference is the emphasis on clothing and fashion in the 21st century version. When Jesus first told this parable, he was talking to people who knew that a king always provided special wedding clothes for his guests. When a king held a royal wedding, he not only provided lodging and food for his guests, but he provided special clothes for them as well. Jesus did not have to mention it because everyone who heard him knew that this is how it was done.
So what does this parable have to teach us today? It is very easy for us to look through the pages of the Old Testament and see the many ways that people rejected the prophets. We hear how the people put the prophets in prison, drove them out of their homes, and put them to death, and we rightly condemn such activity. We hear that of the original twelve apostles, only John died of old age. All the others died martyrs' deaths. We wonder at such cruelty and once again, condemn it. It is very easy to point a finger of condemnation at people who lived long ago and far away, but what about you and me. What does Jesus say to us today?
You are gathered in the king's wedding hall right now. The smallest chapel … the largest cathedral … they are places where God comes to be with His people. This is the place of the wedding feast of the lamb that John described in Revelation. Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure” for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." (Revelation 19:6-9)
The man who refused to wear the king's clothes is a warning to you and me today. The king condemned him because he refused the king's clothes. How are we dressed?
Imagine what this man had to do to get into the wedding hall without the right clothes. When he arrived, the servants of the king came to him and offered to clean him up and heal his wounds. They offered him clothing that was just the right style for the feast. They wanted to give him everything he needed to fully enjoy the wedding banquet of the king. The servants offered it all and he refused. He insisted on doing things his way instead of the king's way. He insisted on wearing his clothes instead of the king's clothes. He entered the wedding hall, but rejected the gifts of the king.
God wants to remove the filthy fashion of sin and clothe you in the heavenly style the robes of Christ's righteousness. Hear the words that the Lord gave to Isaiah and that we read earlier in the Introit. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (Isaiah 61:10)
The righteousness of Christ is a very expensive style. Jesus had to buy this style with His holy, precious blood, and His innocent suffering and death. When Jesus shed His precious blood on the cross, He washed away your sin and covered you with the righteousness of His holy life. The righteousness of Jesus Christ is the only style that is elegant enough for eternal life. It is the only style that you can wear to the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Sadly, Jesus teaches that there are those who reject the style of heaven. Jesus says that there will always be some in the banquet hall of heaven who insist on wearing their own clothes their clothes of arrogance, narcissism, self-righteousness, adultery, hatred, and so forth. The old sinful nature insists that he is good enough. He has no sin. He does not need the heavenly style of the righteousness of Christ. His style is just fine. "Besides," the old sinful nature will say, "A loving god doesn't really send people to hell."
Jesus tells it differently. The party crasher may have been able to fool the servants, but the servants are not the ultimate judge. We must all stand before almighty God. There is but one verdict for those who trust themselves and refuse the clothing of the righteousness of Christ. Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' (Matthew 22:13) Those who reject Christ, reject salvation. Those who in any way depend on their own efforts for even the smallest fraction of their salvation will meet the king and He will order them out of the wedding hall.
“The king said to his servants, 'Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.'” (Matthew 22:8-9) It is a different story for these. The Holy Spirit works through His precious gifts to bring them to the wedding hall and wash away all their sins. He covers them with the righteousness of Christ, the righteousness earned on the cross. The day will come when they, like Christ, will rise from the dead and enter the wedding feast of the Lamb. There they will receive the fulfillment of today's Old Testament lesson:
“On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 25:6-8) They will rejoice at the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb. Amen
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church--Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 23A)--15 October 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Heavenly King, Your Son, Jesus Christ, purchased the Church with His precious blood. Preserve her in the pure teaching of Your Word, in the right use of the Sacraments and in the unity of the faith. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King, You send out Your invitation that all who believe in Your Son should take their seats at His feast. By the proclamation of Your Church, gather many, however evil they may be, to repent and fill Your eternal banquet hall. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King, bless all families and the homes in which our people dwell. Grant grace to husbands and wives, that they may fulfill their vocations to one another and to their children. Grant also that, as a family, they may faithfully teach and learn the faith. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King, keep the coming of Your Son always at the forefront of heart and mind, that subject for His sake to the fleeting powers of this world, we may live in continual godliness and the peace that passes all understanding. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King for whom we wait, You promise to wipe away the tears from all faces. Bless [_____________ and] all who weep here, that at the last they may be comforted, restored and received into the banquet of heaven. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King, You have prepared a table before us in the midst of those who refuse Your invitation. Keep Your Church unstained by the world, that we may partake of our Lord’s Supper worthily, clothed in His baptismal grace. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly King, give us such joy in pursuing what is true, just, pure and worthy of praise that, spurning the temptations of this world, we would suffer no anxiety. Let our trust be placed fully in Christ and let our hope rest in the life of the world to come; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Offering Prayer
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, for the countless blessings You so freely bestow on us and all creation. Above all, we give thanks for Your boundless love shown to us when You sent Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into our flesh and laid on Him our sin, giving Him into death that we might not die eternally. Because He is now risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity, all who believe in Him will overcome sin and death and will rise again to new life. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Prayer of Thanksgiving
P Blessed are You, O Lord our God, king of all creation, for You have had mercy on us and given Your only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
In Your righteous judgment You condemned the sin of Adam and Eve, who ate the forbidden fruit, and You justly barred them and all their children from the tree of life. Yet, in Your great mercy, You promised salvation by a second Adam, Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and made His cross a life-giving tree for all who trust in Him.
We give You thanks for the redemption You have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may faithfully eat and drink of the fruits of His cross and receive the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation that come to us in His body and blood.
Hear us as we pray in His name and as He has taught us:
Lord’s Prayer
C 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.
The Words of Our Lord
Pax Domini
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C Amen.
Agnus Dei
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
516 “Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying”
1 “Wake, awake, for night is flying,”
The watchmen on the heights are crying;
“Awake, Jerusalem, arise!”
Midnight hears the welcome voices
And at the thrilling cry rejoices:
“Oh, where are ye, ye virgins wise?
The Bridegroom comes, awake!
Your lamps with gladness take!
Alleluia!
With bridal care
Yourselves prepare
To meet the Bridegroom, who is near.”
2 Zion hears the watchmen singing,
And all her heart with joy is springing;
She wakes, she rises from her gloom.
For her Lord comes down all-glorious,
The strong in grace, in truth victorious;
Her star is ris’n, her light is come.
Now come, Thou Blessèd One,
Lord Jesus, God’s own Son,
Hail! Hosanna!
We enter all
The wedding hall
To eat the Supper at Thy call.
3 Now let all the heav’ns adore Thee,
Let saints and angels sing before Thee
With harp and cymbals’ clearest tone.
Of one pearl each shining portal,
Where, joining with the choir immortal,
We gather round Thy radiant throne.
No eye has seen the light,
No ear has heard the might
Of Thy glory;
Therefore will we
Eternally
Sing hymns of praise and joy to Thee!
Text: tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.; Philipp Nicolai, 1556–1608
Text: Public domain
626 “Come, Let Us Eat”
1 Come, let us eat, for now the feast is spread,
Come, let us eat, for now the feast is spread.
Our Lord’s body let us take together,
Our Lord’s body let us take together.
2 Come, let us drink, for now the wine is poured,
Come, let us drink, for now the wine is poured.
Jesus’ blood poured let us drink together,
Jesus’ blood poured let us drink together.
3 In His presence now we meet and rest,
In His presence now we meet and rest.
In the presence of our Lord we gather,
In the presence of our Lord we gather.
4 Rise, then, to spread abroad God’s mighty Word,
Rise, then, to spread abroad God’s mighty Word.
Jesus risen will bring in the Kingdom,
Jesus risen will bring in the Kingdom.
Text (sts. 1–3): tr. Margaret D. Miller, 1927, alt.; (sts. 1–3): Billema Kwillia, 1925; (st. 4): Gilbert E. Doan, 1930, alt.
Text (sts. 1–3): © Lutheran World Federation; (st. 4): © 1972 Augsburg Fortress. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Stand
Nunc Dimittis
Post-Communion Collect
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benediction
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and T give you peace.
C Amen.
Closing Hymn: 830 “Spread the Reign of God the Lord”
1 Spread the reign of God the Lord,
Spoken, written, mighty Word;
Ev’rywhere His creatures call
To His heav’nly banquet hall.
2 Tell how God the Father’s will
Made the world, upholds it still,
How His own dear Son He gave
Us from sin and death to save.
3 Tell of our Redeemer’s grace,
Who, to save our human race
And to pay rebellion’s price,
Gave Himself as sacrifice.
4 Tell of God the Spirit giv’n
Now to guide us on to heav’n,
Strong and holy, just and true,
Working both to will and do.
5 Enter, mighty Word, the field;
Ripe the promise of its yield.
But the reapers, oh, how few
For the work there is to do!
6 Lord of harvest, great and kind,
Rouse to action heart and mind;
Let the gath’ring nations all
See Your light and heed Your call.
Text: Jonathan Friedrich Bahnmaier, 1774–1841; tr. composite
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost – October 8, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Howard Holman
Acolyte Gena Dillon
Organist Fred Weber
Communion Preparation Gena Dillon
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley, Ted Smith,
Oroville Harshbarger (honorary)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
TRUNK OF TREATS FALL FESTIVAL is scheduled for Monday, October 30th from 5 – 7 p.m. It will be held in the upper parking lot and playground. Please speak with Barb Whitley for more information and if you would like to volunteer to help. Wrapped candy and/or money to help purchase Christian books are welcome.
A WORSHIP COMMITTEE meeting is scheduled for next Sunday following Adult Bible Class.
Be open to conversations - Aaron Earls
Half of Americans (51%), including 60% of the religiously unaffiliated, say they’re curious as to why some people are so devoted to their faith, according to a recent Lifeway Research study. Two in 3 Americans (66%) say they’re at least open to having a conversation about faith with a friend. And 51% are even open to those conversations with a stranger. Even with a growing number of Americans no longer believing in God’s existence, most are still willing to have a conversation about faith and religion.
“The Bible says little about ‘seeing’ God, but it says a great deal about
‘hearing’ him. To be sure, after death we shall see God (1 Corinthians 13:12). But for now, we must listen to Him, and what we must listen to is the Bible.” Gene Edward Veith in “Why God’s Word Is All We
The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 8, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 567 “Not What These Hands Have Done”
1 Not what these hands have done
Can save this guilty soul;
Not what this toiling flesh has borne
Can make my spirit whole.
2 Not what I feel or do
Can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears
Can bear my awful load.
3 Thy work alone, O Christ,
Can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God,
Can give me peace within.
4 Thy love to me, O God,
Not mine, O Lord, to Thee,
Can rid me of this dark unrest
And set my spirit free.
5 Thy grace alone, O God,
To me can pardon speak;
Thy pow’r alone, O Son of God,
Can this sore bondage break.
6 I bless the Christ of God,
I rest on love divine,
And with unfalt’ring lip and heart
I call this Savior mine.
Text: Horatius Bonar, 1808–89
Text: Public domain
Confession and Absolution
Please Stand if able
[The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.]
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
C But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
P Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.
C Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. 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.
P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 118:1, 22–24
P Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Kyrie
“This Is the Feast”
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P Let us pray.
Gracious God, You gave Your Son into the hands of sinful men who killed Him. Forgive us when we reject Your unfailing love, and grant us the fullness of Your salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 5:1–7
1Let me sing for my beloved
my love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2He dug it and cleared it of stones,
and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a wine vat in it;
and he looked for it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.
3And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4What more was there to do for my vineyard,
that I have not done in it?
When I looked for it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes?
5And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down.
6I will make it a waste;
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
and briers and thorns shall grow up;
I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.
7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are his pleasant planting;
and he looked for justice,
but behold, bloodshed;
for righteousness,
but behold, an outcry!
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung by all] Psalm 80:7–19
7Restore us, O | God of hosts;*
let your face shine, that we | may be saved!
8You brought a vine out of | Egypt;*
you drove out the nations and | planted it.
9You cleared the | ground for it;*
it took deep root and | filled the land.
10The mountains were covered | with its shade,*
the mighty cedars with its | branches.
11It sent out its branches | to the sea*
and its shoots to the | River.
12Why then have you broken | down its walls,*
so that all who pass along the way | pluck its fruit?
13The boar from the forest rav- | ages it,*
and all that move in the field | feed on it.
14Turn again, O | God of hosts!*
Look down from | heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
15the stock that your right hand | planted,*
and for the son whom you made strong | for yourself.
16They have burned it with fire; they have | cut it down;*
may they perish at the rebuke | of your face!
17But let your hand be on the man of your | right hand,*
the son of man whom you have made strong | for yourself!
18Then we shall not turn | back from you;*
give us life, and we will call up- | on your name!
19Restore us, O Lord | God of hosts!*
Let your face shine, that we | may be saved!
Epistle Philippians 3:4b–14
If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness, under the law blameless. 7But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
12Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia and Verse
Holy Gospel Matthew 21:33–46
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-first chapter.
33[Jesus said:] “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 544 “O Love, How Deep”
1 O love, how deep, how broad, how high,
Beyond all thought and fantasy,
That God, the Son of God, should take
Our mortal form for mortals’ sake!
2 He sent no angel to our race,
Of higher or of lower place,
But wore the robe of human frame,
And to this world Himself He came.
3 For us baptized, for us He bore
His holy fast and hungered sore;
For us temptation sharp He knew;
For us the tempter overthrew.
4 For us He prayed; for us He taught;
For us His daily works He wrought,
By words and signs and actions thus
Still seeking not Himself but us.
5 For us by wickedness betrayed,
For us, in crown of thorns arrayed,
He bore the shameful cross and death;
For us He gave His dying breath.
6 For us He rose from death again;
For us He went on high to reign;
For us He sent His Spirit here
To guide, to strengthen, and to cheer.
D 7 All glory to our Lord and God
For love so deep, so high, so broad;
The Trinity whom we adore
Forever and forevermore.
Text: attr. Thomas à Kempis, 1380–1471; tr. Benjamin Webb, 1819–85, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “Grace for All” Matthew 21:33-46
Grace for All – Matthew 21:33-46
Last week, we heard about an encounter between Jesus and the chief priests and the elders. It was Holy Week. On the first day of the week, Jesus rode a donkey from the Mount of Olives to the temple while the Passover pilgrims praised him. Then he chased the merchants and money-changers out of the temple. After that, He healed some people. When Jesus returned to the temple to teach, the chief priests and the elders were waiting to check Him out. When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23) Jesus responded with a question of His own, “The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” (Matthew 21:25) The temple authorities were afraid to answer Jesus’ question and so Jesus declined to answer their question. This is where last week’s reading came to an end.
However, just because last week’s reading came to an end, that does not mean that Jesus stopped talking to the chief priests and the elders. Jesus continued to speak with them and about them. The reading we just heard is just one of the parables that Jesus told while He was in the temple that day.
Keep a few things in the back of your mind as we go through this parable. Many of the events represented in the parable would happen in less than a week. In a few days, Judas will betray Jesus. In less than a week, Jesus will suffer, die on the cross, and rise from the dead. The chief priests and the elders were already having secret talks about how to destroy Jesus. Jesus knew that this was coming when He told this story.
Jesus painted a word picture for His listeners. He said, “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. (Matthew 21:33–34) The setup for this parable is very familiar territory. No doubt many of the Passover Pilgrims who listened to Jesus had seen vineyards just like the one in this parable. His listeners would be very familiar with the idea of renting land for a share of the crops it produced. There may even have been vineyard owners and workers listening to Jesus when He told the parable
Within the context of this parable, the landowner represented God. The vineyard represented Israel. The many details involved in the planting of the vineyard … the fence, the tower, the winepress, and so forth show that God has blessed Israel with all it needs to thrive and grow. The tenants represent the spiritual leadership of the nation. In the current circumstances, that would be chief priests and the elders of the people … the same people who asked about Jesus’ authority. The servants who came to collect the crop would be God’s servants … especially His prophets. The fruit they expected would be repentance and faith.
After Jesus setup the backdrop of the parable, He started making His point. “The tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.” (Matthew 21:35) The tenants turn out to be violent, insane criminals. There is no sense to what they are doing. Only the most stupid arrogance would believe it could get away with such a crime.
This sentence represents the violent history of Israel towards God’s prophets and other servants. The writer to the Hebrews describes the life of the prophet very well. “Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” (Hebrews 11:35–38) Israel’s history toward the prophets was one of unbelieving rebellion, violence, and torture.
Under these circumstances, the landowner had the right to punish these tenants with death, and that is exactly what the ordinary landowner would do. However, the landowner in the parable is not ordinary. “Again, he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.” (Matthew 21:36)
Here Jesus illustrated the incredible mercy and grace of God. Instead of judging Israel and destroying it, God sent more prophets. This teaching is consistent with the words God gave to Ezekiel. “As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11) God offered life to Israel. Nevertheless, God’s prophets continued to suffer cruel violence.
At this point the landowner in the parable did something insane. “Finally, he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’” (Matthew 21:37) Given the history of these tenants, no earthly landowner would do this. An earthly landowner might send his son at the head of an army with orders to destroy the tenants, but he would never send his son to collect the fruit of the vineyard.
The amazing thing is that Jesus was teaching about Himself at this point in the parable. He Himself is the Son of God. He has come just as the prophets came before Him. The parable is about the person who first told it.
As Jesus continued, the tenants reveal the extent of their insanity. When the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. (Matthew 21:38–39) Who in their right mind would believe that they could become the heirs to an estate by killing the current heir to the estate? To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a legal system in the history of the world that would allow such a thing.
Nevertheless, this parable is eerily accurate in its detail. The tenants threw the son out of the vineyard before they killed him. In a similar manner, Roman soldiers will lead Jesus out of Jerusalem and crucify Him. The parable illustrates the events that will happen to Jesus by the end of the week.
Jesus closed the parable by asking His hearers to judge the tenants in the parable. “When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” (Matthew 21:40–41) The judgment is death. The owner will kill the tenants and replace them with faithful people. There is a hot place in hell for those who violate the precious trust God has placed in their hands and do not repent. This parable is terrifying in its judgment.
The sad thing about this parable is that it is God’s intent to make all people fellow heirs with Christ as the Apostle Paul said: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” (Romans 8:16–17) So, within the context of the parable, it was the landowner’s intent to make the tenants heirs with His son. The landowner intended to freely give them the very thing that they tried to take by violence. The insanity of their evil not only caused them to lose this gift, but their lives as well. They could have had it all, but they lost it all instead.
The parable in today’s Gospel is a true tragedy. It ends with a dead son and damned tenants. Jesus was not satisfied with this ending so He followed it with a quote from Psalm 118. Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’” (Matthew 21:42) With these words Jesus made it clear that the fate of those in the parable need not be our fate.
Just as the rejected stone became the corner stone so Jesus Himself did not remain rejected. Although Jesus died in rejection, He did not remain in the grave. He rose from the dead to become the cornerstone upon which the church depends.
Under God’s grace, even the evil tenants need not be damned. It would not surprise me at all if some of those who voted to crucify Jesus later repented. It would not surprise me at all if they heard the preaching of the Apostles and received the gift of faith from the Holy Spirit. It would not surprise me at all if they, through that gift of faith in the one whom they crucified, were now in heaven praising God.
God’s grace is for all. He wants to give it to us freely for the sake of the perfect life, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. If we insist that God must save us on our terms, then we shall follow the example of the wicked tenants in the parable. When God has His way, we will die in Christ and follow Him. We will not remain in the grave, but will rise from the dead just as Christ rose. We are already Sons of the living God. Jesus has placed His righteousness in our hearts and we will live with him forever. Amen
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church--Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 22A)--8 October 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
O Lord, You have planted, nurtured and hedged around Your vineyard, the Church. You sent Your dear Son to give His life for her. Inspire her by Your Holy Spirit to yield much fruit for Your kingdom and grant that many find shelter on her holy hill. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Father, since Your Son has made us His own by His death, grant that we may share in His sufferings with confidence, and that we may also know the power of His resurrection. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, grant all orphans a safe place in which to grow and thrive. Bring into their lives generous couples who will open their hearts to give them permanent homes through adoption. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Shine Your light upon us, O Lord, that we may do what is good and right and live as faithful citizens in our nation. Bless Joseph, our president; _____________, our governor; and all those elected and appointed to make, administer and judge our laws. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Divine Vinedresser, You prune those whom You love. Strengthen our hearts to heed Your Law, that we may never presume to sin nor trust in our own deeds, but look to the rainfall of Your grace for our source of life. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, You bring forth from this barren earth a holy people to press forward to Your heavenly goal. Direct our zeal toward Your good and gracious purpose, and prosper the work of the hands that labor in Your name. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, prepare our hearts to receive the Lord’s body and blood in this Holy Supper. Strengthen us in faith and renew us in love by this Holy Communion. Bring us at last with all the saints to dwell in Your everlasting presence. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, You sing the song of Your love over the vineyard of Your Church. Lift her united voice through Your Spirit, that she in turn would freely praise Your lavish grace and proclaim Your salvation beyond her walls; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the same Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Offering Prayer
Offertory
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who, having created all things, took on human flesh and was born of the virgin Mary. For our sake He died on the cross and rose from the dead to put an end to death, thus fulfilling Your will and gaining for You a holy people. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus LSB 161
Prayer of Thanksgiving LSB 161
P Blessed are You, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have had mercy on those whom You created and sent Your only-begotten Son into our flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior. With repentant joy we receive the salvation accomplished for us by the all-availing sacrifice of His body and His blood on the cross.
Gathered in the name and the remembrance of Jesus, we beg You, O Lord, to forgive, renew, and strengthen us with Your Word and Spirit. Grant us faithfully to eat His body and drink His blood as He bids us do in His own testament. Gather us together, we pray, from the ends of the earth to celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end. Graciously receive our prayers; deliver and preserve us. To You alone, O Father, be all glory, honor, and worship, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
The Words of Our Lord
P As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
C Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
P O Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, in giving us Your body and blood to eat and to drink, You lead us to remember and confess Your holy cross and passion, Your blessed death, Your rest in the tomb, Your resurrection from the dead, Your ascension into heaven, and Your coming for the final judgment. So remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:
Lord’s Prayer
C 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
Agnus Dei
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
617 “O Lord, We Praise Thee”
1 O Lord, we praise Thee, bless Thee, and adore Thee,
In thanksgiving bow before Thee.
Thou with Thy body and Thy blood didst nourish
Our weak souls that they may flourish:
O Lord, have mercy!
May Thy body, Lord, born of Mary,
That our sins and sorrows did carry,
And Thy blood for us plead
In all trial, fear, and need:
O Lord, have mercy!
2 Thy holy body into death was given,
Life to win for us in heaven.
No greater love than this to Thee could bind us;
May this feast thereof remind us!
O Lord, have mercy!
Lord, Thy kindness did so constrain Thee
That Thy blood should bless and sustain me.
All our debt Thou hast paid;
Peace with God once more is made:
O Lord, have mercy!
3 May God bestow on us His grace and favor
That we follow Christ our Savior
And live together here in love and union
Nor despise this blest Communion!
O Lord, have mercy!
Let not Thy good Spirit forsake us;
Grant that heav’nly-minded He make us;
Give Thy Church, Lord, to see
Days of peace and unity:
O Lord, have mercy!
Text: tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.; (st. 1): German, 14th cent.; (sts. 2–3): Martin Luther, 1483–1546
Text: © 1941 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
568 “If Your Beloved Son, O God”
1 If Your belovèd Son, O God,
Had not to earth descended
And in our mortal flesh and blood
Had not sin’s power ended,
Then this poor, wretched soul of mine
In hell eternally would pine
Because of my transgression.
2 But now I find sweet peace and rest;
Despair no more reigns o’er me.
No more am I by sin oppressed,
For Christ has borne sin for me.
Upon the cross for me He died
That, reconciled, I might abide
With You, my God, forever.
3 I trust in Him with all my heart;
Now all my sorrow ceases.
His words abiding peace impart;
His blood from guilt releases.
Free grace through Him I now obtain;
He washes me from ev’ry stain,
And pure I stand before Him.
4 All righteousness by works is vain;
The Law brings condemnation.
True righteousness by faith I gain;
Christ’s work is my salvation.
His death, that perfect sacrifice,
Has paid the all-sufficient price;
In Him my hope is anchored.
D 5 My guilt, O Father, You have laid
On Christ, Your Son, my Savior.
Lord Jesus, You my debt have paid
And gained for me God’s favor.
O Holy Spirit, Fount of grace,
The good in me to You I trace;
In faith and hope preserve me.
Text: tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.; (sts. 1–4): Johann Heermann, 1585–1647; (st. 5): Neu-vermehrtes . . . Gesangbuch, 1661, Braunschweig
Text: Public domain
Stand
Post-Communion Canticle: “Thank the Lord”
Post-Communion Collect
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Benediction
Closing Hymn: 647 “Lord Jesus Christ, the Church’s Head”
1 Lord Jesus Christ, the Church’s head,
You are her one foundation;
In You she trusts, before You bows,
And waits for Your salvation.
Built on this rock secure,
Your Church shall endure
Though all the world decay
And all things pass away.
O hear, O hear us, Jesus!
2 O Lord, let this Your little flock,
Your name alone confessing,
Continue in Your loving care,
True unity possessing.
Your sacraments, O Lord,
And Your saving Word
To us, Lord, pure retain.
Grant that they may remain
Our only strength and comfort.
3 Help us to serve You evermore
With hearts both pure and lowly;
And may Your Word, that light divine,
Shine on in splendor holy
That we repentance show,
In faith ever grow;
The pow’r of sin destroy
And evils that annoy.
O make us faithful Christians.
4 And for Your Gospel let us dare
To sacrifice all treasure;
Teach us to bear Your blessèd cross,
To find in You all pleasure.
O grant us steadfastness
In joy and distress,
Lest we, Lord, You forsake.
Let us by grace partake
Of endless joy and gladness.
Text: Johann Mentzer, 1658–1734; tr. William J. Schaefer, 1891–1976, alt.
Text: © 1941 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting One 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost – October 8, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Howard Holman
Acolyte Gena Dillon
Organist Fred Weber
Communion Preparation Gena Dillon
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley, Ted Smith,
Oroville Harshbarger (honorary)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
TRUNK OF TREATS FALL FESTIVAL is scheduled for Monday, October 30th from 5 – 7 p.m. It will be held in the upper parking lot and playground. Please speak with Barb Whitley for more information and if you would like to volunteer to help. Wrapped candy and/or money to help purchase Christian books are welcome.
A WORSHIP COMMITTEE meeting is scheduled for next Sunday following Adult Bible Class.
Be open to conversations - Aaron Earls
Half of Americans (51%), including 60% of the religiously unaffiliated, say they’re curious as to why some people are so devoted to their faith, according to a recent Lifeway Research study. Two in 3 Americans (66%) say they’re at least open to having a conversation about faith with a friend. And 51% are even open to those conversations with a stranger. Even with a growing number of Americans no longer believing in God’s existence, most are still willing to have a conversation about faith and religion.
“The Bible says little about ‘seeing’ God, but it says a great deal about
‘hearing’ him. To be sure, after death we shall see God (1 Corinthians 13:12). But for now, we must listen to Him, and what we must listen to is the Bible.” Gene Edward Veith in “Why God’s Word Is All We
The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 8, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 567 “Not What These Hands Have Done”
1 Not what these hands have done
Can save this guilty soul;
Not what this toiling flesh has borne
Can make my spirit whole.
2 Not what I feel or do
Can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears
Can bear my awful load.
3 Thy work alone, O Christ,
Can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God,
Can give me peace within.
4 Thy love to me, O God,
Not mine, O Lord, to Thee,
Can rid me of this dark unrest
And set my spirit free.
5 Thy grace alone, O God,
To me can pardon speak;
Thy pow’r alone, O Son of God,
Can this sore bondage break.
6 I bless the Christ of God,
I rest on love divine,
And with unfalt’ring lip and heart
I call this Savior mine.
Text: Horatius Bonar, 1808–89
Text: Public domain
Confession and Absolution
Please Stand if able
[The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.]
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
C But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
P Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.
C Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. 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.
P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 118:1, 22–24
P Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Kyrie
“This Is the Feast”
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P Let us pray.
Gracious God, You gave Your Son into the hands of sinful men who killed Him. Forgive us when we reject Your unfailing love, and grant us the fullness of Your salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 5:1–7
1Let me sing for my beloved
my love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2He dug it and cleared it of stones,
and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a wine vat in it;
and he looked for it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.
3And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4What more was there to do for my vineyard,
that I have not done in it?
When I looked for it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes?
5And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down.
6I will make it a waste;
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
and briers and thorns shall grow up;
I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.
7For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are his pleasant planting;
and he looked for justice,
but behold, bloodshed;
for righteousness,
but behold, an outcry!
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung by all] Psalm 80:7–19
7Restore us, O | God of hosts;*
let your face shine, that we | may be saved!
8You brought a vine out of | Egypt;*
you drove out the nations and | planted it.
9You cleared the | ground for it;*
it took deep root and | filled the land.
10The mountains were covered | with its shade,*
the mighty cedars with its | branches.
11It sent out its branches | to the sea*
and its shoots to the | River.
12Why then have you broken | down its walls,*
so that all who pass along the way | pluck its fruit?
13The boar from the forest rav- | ages it,*
and all that move in the field | feed on it.
14Turn again, O | God of hosts!*
Look down from | heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
15the stock that your right hand | planted,*
and for the son whom you made strong | for yourself.
16They have burned it with fire; they have | cut it down;*
may they perish at the rebuke | of your face!
17But let your hand be on the man of your | right hand,*
the son of man whom you have made strong | for yourself!
18Then we shall not turn | back from you;*
give us life, and we will call up- | on your name!
19Restore us, O Lord | God of hosts!*
Let your face shine, that we | may be saved!
Epistle Philippians 3:4b–14
If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness, under the law blameless. 7But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
12Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia and Verse
Holy Gospel Matthew 21:33–46
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-first chapter.
33[Jesus said:] “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 544 “O Love, How Deep”
1 O love, how deep, how broad, how high,
Beyond all thought and fantasy,
That God, the Son of God, should take
Our mortal form for mortals’ sake!
2 He sent no angel to our race,
Of higher or of lower place,
But wore the robe of human frame,
And to this world Himself He came.
3 For us baptized, for us He bore
His holy fast and hungered sore;
For us temptation sharp He knew;
For us the tempter overthrew.
4 For us He prayed; for us He taught;
For us His daily works He wrought,
By words and signs and actions thus
Still seeking not Himself but us.
5 For us by wickedness betrayed,
For us, in crown of thorns arrayed,
He bore the shameful cross and death;
For us He gave His dying breath.
6 For us He rose from death again;
For us He went on high to reign;
For us He sent His Spirit here
To guide, to strengthen, and to cheer.
D 7 All glory to our Lord and God
For love so deep, so high, so broad;
The Trinity whom we adore
Forever and forevermore.
Text: attr. Thomas à Kempis, 1380–1471; tr. Benjamin Webb, 1819–85, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “Grace for All” Matthew 21:33-46
Grace for All – Matthew 21:33-46
Last week, we heard about an encounter between Jesus and the chief priests and the elders. It was Holy Week. On the first day of the week, Jesus rode a donkey from the Mount of Olives to the temple while the Passover pilgrims praised him. Then he chased the merchants and money-changers out of the temple. After that, He healed some people. When Jesus returned to the temple to teach, the chief priests and the elders were waiting to check Him out. When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23) Jesus responded with a question of His own, “The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” (Matthew 21:25) The temple authorities were afraid to answer Jesus’ question and so Jesus declined to answer their question. This is where last week’s reading came to an end.
However, just because last week’s reading came to an end, that does not mean that Jesus stopped talking to the chief priests and the elders. Jesus continued to speak with them and about them. The reading we just heard is just one of the parables that Jesus told while He was in the temple that day.
Keep a few things in the back of your mind as we go through this parable. Many of the events represented in the parable would happen in less than a week. In a few days, Judas will betray Jesus. In less than a week, Jesus will suffer, die on the cross, and rise from the dead. The chief priests and the elders were already having secret talks about how to destroy Jesus. Jesus knew that this was coming when He told this story.
Jesus painted a word picture for His listeners. He said, “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. (Matthew 21:33–34) The setup for this parable is very familiar territory. No doubt many of the Passover Pilgrims who listened to Jesus had seen vineyards just like the one in this parable. His listeners would be very familiar with the idea of renting land for a share of the crops it produced. There may even have been vineyard owners and workers listening to Jesus when He told the parable
Within the context of this parable, the landowner represented God. The vineyard represented Israel. The many details involved in the planting of the vineyard … the fence, the tower, the winepress, and so forth show that God has blessed Israel with all it needs to thrive and grow. The tenants represent the spiritual leadership of the nation. In the current circumstances, that would be chief priests and the elders of the people … the same people who asked about Jesus’ authority. The servants who came to collect the crop would be God’s servants … especially His prophets. The fruit they expected would be repentance and faith.
After Jesus setup the backdrop of the parable, He started making His point. “The tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.” (Matthew 21:35) The tenants turn out to be violent, insane criminals. There is no sense to what they are doing. Only the most stupid arrogance would believe it could get away with such a crime.
This sentence represents the violent history of Israel towards God’s prophets and other servants. The writer to the Hebrews describes the life of the prophet very well. “Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” (Hebrews 11:35–38) Israel’s history toward the prophets was one of unbelieving rebellion, violence, and torture.
Under these circumstances, the landowner had the right to punish these tenants with death, and that is exactly what the ordinary landowner would do. However, the landowner in the parable is not ordinary. “Again, he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.” (Matthew 21:36)
Here Jesus illustrated the incredible mercy and grace of God. Instead of judging Israel and destroying it, God sent more prophets. This teaching is consistent with the words God gave to Ezekiel. “As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11) God offered life to Israel. Nevertheless, God’s prophets continued to suffer cruel violence.
At this point the landowner in the parable did something insane. “Finally, he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’” (Matthew 21:37) Given the history of these tenants, no earthly landowner would do this. An earthly landowner might send his son at the head of an army with orders to destroy the tenants, but he would never send his son to collect the fruit of the vineyard.
The amazing thing is that Jesus was teaching about Himself at this point in the parable. He Himself is the Son of God. He has come just as the prophets came before Him. The parable is about the person who first told it.
As Jesus continued, the tenants reveal the extent of their insanity. When the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. (Matthew 21:38–39) Who in their right mind would believe that they could become the heirs to an estate by killing the current heir to the estate? To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a legal system in the history of the world that would allow such a thing.
Nevertheless, this parable is eerily accurate in its detail. The tenants threw the son out of the vineyard before they killed him. In a similar manner, Roman soldiers will lead Jesus out of Jerusalem and crucify Him. The parable illustrates the events that will happen to Jesus by the end of the week.
Jesus closed the parable by asking His hearers to judge the tenants in the parable. “When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” (Matthew 21:40–41) The judgment is death. The owner will kill the tenants and replace them with faithful people. There is a hot place in hell for those who violate the precious trust God has placed in their hands and do not repent. This parable is terrifying in its judgment.
The sad thing about this parable is that it is God’s intent to make all people fellow heirs with Christ as the Apostle Paul said: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” (Romans 8:16–17) So, within the context of the parable, it was the landowner’s intent to make the tenants heirs with His son. The landowner intended to freely give them the very thing that they tried to take by violence. The insanity of their evil not only caused them to lose this gift, but their lives as well. They could have had it all, but they lost it all instead.
The parable in today’s Gospel is a true tragedy. It ends with a dead son and damned tenants. Jesus was not satisfied with this ending so He followed it with a quote from Psalm 118. Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’” (Matthew 21:42) With these words Jesus made it clear that the fate of those in the parable need not be our fate.
Just as the rejected stone became the corner stone so Jesus Himself did not remain rejected. Although Jesus died in rejection, He did not remain in the grave. He rose from the dead to become the cornerstone upon which the church depends.
Under God’s grace, even the evil tenants need not be damned. It would not surprise me at all if some of those who voted to crucify Jesus later repented. It would not surprise me at all if they heard the preaching of the Apostles and received the gift of faith from the Holy Spirit. It would not surprise me at all if they, through that gift of faith in the one whom they crucified, were now in heaven praising God.
God’s grace is for all. He wants to give it to us freely for the sake of the perfect life, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. If we insist that God must save us on our terms, then we shall follow the example of the wicked tenants in the parable. When God has His way, we will die in Christ and follow Him. We will not remain in the grave, but will rise from the dead just as Christ rose. We are already Sons of the living God. Jesus has placed His righteousness in our hearts and we will live with him forever. Amen
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church--Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 22A)--8 October 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
O Lord, You have planted, nurtured and hedged around Your vineyard, the Church. You sent Your dear Son to give His life for her. Inspire her by Your Holy Spirit to yield much fruit for Your kingdom and grant that many find shelter on her holy hill. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Father, since Your Son has made us His own by His death, grant that we may share in His sufferings with confidence, and that we may also know the power of His resurrection. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, grant all orphans a safe place in which to grow and thrive. Bring into their lives generous couples who will open their hearts to give them permanent homes through adoption. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Shine Your light upon us, O Lord, that we may do what is good and right and live as faithful citizens in our nation. Bless Joseph, our president; _____________, our governor; and all those elected and appointed to make, administer and judge our laws. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Divine Vinedresser, You prune those whom You love. Strengthen our hearts to heed Your Law, that we may never presume to sin nor trust in our own deeds, but look to the rainfall of Your grace for our source of life. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, You bring forth from this barren earth a holy people to press forward to Your heavenly goal. Direct our zeal toward Your good and gracious purpose, and prosper the work of the hands that labor in Your name. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, prepare our hearts to receive the Lord’s body and blood in this Holy Supper. Strengthen us in faith and renew us in love by this Holy Communion. Bring us at last with all the saints to dwell in Your everlasting presence. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, You sing the song of Your love over the vineyard of Your Church. Lift her united voice through Your Spirit, that she in turn would freely praise Your lavish grace and proclaim Your salvation beyond her walls; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the same Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Offering Prayer
Offertory
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who, having created all things, took on human flesh and was born of the virgin Mary. For our sake He died on the cross and rose from the dead to put an end to death, thus fulfilling Your will and gaining for You a holy people. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus LSB 161
Prayer of Thanksgiving LSB 161
P Blessed are You, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have had mercy on those whom You created and sent Your only-begotten Son into our flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior. With repentant joy we receive the salvation accomplished for us by the all-availing sacrifice of His body and His blood on the cross.
Gathered in the name and the remembrance of Jesus, we beg You, O Lord, to forgive, renew, and strengthen us with Your Word and Spirit. Grant us faithfully to eat His body and drink His blood as He bids us do in His own testament. Gather us together, we pray, from the ends of the earth to celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end. Graciously receive our prayers; deliver and preserve us. To You alone, O Father, be all glory, honor, and worship, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
The Words of Our Lord
P As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
C Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
P O Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, in giving us Your body and blood to eat and to drink, You lead us to remember and confess Your holy cross and passion, Your blessed death, Your rest in the tomb, Your resurrection from the dead, Your ascension into heaven, and Your coming for the final judgment. So remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:
Lord’s Prayer
C 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
Agnus Dei
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
617 “O Lord, We Praise Thee”
1 O Lord, we praise Thee, bless Thee, and adore Thee,
In thanksgiving bow before Thee.
Thou with Thy body and Thy blood didst nourish
Our weak souls that they may flourish:
O Lord, have mercy!
May Thy body, Lord, born of Mary,
That our sins and sorrows did carry,
And Thy blood for us plead
In all trial, fear, and need:
O Lord, have mercy!
2 Thy holy body into death was given,
Life to win for us in heaven.
No greater love than this to Thee could bind us;
May this feast thereof remind us!
O Lord, have mercy!
Lord, Thy kindness did so constrain Thee
That Thy blood should bless and sustain me.
All our debt Thou hast paid;
Peace with God once more is made:
O Lord, have mercy!
3 May God bestow on us His grace and favor
That we follow Christ our Savior
And live together here in love and union
Nor despise this blest Communion!
O Lord, have mercy!
Let not Thy good Spirit forsake us;
Grant that heav’nly-minded He make us;
Give Thy Church, Lord, to see
Days of peace and unity:
O Lord, have mercy!
Text: tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.; (st. 1): German, 14th cent.; (sts. 2–3): Martin Luther, 1483–1546
Text: © 1941 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
568 “If Your Beloved Son, O God”
1 If Your belovèd Son, O God,
Had not to earth descended
And in our mortal flesh and blood
Had not sin’s power ended,
Then this poor, wretched soul of mine
In hell eternally would pine
Because of my transgression.
2 But now I find sweet peace and rest;
Despair no more reigns o’er me.
No more am I by sin oppressed,
For Christ has borne sin for me.
Upon the cross for me He died
That, reconciled, I might abide
With You, my God, forever.
3 I trust in Him with all my heart;
Now all my sorrow ceases.
His words abiding peace impart;
His blood from guilt releases.
Free grace through Him I now obtain;
He washes me from ev’ry stain,
And pure I stand before Him.
4 All righteousness by works is vain;
The Law brings condemnation.
True righteousness by faith I gain;
Christ’s work is my salvation.
His death, that perfect sacrifice,
Has paid the all-sufficient price;
In Him my hope is anchored.
D 5 My guilt, O Father, You have laid
On Christ, Your Son, my Savior.
Lord Jesus, You my debt have paid
And gained for me God’s favor.
O Holy Spirit, Fount of grace,
The good in me to You I trace;
In faith and hope preserve me.
Text: tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.; (sts. 1–4): Johann Heermann, 1585–1647; (st. 5): Neu-vermehrtes . . . Gesangbuch, 1661, Braunschweig
Text: Public domain
Stand
Post-Communion Canticle: “Thank the Lord”
Post-Communion Collect
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Benediction
Closing Hymn: 647 “Lord Jesus Christ, the Church’s Head”
1 Lord Jesus Christ, the Church’s head,
You are her one foundation;
In You she trusts, before You bows,
And waits for Your salvation.
Built on this rock secure,
Your Church shall endure
Though all the world decay
And all things pass away.
O hear, O hear us, Jesus!
2 O Lord, let this Your little flock,
Your name alone confessing,
Continue in Your loving care,
True unity possessing.
Your sacraments, O Lord,
And Your saving Word
To us, Lord, pure retain.
Grant that they may remain
Our only strength and comfort.
3 Help us to serve You evermore
With hearts both pure and lowly;
And may Your Word, that light divine,
Shine on in splendor holy
That we repentance show,
In faith ever grow;
The pow’r of sin destroy
And evils that annoy.
O make us faithful Christians.
4 And for Your Gospel let us dare
To sacrifice all treasure;
Teach us to bear Your blessèd cross,
To find in You all pleasure.
O grant us steadfastness
In joy and distress,
Lest we, Lord, You forsake.
Let us by grace partake
Of endless joy and gladness.
Text: Johann Mentzer, 1658–1734; tr. William J. Schaefer, 1891–1976, alt.
Text: © 1941 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting One 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost – October 1, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Gil McMillan
Acolyte Becca Potts
Organist Fred Weber
Communion Preparation Coleen Tallman
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley,
Oroville Harshbarger (honorary)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT--
A mountain climber is caught in an avalanche. An eight-foot jump over a crevasse will save his life. Taking a mighty run, he soars seven and a half feet. Almost! A doctor performs surgery on a young man with a cancerous tumor. He succeeds in removing 99.5 percent of it. Almost! A hotel is on fire. A woman jumps 400 feet and misses the net below by only 4 feet. Almost! A fast jetliner climbs to clear a 12,000-foot mountain. By the time it comes to the mountain it has already reached the altitude of 11,950 feet. Almost! But almost doesn't count.
May we urge people not to put off their day of grace. Simply agreeing with us or just thinking about it isn't going to do any good whatever. Coming close does no good, but repenting of sin and believing in Jesus as Savior does. We need to share the entire verse. In Mark 16:16 Jesus promises, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." And then add, "Please, believe Jesus. He is God. He is truthful. And He loves you." This is very important: for more information carefully read Romans 3.
+ + + + +
HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER? "How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?" - Penn Jillette, Atheist
The LORD is the everlasting God. Isaiah 40:28
The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 1, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 909 “Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation”
1 Christ is made the sure foundation,
Christ, our head and cornerstone,
Chosen of the Lord and precious,
Binding all the Church in one;
Holy Zion’s help forever
And our confidence alone.
2 To this temple, where we call You,
Come, O Lord of hosts, and stay;
Come with all Your loving-kindness,
Hear Your people as they pray;
And Your fullest benediction
Shed within these walls today.
3 Grant, we pray, to all Your faithful
All the gifts they ask to gain;
What they gain from You, forever
With the blessèd to retain;
And hereafter in Your glory
Evermore with You to reign.
D 4 Praise and honor to the Father,
Praise and honor to the Son,
Praise and honor to the Spirit,
Ever three and ever one:
One in might and one in glory
While unending ages run!
Text: Latin, c. 8th cent.; tr. John Mason Neale, 1818–66, alt.
Text: Public domain
L O Lord, open my lips,
C and my mouth will declare Your praise.
L Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
C make haste to help me, O Lord.
C Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Praise to You, O Christ. Alleluia.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C [spoken] O come, let us worship Him.
Venite [sung] LSB 220
C O come, let us sing to the Lord,
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving,
let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise.
For the Lord is a great God
and a great king above all gods.
The deep places of the earth are in His hand;
the strength of the hills is His also.
The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hand formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our maker.
For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C [spoken] O come, let us worship Him.
Sit
Reading Ezekiel 18:1–4, 25–32
L A reading from Ezekiel, chapter 18.
1The word of the Lord came to me: 2“What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die. . . .
25“Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? 26When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. 27Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. 28Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?
30“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. 31Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.”
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Reading Philippians 2:1–4, 14–18
L A reading from Philippians, chapter 2.
1If there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. . . .
14Do all things without grumbling or questioning, 15that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Reading Matthew 21:23–27
L A reading from Matthew, chapter 21.
23When [Jesus] entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Responsory LSB 221
L Forever, O Lord, Your Word is firmly set in the heavens.
C [spoken] Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
Hymn of the Day: 345 “Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding”
1 Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding!
“Christ is near,” we hear it say.
“Cast away the works of darkness,
All you children of the day!”
2 Startled at the solemn warning,
Let the earthbound soul arise;
Christ, its sun, all sloth dispelling,
Shines upon the morning skies.
3 See, the Lamb, so long expected,
Comes with pardon down from heav’n.
Let us haste, with tears of sorrow,
One and all, to be forgiv’n;
4 So, when next He comes in glory
And the world is wrapped in fear,
He will shield us with His mercy
And with words of love draw near.
D 5 Honor, glory, might, dominion
To the Father and the Son
With the ever-living Spirit
While eternal ages run!
Text: Latin, c. 5th–10th cent.; tr. Edward Caswall, 1814–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “By What Authority?” Matthew 21:23-27
By What Authority? – Matthew 21:23-27
The problem with dividing the Bible up into readings for Sunday mornings is that, from time-to-time, the reading for a given Sunday picks up in the middle of things. In this morning’s Gospel, we heard that the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to [Jesus] as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23) What things are the chief priests and the elders of the people concerned about? What has Jesus been doing that has them so concerned? Some context would be helpful.
The conversation recorded in today’s Gospel happened during Holy Week. On the first day of this week, Jesus rode toward Jerusalem on a donkey to the praises of the Passover pilgrims. And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” (Matthew 21:10–11) Then, Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. (Matthew 21:12) And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. (Matthew 21:14) After all that excitement on the first day of the week, the chief priests and the elders wanted a word with Jesus. So when Jesus returned to the temple and began to teach, they were waiting for Him.
Now we need to be careful what we say about these men at this point in the reading. After all, they are the chief priests and the elders … the men who were responsible for the day to day activity in the temple. It was their calling to make sure that things were done decently and in order. They were responsible for making sure that the activity on the temple grounds conformed to the Law of Moses. So, we cannot fault them for wanting to make sure that Jesus had the authority to do what He did. They were fulfilling their calling when they came up to [Jesus] as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23) We can question their motives for asking Jesus about His authority, but, from an outward viewpoint, they are doing what the temple authorities are supposed to do.
Jesus responded to their question with a question of His own. “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” (Matthew 21:24–25) This was not an evasion. It was a traditional response. Many rabbis responded to questions with questions. In fact, Jesus did something quite clever. The answer to both questions is the same. John pointed to Jesus, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29) If John’s authority is from heaven, then Jesus’ authority is also from heaven.
Jesus’ question exposed the true nature of these men. They discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” (Matthew 21:25–26) This discussion exposed the hearts of these men. They are not interested in the truth. They don’t care what the right answer is. Their main concern is their image in the eyes of the crowd. Instead of following the laws of Moses and honoring the truth, these temple authorities honor their own agenda. Their God is not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but their own agenda is their God.
So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” (Matthew 21:27) In their stubborn unbelief, they refuse to admit that either John or Jesus received their authority from heaven. At the same time, their cowardice prevents them from confessing their unbelief before the crowds. They concluded that the appearance of the ignorant fool was better than admitting the truth.
When the chief priests and the elders refused to answer Jesus’ question, they gave up their right to an answer from Jesus. Even if Jesus gave them the correct answer, they would refuse to accept it. [Jesus] said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” (Matthew 21:27)
The question that Jesus asked exposed the inner thoughts of the chief priests and the elders. It is still a good question to ask today. “The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” (Matthew 21:25) This question is valid for much more than the Baptism of John. What about Jesus? Is He from heaven or merely human? What about the Bible? Is it from heaven or from man? What about Baptism … the Lord’s Supper … Absolution? We can ask this question about these things and more? What thoughts do these questions expose in you and me?
I have heard interviews with people who became members of the Lutheran church as teenagers or adults. Many of them said that there were several parts of the liturgy that made them uncomfortable at first.
One of those parts was the Absolution that came near the beginning of the service. By what authority does the pastor say, “I forgive you all your sins?” It would make sense if the pastor said, “I forgive the sins that you have committed against me.” But how can the pastor forgive all sin?
Then there is that bit in the second part of the service. The pastor gave a piece of generic looking unleavened bread to some of the members and said, “The Body of Christ … given for you.” Then he gave them a sip of some common table wine and said, “The Blood of Christ … shed for you.” By what authority does the pastor say that? It doesn’t look like body and blood. What is that all about?
In both cases, the answer is simple to say. I teach the answer in Catechism class. How do we know that these things are from heaven? Because Jesus promised!
Shortly before He ascended into heaven Jesus came and said to [the disciples], “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20) These words teach us that Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth. These words instruct the church to baptize and teach. These words promise the eternal, real presence of the Christ, and since the Christ is now both God and man, this is the eternal, real presence of both the divine and human nature of our Lord.
When Jesus appeared to the disciples on the evening of His resurrection, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (John 20:22–23) With these words, our Lord gave the authority to forgive sins to His church. He also gave the authority to withhold forgiveness from those who refuse to repent. Then He instituted the office of the holy ministry to publicly execute this promise on behalf of the church.
The holy Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and St. Paul write: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.” In the same way also he took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” Our Lord has given us His promise that whenever we celebrate this sacrament according to His command, He will somehow place His body in the bread, and His blood in the wine.
In the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught, “Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” (Matthew 6:9, RSV) With these words, Jesus gives us the authority to pray. And He even gives us the authority to call God our Father.
We have complete certainty in these and all the other gifts that we have because Jesus promised, and Jesus keeps His promises. We know that Jesus keeps His promises because He kept the greatest promise. He said, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” (Matthew 20:18–19) Jesus kept this promise and earned the forgiveness of sins for the entire world. He also demonstrated that not even the combined power of sin, death, and the devil can stop Him from keeping His promises.
Christ on the cross is the authority that stands behind every gift that Jesus has given to His church. Every word of Holy Scripture is reliable and certain. The forgiveness He speaks is authoritative; the sins he forgives are forgiven! The Sacraments he gives to his Church truly deliver forgiveness, life, and salvation. When the ministers faithfully preach God’s Word, the hearers hear Christ.
Christ is the ultimate authority. He is the kingdom of heaven incarnate. The authority of His promise guarantees eternal life to all who believe. Amen
Canticle: 941 “We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God”
1 We praise You and acknowledge You, O God, to be the Lord,
The Father everlasting, by all the earth adored.
To You all angel powers cry aloud, the heavens sing,
The cherubim and seraphim their praises to You bring:
“O holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth;
Your majesty and glory fill the heavens and the earth!”
2 The band of the apostles in glory sing Your praise;
The fellowship of prophets their deathless voices raise.
The martyrs of Your kingdom, a great and noble throng,
Sing with the holy Church throughout all the world this song:
“O all-majestic Father, Your true and only Son,
And Holy Spirit, Comforter—forever Three in One!”
3 You, Christ, are King of glory, the everlasting Son,
Yet You, with boundless love, sought to rescue ev’ryone:
You laid aside Your glory, were born of virgin’s womb,
Were crucified for us and were placed into a tomb;
Then by Your resurrection You won for us reprieve--
You opened heaven’s kingdom to all who would believe.
4 You sit in splendid glory, enthroned at God’s right hand,
Upholding earth and heaven by forces You command.
We know that You will come as our Judge that final day,
So help Your servants You have redeemed by blood, we pray;
May we with saints be numbered where praises never end,
In glory everlasting. Amen, O Lord, amen!
Text: Stephen P. Starke, 1955
Text: © 1999 Stephen P. Starke, admin. Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church--Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost--1 October 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Merciful Lord, You founded Your Church upon the proclamation of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Purify the tongues of Your servants, that the tongues of the wicked may be silenced. Turn them from their evil ways, that their sins may be washed away. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, encourage us by Your Holy Spirit, that we may not lose heart. Make us to be of one mind and will, that we may serve You with gladness, doing the works of Your kingdom here and throughout the world. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, sustain all fathers, mothers and children; husbands and wives; friends and neighbors; laborers and employers; and teachers and students. Enable us all to serve our neighbors in godly vocations, delighting in the Lord’s lovingkindness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, all the might of man is nothing before You, yet You have appointed earthly realms and rulers to punish evil and honor good. Give us faithful leaders who will serve honorably and well. Bless also those who serve in the armed forces to defend us and protect our liberty. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, grant the encouragement of Christ and the comfort of His love to those who suffer [especially _____________]. In every affliction, prove Yourself a ready and worthy Savior, especially to those who believe. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, the name of Jesus stands above all names. Before it we bow our knees and confess Him as Lord and God. Inspire in us true devotion and worship as we approach His altar to receive our humble Savior in these humble means of bread and wine for our salvation. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, in You there is no shadow due to change. Enkindle Your divine light in us, that we may stand united as Christ’s own body, holding fast to the word of life and shining brightly in the midst of this world’s darkness; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Kyrie
C [spoken] Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy.
Stand
Celebration of Holy Communion
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy
Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Communion Liturgy
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
C For His mercy endures forever.
Words of Institution
Lord’s Prayer
C 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
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C And also with you.
Sit
Communion Distribution and Hymns:
696 “O God, My Faithful God”
1 O God, my faithful God,
True fountain ever flowing,
Without whom nothing is,
All perfect gifts bestowing:
Give me a healthy frame,
And may I have within
A conscience free from blame,
A soul unstained by sin.
2 Grant me the strength to do
With ready heart and willing
Whatever You command,
My calling here fulfilling;
That I do what I should
While trusting You to bless
The outcome for my good,
For You must give success.
3 Keep me from saying words
That later need recalling;
Guard me lest idle speech
May from my lips be falling;
But when within my place
I must and ought to speak,
Then to my words give grace
Lest I offend the weak.
4 Lord, let me win my foes
With kindly words and actions,
And let me find good friends
For counsel and correction.
Help me, as You have taught,
To love both great and small
And by Your Spirit’s might
To live in peace with all.
5 Let me depart this life
Confiding in my Savior;
By grace receive my soul
That it may live forever;
And let my body have
A quiet resting place
Within a Christian grave;
And let it sleep in peace.
6 And on that final day
When all the dead are waking,
Stretch out Your mighty hand,
My deathly slumber breaking.
Then let me hear Your voice,
Redeem this earthly frame,
And bid me to rejoice
With those who love Your name.
Text: Johann Heermann, 1585–1647; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
637 “Draw Near and Take the Body of the Lord”
1 Draw near and take the body of the Lord,
And drink the holy blood for you outpoured;
Offered was He for greatest and for least,
Himself the victim and Himself the priest.
2 He who His saints in this world rules and shields,
To all believers life eternal yields;
With heav’nly bread He makes the hungry whole,
Gives living waters to the thirsting soul.
3 Come forward then with faithful hearts sincere,
And take the pledges of salvation here.
O Lord, our hearts with grateful thanks endow
As in this feast of love You bless us now.
Text: Latin, 7th cent.; tr. John Mason Neale, 1818–66, alt.
Text: Public domain
Stand
Collects
L O Lord, hear my prayer.
C And let my cry come to You.
Collect of the Day
Almighty God, You exalted Your Son to the place of all honor and authority. Enlighten our minds by Your Holy Spirit that, confessing Jesus as Lord, we may be led into all truth; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Collect for Grace
L O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, You have safely brought us to the beginning of this day. Defend us in the same with Your mighty power and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger, but that all our doings, being ordered by Your governance, may be righteous in Your sight; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benedicamus
L Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Benediction
P The grace of our Lord T Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C Amen.
Closing Hymn: 857 “Lord, Help Us Walk Your Servant Way”
1 Lord, help us walk Your servant way
Wherever love may lead
And, bending low, forgetting self,
Each serve the other’s need.
2 You came to earth, O Christ, as Lord,
But pow’r You laid aside.
You lived Your years in servanthood;
In lowliness You died.
3 No golden scepter but a towel
You place within the hands
Of those who seek to follow You
And live by Your commands.
4 You bid us bend our human pride
Nor count ourselves above
The lowest place, the meanest task
That waits the gift of love.
5 Lord, help us walk Your servant way
Wherever love may lead
And, bending low, forgetting self,
Each serve the other’s need.
Text: Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr., 1923–2007
Text: © 1997 GIA Publications, Inc. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Matins 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing House.
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost – October 1, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Gil McMillan
Acolyte Becca Potts
Organist Fred Weber
Communion Preparation Coleen Tallman
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley,
Oroville Harshbarger (honorary)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT--
A mountain climber is caught in an avalanche. An eight-foot jump over a crevasse will save his life. Taking a mighty run, he soars seven and a half feet. Almost! A doctor performs surgery on a young man with a cancerous tumor. He succeeds in removing 99.5 percent of it. Almost! A hotel is on fire. A woman jumps 400 feet and misses the net below by only 4 feet. Almost! A fast jetliner climbs to clear a 12,000-foot mountain. By the time it comes to the mountain it has already reached the altitude of 11,950 feet. Almost! But almost doesn't count.
May we urge people not to put off their day of grace. Simply agreeing with us or just thinking about it isn't going to do any good whatever. Coming close does no good, but repenting of sin and believing in Jesus as Savior does. We need to share the entire verse. In Mark 16:16 Jesus promises, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." And then add, "Please, believe Jesus. He is God. He is truthful. And He loves you." This is very important: for more information carefully read Romans 3.
+ + + + +
HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER? "How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?" - Penn Jillette, Atheist
The LORD is the everlasting God. Isaiah 40:28
The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 1, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 909 “Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation”
1 Christ is made the sure foundation,
Christ, our head and cornerstone,
Chosen of the Lord and precious,
Binding all the Church in one;
Holy Zion’s help forever
And our confidence alone.
2 To this temple, where we call You,
Come, O Lord of hosts, and stay;
Come with all Your loving-kindness,
Hear Your people as they pray;
And Your fullest benediction
Shed within these walls today.
3 Grant, we pray, to all Your faithful
All the gifts they ask to gain;
What they gain from You, forever
With the blessèd to retain;
And hereafter in Your glory
Evermore with You to reign.
D 4 Praise and honor to the Father,
Praise and honor to the Son,
Praise and honor to the Spirit,
Ever three and ever one:
One in might and one in glory
While unending ages run!
Text: Latin, c. 8th cent.; tr. John Mason Neale, 1818–66, alt.
Text: Public domain
L O Lord, open my lips,
C and my mouth will declare Your praise.
L Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
C make haste to help me, O Lord.
C Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Praise to You, O Christ. Alleluia.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C [spoken] O come, let us worship Him.
Venite [sung] LSB 220
C O come, let us sing to the Lord,
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving,
let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise.
For the Lord is a great God
and a great king above all gods.
The deep places of the earth are in His hand;
the strength of the hills is His also.
The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hand formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our maker.
For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C [spoken] O come, let us worship Him.
Sit
Reading Ezekiel 18:1–4, 25–32
L A reading from Ezekiel, chapter 18.
1The word of the Lord came to me: 2“What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die. . . .
25“Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? 26When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. 27Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. 28Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?
30“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. 31Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.”
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Reading Philippians 2:1–4, 14–18
L A reading from Philippians, chapter 2.
1If there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. . . .
14Do all things without grumbling or questioning, 15that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Reading Matthew 21:23–27
L A reading from Matthew, chapter 21.
23When [Jesus] entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Responsory LSB 221
L Forever, O Lord, Your Word is firmly set in the heavens.
C [spoken] Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
Hymn of the Day: 345 “Hark! A Thrilling Voice Is Sounding”
1 Hark! A thrilling voice is sounding!
“Christ is near,” we hear it say.
“Cast away the works of darkness,
All you children of the day!”
2 Startled at the solemn warning,
Let the earthbound soul arise;
Christ, its sun, all sloth dispelling,
Shines upon the morning skies.
3 See, the Lamb, so long expected,
Comes with pardon down from heav’n.
Let us haste, with tears of sorrow,
One and all, to be forgiv’n;
4 So, when next He comes in glory
And the world is wrapped in fear,
He will shield us with His mercy
And with words of love draw near.
D 5 Honor, glory, might, dominion
To the Father and the Son
With the ever-living Spirit
While eternal ages run!
Text: Latin, c. 5th–10th cent.; tr. Edward Caswall, 1814–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “By What Authority?” Matthew 21:23-27
By What Authority? – Matthew 21:23-27
The problem with dividing the Bible up into readings for Sunday mornings is that, from time-to-time, the reading for a given Sunday picks up in the middle of things. In this morning’s Gospel, we heard that the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to [Jesus] as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23) What things are the chief priests and the elders of the people concerned about? What has Jesus been doing that has them so concerned? Some context would be helpful.
The conversation recorded in today’s Gospel happened during Holy Week. On the first day of this week, Jesus rode toward Jerusalem on a donkey to the praises of the Passover pilgrims. And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.” (Matthew 21:10–11) Then, Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. (Matthew 21:12) And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. (Matthew 21:14) After all that excitement on the first day of the week, the chief priests and the elders wanted a word with Jesus. So when Jesus returned to the temple and began to teach, they were waiting for Him.
Now we need to be careful what we say about these men at this point in the reading. After all, they are the chief priests and the elders … the men who were responsible for the day to day activity in the temple. It was their calling to make sure that things were done decently and in order. They were responsible for making sure that the activity on the temple grounds conformed to the Law of Moses. So, we cannot fault them for wanting to make sure that Jesus had the authority to do what He did. They were fulfilling their calling when they came up to [Jesus] as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” (Matthew 21:23) We can question their motives for asking Jesus about His authority, but, from an outward viewpoint, they are doing what the temple authorities are supposed to do.
Jesus responded to their question with a question of His own. “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” (Matthew 21:24–25) This was not an evasion. It was a traditional response. Many rabbis responded to questions with questions. In fact, Jesus did something quite clever. The answer to both questions is the same. John pointed to Jesus, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29) If John’s authority is from heaven, then Jesus’ authority is also from heaven.
Jesus’ question exposed the true nature of these men. They discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” (Matthew 21:25–26) This discussion exposed the hearts of these men. They are not interested in the truth. They don’t care what the right answer is. Their main concern is their image in the eyes of the crowd. Instead of following the laws of Moses and honoring the truth, these temple authorities honor their own agenda. Their God is not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but their own agenda is their God.
So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” (Matthew 21:27) In their stubborn unbelief, they refuse to admit that either John or Jesus received their authority from heaven. At the same time, their cowardice prevents them from confessing their unbelief before the crowds. They concluded that the appearance of the ignorant fool was better than admitting the truth.
When the chief priests and the elders refused to answer Jesus’ question, they gave up their right to an answer from Jesus. Even if Jesus gave them the correct answer, they would refuse to accept it. [Jesus] said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” (Matthew 21:27)
The question that Jesus asked exposed the inner thoughts of the chief priests and the elders. It is still a good question to ask today. “The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” (Matthew 21:25) This question is valid for much more than the Baptism of John. What about Jesus? Is He from heaven or merely human? What about the Bible? Is it from heaven or from man? What about Baptism … the Lord’s Supper … Absolution? We can ask this question about these things and more? What thoughts do these questions expose in you and me?
I have heard interviews with people who became members of the Lutheran church as teenagers or adults. Many of them said that there were several parts of the liturgy that made them uncomfortable at first.
One of those parts was the Absolution that came near the beginning of the service. By what authority does the pastor say, “I forgive you all your sins?” It would make sense if the pastor said, “I forgive the sins that you have committed against me.” But how can the pastor forgive all sin?
Then there is that bit in the second part of the service. The pastor gave a piece of generic looking unleavened bread to some of the members and said, “The Body of Christ … given for you.” Then he gave them a sip of some common table wine and said, “The Blood of Christ … shed for you.” By what authority does the pastor say that? It doesn’t look like body and blood. What is that all about?
In both cases, the answer is simple to say. I teach the answer in Catechism class. How do we know that these things are from heaven? Because Jesus promised!
Shortly before He ascended into heaven Jesus came and said to [the disciples], “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20) These words teach us that Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth. These words instruct the church to baptize and teach. These words promise the eternal, real presence of the Christ, and since the Christ is now both God and man, this is the eternal, real presence of both the divine and human nature of our Lord.
When Jesus appeared to the disciples on the evening of His resurrection, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (John 20:22–23) With these words, our Lord gave the authority to forgive sins to His church. He also gave the authority to withhold forgiveness from those who refuse to repent. Then He instituted the office of the holy ministry to publicly execute this promise on behalf of the church.
The holy Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and St. Paul write: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.” In the same way also he took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” Our Lord has given us His promise that whenever we celebrate this sacrament according to His command, He will somehow place His body in the bread, and His blood in the wine.
In the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught, “Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” (Matthew 6:9, RSV) With these words, Jesus gives us the authority to pray. And He even gives us the authority to call God our Father.
We have complete certainty in these and all the other gifts that we have because Jesus promised, and Jesus keeps His promises. We know that Jesus keeps His promises because He kept the greatest promise. He said, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” (Matthew 20:18–19) Jesus kept this promise and earned the forgiveness of sins for the entire world. He also demonstrated that not even the combined power of sin, death, and the devil can stop Him from keeping His promises.
Christ on the cross is the authority that stands behind every gift that Jesus has given to His church. Every word of Holy Scripture is reliable and certain. The forgiveness He speaks is authoritative; the sins he forgives are forgiven! The Sacraments he gives to his Church truly deliver forgiveness, life, and salvation. When the ministers faithfully preach God’s Word, the hearers hear Christ.
Christ is the ultimate authority. He is the kingdom of heaven incarnate. The authority of His promise guarantees eternal life to all who believe. Amen
Canticle: 941 “We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God”
1 We praise You and acknowledge You, O God, to be the Lord,
The Father everlasting, by all the earth adored.
To You all angel powers cry aloud, the heavens sing,
The cherubim and seraphim their praises to You bring:
“O holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth;
Your majesty and glory fill the heavens and the earth!”
2 The band of the apostles in glory sing Your praise;
The fellowship of prophets their deathless voices raise.
The martyrs of Your kingdom, a great and noble throng,
Sing with the holy Church throughout all the world this song:
“O all-majestic Father, Your true and only Son,
And Holy Spirit, Comforter—forever Three in One!”
3 You, Christ, are King of glory, the everlasting Son,
Yet You, with boundless love, sought to rescue ev’ryone:
You laid aside Your glory, were born of virgin’s womb,
Were crucified for us and were placed into a tomb;
Then by Your resurrection You won for us reprieve--
You opened heaven’s kingdom to all who would believe.
4 You sit in splendid glory, enthroned at God’s right hand,
Upholding earth and heaven by forces You command.
We know that You will come as our Judge that final day,
So help Your servants You have redeemed by blood, we pray;
May we with saints be numbered where praises never end,
In glory everlasting. Amen, O Lord, amen!
Text: Stephen P. Starke, 1955
Text: © 1999 Stephen P. Starke, admin. Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church--Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost--1 October 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Merciful Lord, You founded Your Church upon the proclamation of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Purify the tongues of Your servants, that the tongues of the wicked may be silenced. Turn them from their evil ways, that their sins may be washed away. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, encourage us by Your Holy Spirit, that we may not lose heart. Make us to be of one mind and will, that we may serve You with gladness, doing the works of Your kingdom here and throughout the world. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, sustain all fathers, mothers and children; husbands and wives; friends and neighbors; laborers and employers; and teachers and students. Enable us all to serve our neighbors in godly vocations, delighting in the Lord’s lovingkindness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, all the might of man is nothing before You, yet You have appointed earthly realms and rulers to punish evil and honor good. Give us faithful leaders who will serve honorably and well. Bless also those who serve in the armed forces to defend us and protect our liberty. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, grant the encouragement of Christ and the comfort of His love to those who suffer [especially _____________]. In every affliction, prove Yourself a ready and worthy Savior, especially to those who believe. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, the name of Jesus stands above all names. Before it we bow our knees and confess Him as Lord and God. Inspire in us true devotion and worship as we approach His altar to receive our humble Savior in these humble means of bread and wine for our salvation. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, in You there is no shadow due to change. Enkindle Your divine light in us, that we may stand united as Christ’s own body, holding fast to the word of life and shining brightly in the midst of this world’s darkness; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Kyrie
C [spoken] Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy.
Stand
Celebration of Holy Communion
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy
Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Communion Liturgy
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
C For His mercy endures forever.
Words of Institution
Lord’s Prayer
C 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
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C And also with you.
Sit
Communion Distribution and Hymns:
696 “O God, My Faithful God”
1 O God, my faithful God,
True fountain ever flowing,
Without whom nothing is,
All perfect gifts bestowing:
Give me a healthy frame,
And may I have within
A conscience free from blame,
A soul unstained by sin.
2 Grant me the strength to do
With ready heart and willing
Whatever You command,
My calling here fulfilling;
That I do what I should
While trusting You to bless
The outcome for my good,
For You must give success.
3 Keep me from saying words
That later need recalling;
Guard me lest idle speech
May from my lips be falling;
But when within my place
I must and ought to speak,
Then to my words give grace
Lest I offend the weak.
4 Lord, let me win my foes
With kindly words and actions,
And let me find good friends
For counsel and correction.
Help me, as You have taught,
To love both great and small
And by Your Spirit’s might
To live in peace with all.
5 Let me depart this life
Confiding in my Savior;
By grace receive my soul
That it may live forever;
And let my body have
A quiet resting place
Within a Christian grave;
And let it sleep in peace.
6 And on that final day
When all the dead are waking,
Stretch out Your mighty hand,
My deathly slumber breaking.
Then let me hear Your voice,
Redeem this earthly frame,
And bid me to rejoice
With those who love Your name.
Text: Johann Heermann, 1585–1647; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
637 “Draw Near and Take the Body of the Lord”
1 Draw near and take the body of the Lord,
And drink the holy blood for you outpoured;
Offered was He for greatest and for least,
Himself the victim and Himself the priest.
2 He who His saints in this world rules and shields,
To all believers life eternal yields;
With heav’nly bread He makes the hungry whole,
Gives living waters to the thirsting soul.
3 Come forward then with faithful hearts sincere,
And take the pledges of salvation here.
O Lord, our hearts with grateful thanks endow
As in this feast of love You bless us now.
Text: Latin, 7th cent.; tr. John Mason Neale, 1818–66, alt.
Text: Public domain
Stand
Collects
L O Lord, hear my prayer.
C And let my cry come to You.
Collect of the Day
Almighty God, You exalted Your Son to the place of all honor and authority. Enlighten our minds by Your Holy Spirit that, confessing Jesus as Lord, we may be led into all truth; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Collect for Grace
L O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, You have safely brought us to the beginning of this day. Defend us in the same with Your mighty power and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger, but that all our doings, being ordered by Your governance, may be righteous in Your sight; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benedicamus
L Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Benediction
P The grace of our Lord T Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C Amen.
Closing Hymn: 857 “Lord, Help Us Walk Your Servant Way”
1 Lord, help us walk Your servant way
Wherever love may lead
And, bending low, forgetting self,
Each serve the other’s need.
2 You came to earth, O Christ, as Lord,
But pow’r You laid aside.
You lived Your years in servanthood;
In lowliness You died.
3 No golden scepter but a towel
You place within the hands
Of those who seek to follow You
And live by Your commands.
4 You bid us bend our human pride
Nor count ourselves above
The lowest place, the meanest task
That waits the gift of love.
5 Lord, help us walk Your servant way
Wherever love may lead
And, bending low, forgetting self,
Each serve the other’s need.
Text: Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr., 1923–2007
Text: © 1997 GIA Publications, Inc. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Matins 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing House.
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 24, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Howard Holman
Lay Reader Robert Potts
Acolyte Becca Potts
Organist Coleen Tallman
Communion Preparation Sonja Helley
Ushers Allan Bliss, Randy Peeters, Howard
Holman, Robert Potts
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
A QUOTE TO PONDER:
Some scholars today suggest that Jesus didn’t plan to go to the cross. They picture Jesus as a revolutionary with a dream, a vision of peace and brotherhood, who got cut down in His prime by His enemies. For these scholars, the cross is the end of the story. The Gospel is a tragedy, not a romance. God sees things differently. From God’s perspective, the cross stands at the very center of His story about saving people from their sin. Without the cross there could be no forgiveness for anyone. Everyone would face an eternity of God’s righteous anger. God’s justice requires payment for sin, and the payment the Law requires is a person’s life. The cross has always been God’s plan for saving people.--taken from a Concordia Publishing House LifeLight Study on the Gospel of John.
1,000 years from now . . .
things will be very different for ALL of us. It will not matter whether we lived in a mansion or a shed, ate steak or cold cuts, drove a Corvette or a Civic, had a doctorate or signed our name with an X. What will matter a great deal is whether we believed in Jesus as our Savior from sin, remained faithful to Jesus until death, witnessed for Jesus by word and deed, and earnestly prayed for souls and kingdom growth.
The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 24, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 555 “Salvation unto Us Has Come” sts. 1-5
1 Salvation unto us has come
By God’s free grace and favor;
Good works cannot avert our doom,
They help and save us never.
Faith looks to Jesus Christ alone,
Who did for all the world atone;
He is our one Redeemer.
2 What God did in His Law demand
And none to Him could render
Caused wrath and woe on ev’ry hand
For man, the vile offender.
Our flesh has not those pure desires
The spirit of the Law requires,
And lost is our condition.
3 It was a false, misleading dream
That God His Law had given
That sinners could themselves redeem
And by their works gain heaven.
The Law is but a mirror bright
To bring the inbred sin to light
That lurks within our nature.
4 From sin our flesh could not abstain,
Sin held its sway unceasing;
The task was useless and in vain,
Our guilt was e’er increasing.
None can remove sin’s poisoned dart
Or purify our guileful heart--
So deep is our corruption.
5 Yet as the Law must be fulfilled
Or we must die despairing,
Christ came and has God’s anger stilled,
Our human nature sharing.
He has for us the Law obeyed
And thus the Father’s vengeance stayed
Which over us impended.
Text: Paul Speratus, 1484–1551; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.
Text: Public domain
Please stand if able
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 116:12–13, 15–17
P I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD. What shall I render to the LORD for all his bene- fits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds.
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P Lord God, heavenly Father, since we cannot stand before You relying on anything we have done, help us trust in Your abiding grace and live according to Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 55:6–9
6“Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
7let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
9For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung] Psalm 27:1–9
1The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom | shall I fear?*
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I | be afraid?
2When evildoers assail me
to eat | up my flesh,*
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stum- | ble and fall.
3Though an army encamp against me,
my heart | shall not fear;*
though war arise against me,
yet I will be | confident.
4One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek | after:*
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his | temple.
5For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of | trouble;*
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high up- | on a rock.
6And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with | shouts of joy;*
I will sing and make melody | to the LORD.
7Hear, O LORD, when I | cry aloud;*
be gracious to me and | answer me!
8You have said, | “Seek my face.”*
My heart says to you,
“Your face, LORD, | do I seek.”
9Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in | anger,*
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my sal- | vation!
Epistle Philippians 1:12–14, 19–30
12I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. . . .
19for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
27Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia
Holy Gospel Matthew 20:1–16
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twentieth chapter.
1[Jesus said:] “The kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16So the last will be first, and the first last.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 826 “Hark, the Voice of Jesus Crying”
1 Hark, the voice of Jesus crying,
“Who will go and work today?
Fields are white and harvests waiting--
Who will bear the sheaves away?”
Loud and long the Master calleth;
Rich reward He offers thee.
Who will answer, gladly saying,
“Here am I, send me, send me”?
2 If you cannot speak like angels,
If you cannot preach like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus,
You can say He died for all.
If you cannot rouse the wicked
With the judgment’s dread alarms,
You can lead the little children
To the Savior’s waiting arms.
3 If you cannot be a watchman,
Standing high on Zion’s wall,
Pointing out the path to heaven,
Off’ring life and peace to all,
With your prayers and with your bounties
You can do what God commands;
You can be like faithful Aaron,
Holding up the prophet’s hands.
4 Let none hear you idly saying,
“There is nothing I can do,”
While the multitudes are dying
And the Master calls for you.
Take the task He gives you gladly,
Let His work your pleasure be;
Answer quickly when He calleth,
“Here am I, send me, send me!”
Text (sts. 1–2, 4): Daniel March, 1816–1909, alt.; (st. 3): unknown, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “Fair Is Fair” Matthew 20:1-16
Fair Is Fair – Matthew 20:1-16
The Gospel you recently heard is part of a longer teaching. Jesus has basically been teaching that everyone who enters the kingdom of God does so by a miracle of God. He has recently taught that the chances of a rich person entering heaven are not even as good as the chances of a camel passing through the eye of a needle. When we understand that the culture of the day believed that rich people were especially favored by God, then we understand that Jesus was saying that no one has a chance. He then went on to say, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26) With these words we learn that our entry into the kingdom of God is a miracle.
Then Jesus went on to say something else that is contrary to our understanding. He said, “Many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Matthew 19:30) Jesus then illustrated this with the parable we heard in today’s Gospel.
Jesus used the story of a man who needed laborers, a common situation in most cultures. At the time Jesus told this story, there was usually a market at the city gates. Workers who wished to labor for a wage gathered at the market and offered their services. A man who needed workers in his vineyard went to the marketplace and hired people to work in his vineyard. Apparently, the work was urgent and needed many laborers. The owner of the vineyard visited the marketplace several times during the day to hire more laborers. It is likely that most of those who listened to Jesus had been laborers in the marketplace at one time or another. At first, there is nothing unusual about the story.
The first sign that the vineyard owner might not be normal comes near the end of the day. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ (Matthew 20:6–7) It was very unusual to hire someone at this late hour. By the time the workers traveled to the vineyard and got their instructions and training from the foreman, the day will be over. Those hired at the eleventh hour might not have time to do any work at all. This is the first sign that the vineyard owner is not normal.
The eccentricity of the owner really stood out, though, when he instructed the foreman to pay the workers at the end of the day. And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. (Matthew 20:8–9) The ones who barely had time to get to the field and get their instructions got a denarius … a full day’s pay. They didn’t do much of anything, but they received pay as though they had been there from sunup.
Everyone got a surprise in their pay envelope. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. (Matthew 20:10) In a way, this should not have been a surprise. After all, a denarius is the standard pay for a day. However, those who barely came out to the field and had a look around got a denarius. The first hires began to anticipate getting more, but they didn’t.
Jesus then repeated the saying, “So the last will be first, and the first last.” (Matthew 20:16) Jesus taught that there will be surprises on the last day. When we meet those who gather around the throne of God in eternity, some will cause us to say, “You’re the last person I expected to see here!”
No doubt there were some there who expected to be first in line for eternity. “We are children of Abraham.” they might say, “Our ancestors were slaves in Egypt and followed Moses to the Promised Land. We not only follow the Laws of Moses, but we also follow the tradition of the elders.” Jesus was telling these people that there are Gentile who will see the Kingdom of Heaven before they do.
Chaplain Henry Gerecke, a farm boy from Missouri, who grew up to be a LCMS pastor, found himself stationed at a prison at Nuremberg. His congregation consisted of Nazi officers who were on trial for crimes against humanity. Eventually, eleven members of Hitler’s inner circle confessed their faith in Jesus as savior. Eight of them received instruction and were able to take the Lord’s Supper from Gerecke’s hand.
Eventually, ten members of his prison flock were sentenced to death. The first to face the gallows was Hitler’s foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop. An American officer asked for his last words. Ribbentrop responded: “I place all my confidence in the Lamb who made atonement for my sins. May God have mercy on my soul.” Then he turned to Gerecke and said, “I’ll see you again.” Moments later, the trap door opened beneath his feet and he breathed his last. Other members of the flock died in like manner. Jesus said, “The last will be first, and the first last.”
Chaplain Henry Gerecke received a lot of mail. Some of the mail gave thanks to Almighty God for enabling the Gospel to reach into the hearts of Nazi war criminals. Other letters condemned Gerecke. They said that he should have been hanged with the war criminals for doing what he did.
The people who condemned Gereke didn’t know it, but they were also condemning themselves. If Jesus did not die for all sins, how do you know that He died for your sins? When they condemn Nazi war criminals to hell in spite of Jesus, they are saying that there is a minimum amount of goodness that each of us must have before Jesus’ forgiveness can be for us. They are saying that Nazi war criminals don’t make the cut. Well if they don’t make the cut, how can you know if you made the cut? If Jesus didn’t die for them, then how do you know that He died for you?
In the rite of baptism, we remind people that the Word of God teaches that we are all conceived and born sinful and are under the power of the devil until Christ claims us as His own. We would be lost forever unless delivered from sin, death, and everlasting condemnation. But the Father of all mercy and grace has sent His Son Jesus Christ, who atoned for the sin of the whole world that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)
In His parable, Jesus illustrated that people enter the kingdom at all times of life. Some receive baptism as infants. They enter the kingdom at the dawn of their lives. Others enter at the third hour as older children … the sixth hour as young adults … the ninth hour as they approach retirement … at the eleventh hour near death. All receive the same pay … eternal life with Christ. All are saved by grace through faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ.
The parable illustrates that people enter the kingdom in all stations of life. From the world’s point of view, some are pretty good people who never strayed from the path. Some are juvenile delinquents who straighten out when they enter adulthood. Others are career criminals who come to faith on their deathbed. Some are rich. Some are poor. Some are famous. Some are infamous. All recognize that they are sinners in need of a savior. All of them recognize that Jesus Christ is that savior who died for them on the cross and rose to give them eternal life.
There is one thing that this parable does not teach. Some think this parable teaches that they can wait to become a Christian. They see that God works faith in some people on their deathbed, and they think that they can wait. They will say something like, “You know, I can have all the fun I want right now and become a Christian later.” That is not what this parable teaches.
Such a person sees the life of the Christian as a burden. They do not understand that Jesus carried our burden to the cross almost two thousand years ago. They do not understand the Christian life is a gift from the Holy Spirit. They do not understand that the Christian has more reason for enjoyment than any other human being. They just don’t know what they are missing.
Then there is also the possibility that the invitation will never come again. No one really knows when the sun will set on his life. Accidents happen and they happen quickly. Sometimes death is the result of a long illness and we know the time is soon. Other times death comes in the form of a drunk driver or a mechanical failure and death gives us no warning at all. Don’t resist the Holy Spirit because you think you have plenty of time. As the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians, “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2)
God continues to search the marketplace of this world looking for workers for His vineyard. The Holy Spirit may find workers in the marketplace early in the morning when, as infants, He works faith in us through the Word combined with the water of Holy Baptism. The Holy Spirit may find us in the market and give us faith at the exhalation of the last breath before sundown. He may find us sometime in between. No matter when we receive this faith, we know that all the guilt of every sin is gone – taken away by the Son’s sacrifice on the cross. We know that, by His resurrection and ascension, our Lord Jesus Christ has prepared a place for us. Whether our faith is old or young, we all receive the gift of life everlasting. Amen
Offertory
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church--Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20A)--24 September
2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their
needs.
O Lord, grant that we would rejoice in the light of Christ and His salvation, and that sinners
would find refuge in His mercy and comfort in His forgiveness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our
prayer.
Heavenly Father, embolden our congregation and all sister churches throughout the world to
confess the truth steadfastly and to witness boldly to our only Savior, Jesus Christ. Lord, in
Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, we give You humble thanks for instituting the estate of holy marriage and for
the blessing of family. Grant that these gifts would be cherished and honored in our society and
especially within the household of faith. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty Lord, bless this nation and all people in their rightful callings. Grant that we may
serve our neighbors in love, and that all authorities would exercise their callings with humility
and wisdom on behalf of the defenseless. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Loving God, we thank You for the gift of health. Hear our prayers on behalf of the sick, the
aged, the infirm, the mourning or the dying [especially _____________]. Grant them healing in
accord with Your will and grace to sustain them in their need. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our
prayer.
Remember, O Lord, those who will receive Your true body and blood from this altar. Prepare us
to receive them worthily in repentance and faith for the forgiveness of our sins and the healing
of our bodies. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the witness of the faithful who lived and died in Christ.
Grant that at the last we, too, may be joined with them in the marriage supper of the Lamb in
His kingdom. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, grant that, in Christ, we may seek You while You may be found and call upon
You while You are near, forsaking all wicked ways and unrighteous thoughts. Lord, in Your
mercy, hear our prayer.
Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Ame
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P It is truly meet, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who on this day overcame death and the grave and by His glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Lord’s Prayer
The Words of Our Lord
Pax Domini
Agnus Dei
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
716 “I Walk in Danger All the Way”
1 I walk in danger all the way.
The thought shall never leave me
That Satan, who has marked his prey,
Is plotting to deceive me.
This foe with hidden snares
May seize me unawares
If I should fail to watch and pray.
I walk in danger all the way.
2 I pass through trials all the way,
With sin and ills contending;
In patience I must bear each day
The cross of God’s own sending.
When in adversity
I know not where to flee,
When storms of woe my soul dismay,
I pass through trials all the way.
3 And death pursues me all the way,
Nowhere I rest securely;
He comes by night, he comes by day,
He takes his prey most surely.
A failing breath, and I
In death’s strong grasp may lie
To face eternity today
As death pursues me all the way.
4 I walk with angels all the way,
They shield me and befriend me;
All Satan’s pow’r is held at bay
When heav’nly hosts attend me;
They are my sure defense,
All fear and sorrow, hence!
Unharmed by foes, do what they may,
I walk with angels all the way.
5 I walk with Jesus all the way,
His guidance never fails me;
Within His wounds I find a stay
When Satan’s pow’r assails me;
And by His footsteps led,
My path I safely tread.
No evil leads my soul astray;
I walk with Jesus all the way.
6 My walk is heav’nward all the way;
Await, my soul, the morrow,
When God’s good healing shall allay
All suff’ring, sin, and sorrow.
Then, worldly pomp, begone!
To heav’n I now press on.
For all the world I would not stay;
My walk is heav’nward all the way.
Text: Hans Adolf Brorson, 1694–1764; tr. Ditlef G. Ristad, 1863–1938, alt.
Text: Public domain
782 “Gracious God, You Send Great Blessings”
1 Gracious God, You send great blessings
New each morning all our days.
For Your mercies never ending,
For Your love we offer praise. Refrain
ref Lord, we pray that we, Your people
Who Your gifts unnumbered claim,
Through the sharing of Your blessings
May bring glory to Your name.
2 By Your Word You formed creation
Filled with creatures large and small;
As we tend that endless treasure
May our care encircle all. Refrain
3 In His earthly life, our Savior
Knew the care of faithful friends;
May our deeds of dedication
Offer love that never ends. Refrain
D 4 Heav’nly Father, may our caring
Bear the imprint of Your grace;
With the Son and Holy Spirit,
Praise be Yours in ev’ry place! Refrain
Text: Gregory J. Wismar, 1946
Text: © 2004 Gregory J. Wismar. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Stand
Nunc Dimittis
Thanksgiving
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Benedicamus
Benediction
Closing Hymn: 555 “Salvation unto Us Has Come” sts. 6-10
6 Since Christ has full atonement made
And brought to us salvation,
Each Christian therefore may be glad
And build on this foundation.
Your grace alone, dear Lord, I plead,
Your death is now my life indeed,
For You have paid my ransom.
7 Let me not doubt, but truly see
Your Word cannot be broken;
Your call rings out, “Come unto Me!”
No falsehood have You spoken.
Baptized into Your precious name,
My faith cannot be put to shame,
And I shall never perish.
8 The Law reveals the guilt of sin
And makes us conscience-stricken;
But then the Gospel enters in
The sinful soul to quicken.
Come to the cross, trust Christ, and live;
The Law no peace can ever give,
No comfort and no blessing.
9 Faith clings to Jesus’ cross alone
And rests in Him unceasing;
And by its fruits true faith is known,
With love and hope increasing.
For faith alone can justify;
Works serve our neighbor and supply
The proof that faith is living.
D 10 All blessing, honor, thanks, and praise
To Father, Son, and Spirit,
The God who saved us by His grace;
All glory to His merit.
O triune God in heav’n above,
You have revealed Your saving love;
Your blessèd name we hallow.
Text: Paul Speratus, 1484–1551; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting Three 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing House.
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 24, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Howard Holman
Lay Reader Robert Potts
Acolyte Becca Potts
Organist Coleen Tallman
Communion Preparation Sonja Helley
Ushers Allan Bliss, Randy Peeters, Howard
Holman, Robert Potts
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
A QUOTE TO PONDER:
Some scholars today suggest that Jesus didn’t plan to go to the cross. They picture Jesus as a revolutionary with a dream, a vision of peace and brotherhood, who got cut down in His prime by His enemies. For these scholars, the cross is the end of the story. The Gospel is a tragedy, not a romance. God sees things differently. From God’s perspective, the cross stands at the very center of His story about saving people from their sin. Without the cross there could be no forgiveness for anyone. Everyone would face an eternity of God’s righteous anger. God’s justice requires payment for sin, and the payment the Law requires is a person’s life. The cross has always been God’s plan for saving people.--taken from a Concordia Publishing House LifeLight Study on the Gospel of John.
1,000 years from now . . .
things will be very different for ALL of us. It will not matter whether we lived in a mansion or a shed, ate steak or cold cuts, drove a Corvette or a Civic, had a doctorate or signed our name with an X. What will matter a great deal is whether we believed in Jesus as our Savior from sin, remained faithful to Jesus until death, witnessed for Jesus by word and deed, and earnestly prayed for souls and kingdom growth.
The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 24, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 555 “Salvation unto Us Has Come” sts. 1-5
1 Salvation unto us has come
By God’s free grace and favor;
Good works cannot avert our doom,
They help and save us never.
Faith looks to Jesus Christ alone,
Who did for all the world atone;
He is our one Redeemer.
2 What God did in His Law demand
And none to Him could render
Caused wrath and woe on ev’ry hand
For man, the vile offender.
Our flesh has not those pure desires
The spirit of the Law requires,
And lost is our condition.
3 It was a false, misleading dream
That God His Law had given
That sinners could themselves redeem
And by their works gain heaven.
The Law is but a mirror bright
To bring the inbred sin to light
That lurks within our nature.
4 From sin our flesh could not abstain,
Sin held its sway unceasing;
The task was useless and in vain,
Our guilt was e’er increasing.
None can remove sin’s poisoned dart
Or purify our guileful heart--
So deep is our corruption.
5 Yet as the Law must be fulfilled
Or we must die despairing,
Christ came and has God’s anger stilled,
Our human nature sharing.
He has for us the Law obeyed
And thus the Father’s vengeance stayed
Which over us impended.
Text: Paul Speratus, 1484–1551; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.
Text: Public domain
Please stand if able
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 116:12–13, 15–17
P I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD. What shall I render to the LORD for all his bene- fits to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds.
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P Lord God, heavenly Father, since we cannot stand before You relying on anything we have done, help us trust in Your abiding grace and live according to Your Word; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 55:6–9
6“Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
7let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
9For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung] Psalm 27:1–9
1The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom | shall I fear?*
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I | be afraid?
2When evildoers assail me
to eat | up my flesh,*
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stum- | ble and fall.
3Though an army encamp against me,
my heart | shall not fear;*
though war arise against me,
yet I will be | confident.
4One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek | after:*
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his | temple.
5For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of | trouble;*
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high up- | on a rock.
6And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with | shouts of joy;*
I will sing and make melody | to the LORD.
7Hear, O LORD, when I | cry aloud;*
be gracious to me and | answer me!
8You have said, | “Seek my face.”*
My heart says to you,
“Your face, LORD, | do I seek.”
9Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in | anger,*
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my sal- | vation!
Epistle Philippians 1:12–14, 19–30
12I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. . . .
19for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
27Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia
Holy Gospel Matthew 20:1–16
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twentieth chapter.
1[Jesus said:] “The kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 5So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ 7They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 8And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 9And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 11And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 12saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16So the last will be first, and the first last.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 826 “Hark, the Voice of Jesus Crying”
1 Hark, the voice of Jesus crying,
“Who will go and work today?
Fields are white and harvests waiting--
Who will bear the sheaves away?”
Loud and long the Master calleth;
Rich reward He offers thee.
Who will answer, gladly saying,
“Here am I, send me, send me”?
2 If you cannot speak like angels,
If you cannot preach like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus,
You can say He died for all.
If you cannot rouse the wicked
With the judgment’s dread alarms,
You can lead the little children
To the Savior’s waiting arms.
3 If you cannot be a watchman,
Standing high on Zion’s wall,
Pointing out the path to heaven,
Off’ring life and peace to all,
With your prayers and with your bounties
You can do what God commands;
You can be like faithful Aaron,
Holding up the prophet’s hands.
4 Let none hear you idly saying,
“There is nothing I can do,”
While the multitudes are dying
And the Master calls for you.
Take the task He gives you gladly,
Let His work your pleasure be;
Answer quickly when He calleth,
“Here am I, send me, send me!”
Text (sts. 1–2, 4): Daniel March, 1816–1909, alt.; (st. 3): unknown, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “Fair Is Fair” Matthew 20:1-16
Fair Is Fair – Matthew 20:1-16
The Gospel you recently heard is part of a longer teaching. Jesus has basically been teaching that everyone who enters the kingdom of God does so by a miracle of God. He has recently taught that the chances of a rich person entering heaven are not even as good as the chances of a camel passing through the eye of a needle. When we understand that the culture of the day believed that rich people were especially favored by God, then we understand that Jesus was saying that no one has a chance. He then went on to say, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26) With these words we learn that our entry into the kingdom of God is a miracle.
Then Jesus went on to say something else that is contrary to our understanding. He said, “Many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Matthew 19:30) Jesus then illustrated this with the parable we heard in today’s Gospel.
Jesus used the story of a man who needed laborers, a common situation in most cultures. At the time Jesus told this story, there was usually a market at the city gates. Workers who wished to labor for a wage gathered at the market and offered their services. A man who needed workers in his vineyard went to the marketplace and hired people to work in his vineyard. Apparently, the work was urgent and needed many laborers. The owner of the vineyard visited the marketplace several times during the day to hire more laborers. It is likely that most of those who listened to Jesus had been laborers in the marketplace at one time or another. At first, there is nothing unusual about the story.
The first sign that the vineyard owner might not be normal comes near the end of the day. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ (Matthew 20:6–7) It was very unusual to hire someone at this late hour. By the time the workers traveled to the vineyard and got their instructions and training from the foreman, the day will be over. Those hired at the eleventh hour might not have time to do any work at all. This is the first sign that the vineyard owner is not normal.
The eccentricity of the owner really stood out, though, when he instructed the foreman to pay the workers at the end of the day. And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. (Matthew 20:8–9) The ones who barely had time to get to the field and get their instructions got a denarius … a full day’s pay. They didn’t do much of anything, but they received pay as though they had been there from sunup.
Everyone got a surprise in their pay envelope. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. (Matthew 20:10) In a way, this should not have been a surprise. After all, a denarius is the standard pay for a day. However, those who barely came out to the field and had a look around got a denarius. The first hires began to anticipate getting more, but they didn’t.
Jesus then repeated the saying, “So the last will be first, and the first last.” (Matthew 20:16) Jesus taught that there will be surprises on the last day. When we meet those who gather around the throne of God in eternity, some will cause us to say, “You’re the last person I expected to see here!”
No doubt there were some there who expected to be first in line for eternity. “We are children of Abraham.” they might say, “Our ancestors were slaves in Egypt and followed Moses to the Promised Land. We not only follow the Laws of Moses, but we also follow the tradition of the elders.” Jesus was telling these people that there are Gentile who will see the Kingdom of Heaven before they do.
Chaplain Henry Gerecke, a farm boy from Missouri, who grew up to be a LCMS pastor, found himself stationed at a prison at Nuremberg. His congregation consisted of Nazi officers who were on trial for crimes against humanity. Eventually, eleven members of Hitler’s inner circle confessed their faith in Jesus as savior. Eight of them received instruction and were able to take the Lord’s Supper from Gerecke’s hand.
Eventually, ten members of his prison flock were sentenced to death. The first to face the gallows was Hitler’s foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop. An American officer asked for his last words. Ribbentrop responded: “I place all my confidence in the Lamb who made atonement for my sins. May God have mercy on my soul.” Then he turned to Gerecke and said, “I’ll see you again.” Moments later, the trap door opened beneath his feet and he breathed his last. Other members of the flock died in like manner. Jesus said, “The last will be first, and the first last.”
Chaplain Henry Gerecke received a lot of mail. Some of the mail gave thanks to Almighty God for enabling the Gospel to reach into the hearts of Nazi war criminals. Other letters condemned Gerecke. They said that he should have been hanged with the war criminals for doing what he did.
The people who condemned Gereke didn’t know it, but they were also condemning themselves. If Jesus did not die for all sins, how do you know that He died for your sins? When they condemn Nazi war criminals to hell in spite of Jesus, they are saying that there is a minimum amount of goodness that each of us must have before Jesus’ forgiveness can be for us. They are saying that Nazi war criminals don’t make the cut. Well if they don’t make the cut, how can you know if you made the cut? If Jesus didn’t die for them, then how do you know that He died for you?
In the rite of baptism, we remind people that the Word of God teaches that we are all conceived and born sinful and are under the power of the devil until Christ claims us as His own. We would be lost forever unless delivered from sin, death, and everlasting condemnation. But the Father of all mercy and grace has sent His Son Jesus Christ, who atoned for the sin of the whole world that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)
In His parable, Jesus illustrated that people enter the kingdom at all times of life. Some receive baptism as infants. They enter the kingdom at the dawn of their lives. Others enter at the third hour as older children … the sixth hour as young adults … the ninth hour as they approach retirement … at the eleventh hour near death. All receive the same pay … eternal life with Christ. All are saved by grace through faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ.
The parable illustrates that people enter the kingdom in all stations of life. From the world’s point of view, some are pretty good people who never strayed from the path. Some are juvenile delinquents who straighten out when they enter adulthood. Others are career criminals who come to faith on their deathbed. Some are rich. Some are poor. Some are famous. Some are infamous. All recognize that they are sinners in need of a savior. All of them recognize that Jesus Christ is that savior who died for them on the cross and rose to give them eternal life.
There is one thing that this parable does not teach. Some think this parable teaches that they can wait to become a Christian. They see that God works faith in some people on their deathbed, and they think that they can wait. They will say something like, “You know, I can have all the fun I want right now and become a Christian later.” That is not what this parable teaches.
Such a person sees the life of the Christian as a burden. They do not understand that Jesus carried our burden to the cross almost two thousand years ago. They do not understand the Christian life is a gift from the Holy Spirit. They do not understand that the Christian has more reason for enjoyment than any other human being. They just don’t know what they are missing.
Then there is also the possibility that the invitation will never come again. No one really knows when the sun will set on his life. Accidents happen and they happen quickly. Sometimes death is the result of a long illness and we know the time is soon. Other times death comes in the form of a drunk driver or a mechanical failure and death gives us no warning at all. Don’t resist the Holy Spirit because you think you have plenty of time. As the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians, “Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2)
God continues to search the marketplace of this world looking for workers for His vineyard. The Holy Spirit may find workers in the marketplace early in the morning when, as infants, He works faith in us through the Word combined with the water of Holy Baptism. The Holy Spirit may find us in the market and give us faith at the exhalation of the last breath before sundown. He may find us sometime in between. No matter when we receive this faith, we know that all the guilt of every sin is gone – taken away by the Son’s sacrifice on the cross. We know that, by His resurrection and ascension, our Lord Jesus Christ has prepared a place for us. Whether our faith is old or young, we all receive the gift of life everlasting. Amen
Offertory
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church--Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20A)--24 September
2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their
needs.
O Lord, grant that we would rejoice in the light of Christ and His salvation, and that sinners
would find refuge in His mercy and comfort in His forgiveness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our
prayer.
Heavenly Father, embolden our congregation and all sister churches throughout the world to
confess the truth steadfastly and to witness boldly to our only Savior, Jesus Christ. Lord, in
Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, we give You humble thanks for instituting the estate of holy marriage and for
the blessing of family. Grant that these gifts would be cherished and honored in our society and
especially within the household of faith. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty Lord, bless this nation and all people in their rightful callings. Grant that we may
serve our neighbors in love, and that all authorities would exercise their callings with humility
and wisdom on behalf of the defenseless. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Loving God, we thank You for the gift of health. Hear our prayers on behalf of the sick, the
aged, the infirm, the mourning or the dying [especially _____________]. Grant them healing in
accord with Your will and grace to sustain them in their need. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our
prayer.
Remember, O Lord, those who will receive Your true body and blood from this altar. Prepare us
to receive them worthily in repentance and faith for the forgiveness of our sins and the healing
of our bodies. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the witness of the faithful who lived and died in Christ.
Grant that at the last we, too, may be joined with them in the marriage supper of the Lamb in
His kingdom. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, grant that, in Christ, we may seek You while You may be found and call upon
You while You are near, forsaking all wicked ways and unrighteous thoughts. Lord, in Your
mercy, hear our prayer.
Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Ame
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P It is truly meet, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who on this day overcame death and the grave and by His glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Lord’s Prayer
The Words of Our Lord
Pax Domini
Agnus Dei
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
716 “I Walk in Danger All the Way”
1 I walk in danger all the way.
The thought shall never leave me
That Satan, who has marked his prey,
Is plotting to deceive me.
This foe with hidden snares
May seize me unawares
If I should fail to watch and pray.
I walk in danger all the way.
2 I pass through trials all the way,
With sin and ills contending;
In patience I must bear each day
The cross of God’s own sending.
When in adversity
I know not where to flee,
When storms of woe my soul dismay,
I pass through trials all the way.
3 And death pursues me all the way,
Nowhere I rest securely;
He comes by night, he comes by day,
He takes his prey most surely.
A failing breath, and I
In death’s strong grasp may lie
To face eternity today
As death pursues me all the way.
4 I walk with angels all the way,
They shield me and befriend me;
All Satan’s pow’r is held at bay
When heav’nly hosts attend me;
They are my sure defense,
All fear and sorrow, hence!
Unharmed by foes, do what they may,
I walk with angels all the way.
5 I walk with Jesus all the way,
His guidance never fails me;
Within His wounds I find a stay
When Satan’s pow’r assails me;
And by His footsteps led,
My path I safely tread.
No evil leads my soul astray;
I walk with Jesus all the way.
6 My walk is heav’nward all the way;
Await, my soul, the morrow,
When God’s good healing shall allay
All suff’ring, sin, and sorrow.
Then, worldly pomp, begone!
To heav’n I now press on.
For all the world I would not stay;
My walk is heav’nward all the way.
Text: Hans Adolf Brorson, 1694–1764; tr. Ditlef G. Ristad, 1863–1938, alt.
Text: Public domain
782 “Gracious God, You Send Great Blessings”
1 Gracious God, You send great blessings
New each morning all our days.
For Your mercies never ending,
For Your love we offer praise. Refrain
ref Lord, we pray that we, Your people
Who Your gifts unnumbered claim,
Through the sharing of Your blessings
May bring glory to Your name.
2 By Your Word You formed creation
Filled with creatures large and small;
As we tend that endless treasure
May our care encircle all. Refrain
3 In His earthly life, our Savior
Knew the care of faithful friends;
May our deeds of dedication
Offer love that never ends. Refrain
D 4 Heav’nly Father, may our caring
Bear the imprint of Your grace;
With the Son and Holy Spirit,
Praise be Yours in ev’ry place! Refrain
Text: Gregory J. Wismar, 1946
Text: © 2004 Gregory J. Wismar. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Stand
Nunc Dimittis
Thanksgiving
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Benedicamus
Benediction
Closing Hymn: 555 “Salvation unto Us Has Come” sts. 6-10
6 Since Christ has full atonement made
And brought to us salvation,
Each Christian therefore may be glad
And build on this foundation.
Your grace alone, dear Lord, I plead,
Your death is now my life indeed,
For You have paid my ransom.
7 Let me not doubt, but truly see
Your Word cannot be broken;
Your call rings out, “Come unto Me!”
No falsehood have You spoken.
Baptized into Your precious name,
My faith cannot be put to shame,
And I shall never perish.
8 The Law reveals the guilt of sin
And makes us conscience-stricken;
But then the Gospel enters in
The sinful soul to quicken.
Come to the cross, trust Christ, and live;
The Law no peace can ever give,
No comfort and no blessing.
9 Faith clings to Jesus’ cross alone
And rests in Him unceasing;
And by its fruits true faith is known,
With love and hope increasing.
For faith alone can justify;
Works serve our neighbor and supply
The proof that faith is living.
D 10 All blessing, honor, thanks, and praise
To Father, Son, and Spirit,
The God who saved us by His grace;
All glory to His merit.
O triune God in heav’n above,
You have revealed Your saving love;
Your blessèd name we hallow.
Text: Paul Speratus, 1484–1551; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting Three 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing House.
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 17, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Mark Klein
Lay Reader Karen Broach
Acolyte Kathy McCarthy
Organist Allison Yee
Communion Preparation Pat Tavare
Ushers Allan Bliss, Randy Peeters, Howard
Holman, Robert Potts
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as a Voters’ Meeting and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A VOTERS’ ASSEMBLY MEETING today after refreshments are served. Questions? Please speak with Lynn Tallman, our congregational president.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here.
Hang on! God will remain faithful. Don't despair. Cling to the truth the psalmist proclaims: "Wait with hope for the Lord. Be strong, and let your heart be courageous" (Psalm 27:14). The Lord won't extinguish a smoking wick but instead will make it glow brightly. He won't break the damaged cattail but instead will strengthen it (Isaiah 42:3)—from the pen of Martin Luther.
DANGER INSIDE! Could it be that we should put a sign over the doors of our churches: Danger Inside!? Then the worship folder might have a heading that says, “This is a warning. In this service you may actually encounter the holy God who has awesome power, and an intense interest in a relationship with you. You may be totally changed here. You may have to leave your worries and anxieties here.” (Then what will occupy your time?) You may be emboldened to live a courageous, victorious life, fearful of nothing, able for anything.
And when I am oppressed, beat down, By devil, world, and flesh,
His Supper does with grace abound, His blood shall e’er refresh.
[sung to the tune of “Amazing Grace”]
The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 17, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn:606 “I Lay My Sins on Jesus”(sung to different melody)
1 I lay my sins on Jesus,
The spotless Lamb of God;
He bears them all and frees us
From the accursèd load.
I bring my guilt to Jesus
To wash my crimson stains
Clean in His blood most precious
Till not a spot remains.
2 I lay my wants on Jesus;
All fullness dwells in Him;
He heals all my diseases;
My soul He does redeem.
I lay my griefs on Jesus,
My burdens and my cares;
He from them all releases;
He all my sorrows shares.
3 I rest my soul on Jesus,
This weary soul of mine;
His right hand me embraces;
I on His breast recline.
I love the name of Jesus,
Immanuel, Christ, the Lord;
Like fragrance on the breezes
His name abroad is poured.
Text: Horatius Bonar, 1808–89
Text: Public domain
Please stand if able
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
C But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.
P Since we are gathered to hear God’s Word, call upon Him in prayer and praise, and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fellowship of this altar, let us first consider our unworthiness and confess before God and one another that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, and that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition. Together as His people let us take refuge in the infinite mercy of God, our heavenly Father, seeking His grace for the sake of Christ, and saying:
C God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen.
P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 143:9, 1–2
P Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to you for refuge! Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous be- fore you.
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Let us pray.
O God, our refuge and strength, the author of all godliness, hear the devout prayers of Your Church, especially in times of persecution, and grant that what we ask in faith we may obtain; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Genesis 50:15–21
15When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” 16So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died, 17‘Say to Joseph, Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung by all] Psalm 103:1–13
1Bless the Lord, | O my soul,*
and all that is within me,
bless his | holy name!
2Bless the Lord, | O my soul,*
and forget not all his | benefits,
3who forgives all your in- | iquity,*
who heals all your dis- | eases,
4who redeems your life | from the pit,*
who crowns you with steadfast love and | mercy,
5who satisfies | you with good*
so that your youth is renewed like the | eagle’s.
6The Lord works | righteousness*
and justice for all who | are oppressed.
7He made known his ways to | Moses,*
his acts to the people of | Israel.
8The Lord is merciful and | gracious,*
slow to anger and abounding in | steadfast love.
9He will not | always chide,*
nor will he keep his anger for- | ever.
10He does not deal with us according | to our sins,*
nor repay us according to our in- | iquities.
11For as high as the heavens are a- | bove the earth,*
so great is his steadfast love toward those who | fear him;
12as far as the east is | from the west,*
so far does he remove our transgres- | sions from us.
Epistle Romans 14:1–12
1As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”
12So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia and Verse
Holy Gospel Matthew 18:21–35
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the eighteenth chapter.
C Glory to You, O Lord.
21Peter came up and said to [Jesus], “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
23“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C Praise to You, O Christ.
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 611 “Chief of Sinners Though I Be”
1 Chief of sinners though I be,
Jesus shed His blood for me,
Died that I might live on high,
Lives that I might never die.
As the branch is to the vine,
I am His, and He is mine.
2 Oh, the height of Jesus’ love,
Higher than the heav’ns above,
Deeper than the depths of sea,
Lasting as eternity!
Love that found me—wondrous thought!
Found me when I sought Him not.
3 Only Jesus can impart
Balm to heal the wounded heart,
Peace that flows from sin forgiv’n,
Joy that lifts the soul to heav’n,
Faith and hope to walk with God
In the way that Enoch trod.
4 Chief of sinners though I be,
Christ is all in all to me;
All my wants to Him are known,
All my sorrows are His own.
He sustains the hidden life
Safe with Him from earthly strife.
5 O my Savior, help afford
By Your Spirit and Your Word!
When my wayward heart would stray,
Keep me in the narrow way;
Grace in time of need supply
While I live and when I die.
Text: William McComb, 1793–1873, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “The Importance of Forgiveness” Matthew 18:21-25
The Importance of Forgiveness – Matthew 18:21-35
Last week, we heard Jesus teach that the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven is the helpless one. Jesus made it clear that the forgiveness of sin is the foundation of the relationship we have with God and the relationships we have with each other … especially the relationship we have with the helpless one who is the greatest in the Kingdom. Forgiveness is how God loves us and how we love each other.
Peter responded to Jesus’ teaching with a question about the forgiveness of sins. Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” (Matthew 18:21) Peter is asking, “How often will my brother sin against me before I no longer love him … before I decide that he is no longer my brother?
Many commentators suggest that the rabbis of the time taught that three times was enough. So, Peter was being generous when he raised the number to seven. Peter had been listening to Jesus. If forgiveness was that important, Peter was willing to raise the level from three to seven.
But even seven was not enough. Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:22) Jesus then told a parable to demonstrate what He meant by seventy times seven. “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.” (Matthew 18:23–24)
It is important to know how much ten thousand talents is. One talent is a unit of weight that is somewhere between 80 and 100 pounds. At the current exchange rate, ten thousand talents of silver would be worth somewhere between $230 and $290 million. Ten thousand talents of gold would be worth between $17 and $22 billion. Either way, this is an incredible debt. This is way beyond the ability of this servant to repay in several lifetimes. This is an important point. There is no way that this servant could ever pay off this debt.
Since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. (Matthew 18:25) Within the context of this parable, Jesus is teaching us about our standing before God. Our sin has burdened us with a debt that is several orders of magnitude beyond our ability to repay. We deserve to be sold into eternal punishment. We are beyond all hope. We are lost forever.
Nevertheless, when this servant appeared before the king, he tried to convince the king that he could pull it off. The servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ (Matthew 18:26) With these words, Jesus teaches us that our sinful condition is so bad that we don’t even know how bad it is. Despite the reality of our situation, we believe that we can work it off … we can pay back the debt we owe. We are in denial.
Now here is where the parable leaves all earthly kingdoms behind. Out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. (Matthew 18:27) The king took on the debt of the servant. No earthly king would do this. Only our father in Heaven has the resources and the generosity to do this kind of thing. Only our Father in Heaven would send His only-begotten Son to take up our human flesh to pay the debt we owed. Only the Son of God would allow mortal men to beat Him and nail Him to a tree to pay that debt. It is here that Jesus illustrates the perfect loving-kindness that He has for you. You are forgiven.
After Jesus spoke of the incredible forgiveness of the king, He told of the response of the servant. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii … (Matthew 18:28) A denarius is about a day’s pay. Since they worked about twelve hours a day back then, let’s round that up to a hundred dollars. A hundred denarii would be about $10,000. This is not a small amount, but it is workable. It would be reasonable to expect someone to work off this loan over time. This debt is miniscule in comparison to a debt of ten thousand talents.
But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ (Matthew 18:28) The response of the servant indicates that he does not really believe the generosity of the king. Seizing and choking demonstrate a desperate attitude. He is behaving as though he still needs the money to pay back the king. The king’s generosity is not real to him even though neither he nor his family are in prison.
His fellow servant used almost the same words that he used before the king. His fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ (Matthew 18:29) The big difference is that his fellow servant is asking for time to do something possible. Whereas, in his plea before the king, he himself was asking for time to do something that he could never do.
His fellow servant’s words and actions should have taken his memory back to his time before the king. They should have reminded him of the mercy of the king, but they did not. He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. (Matthew 18:30) Here the unforgiving heart of the servant is a symptom that he does not believe the forgiveness of the king.
When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. (Matthew 18:31) These servants illustrate the grief that the church has when there is conflict in its midst. When there is conflict, the church turns to our Lord in prayer. We remember that the Lord still rules in His church and knows how to deal with our difficulties.
“Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.” (Matthew 18:32–34) The king clearly expected the servant to share the king’s mercy with his fellow servants. Not only has the servant soiled the reputation of his king, but he has also demonstrated that he did not really accept the mercy that the king extended to him when the debt was forgiven.
Jesus concluded His teaching with the meaning of the parable. “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:35) Each of us owes God a sin debt that we cannot even comprehend. Nevertheless, for the sake of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God forgives that monstrous debt. The sins that our fellow man commit against us pale in comparison to that monstrous debt. The forgiveness of sins that we have from God should overflow in us so that we will sincerely forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us.
Jesus’ parable makes it clear. Just as there is no end to the forgiveness God has for us, there is to be no end to the forgiveness we have for others. We forgive others indefinitely just as God in Christ forgives us.
There are a few points that we should consider as we meditate on this parable.
To begin with, the life of forgiveness that Jesus illustrates in the parable is impossible unless we first recognize that the mercy in the parable began with the king. That is, we forgive others as a result of the forgiveness, life, and salvation that we have in Jesus Christ. God must first forgive us. Then, and only then, can we forgive others. The life of forgiveness, like all the good works that God works in us, are the result of our salvation. It is NOT the cause of our salvation.
Secondly, our old, sinful nature may fight us on this. Our emotions may not be able to keep up with our faith. Even though the Holy Spirit has worked through our faith to forgive, we may still feel sad, frustrated, betrayed, and so forth. This struggle is not a reason to doubt. Instead, we take comfort in Paul’s words, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18) We shall receive full healing when our Lord takes us into eternity to live with Him.
Thirdly, circumstances sometimes revive the memory of a sin. As fallible human beings, we cannot forgive as God forgives. With God, forgiveness is complete, generous, eternal. Although our memories may embarrass us with the memories of our sins, we can be confident that God has no such problem. Once He forgives a sin, it is forgiven forever. On the other hand, we should not be surprised when we need to forgive the sins of others more than once. The fact that I need to forgive a sin more than once does not mean that I refuse to forgive. It simply means that in my weakness, I need to forgive again.
Finally, we have a resource that the servant in the story did not have. God is not just our king, but Jesus has told us to call Him our Father. As our Father in Heaven, we can come to Him at any time and confess our reluctance to forgive. We can ask Him to forgive us and renew our desire to forgive others as we do in the Lord’s Prayer. Thankfully the source of our forgiveness … the suffering, death, and resurrection of our Lord, Christ Jesus Christ is a never-ending flow of forgiveness, life, and salvation. In Him, we receive the grace and mercy of God forever and ever. Amen
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church--Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19A)--17 September 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Heavenly Father, in Your mercy You have forgiven our insurmountable debt of sin, ransoming us with the death of Your Son. Free us from our grudges and unforgiving nature, lest through our lack of mercy we exclude ourselves from Your forgiveness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, as You kept Joseph from evil and brought good from his suffering in Egypt, deliver us by Your grace so that we may learn patience in trials. Teach us to be slow to judge, quick to forgive, and steadfast in love for You and one another. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
We praise You, O Lord, for retaining among us Your Holy Word and Sacraments. Continue to raise up faithful stewards of Your mysteries, that repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Christ’s name would be proclaimed in our midst and throughout the world. Prepare Your baptized children to be faithful confessors of the hope that is in them. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Caring Father, visit the homes of Your people. Keep them from all harm and danger, and grant that we would dwell together in peace under the protection of Your holy angels. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of power and might, sustain the nations of the earth and lead them in the way of justice and truth. Defend life and liberty, and give us honest and faithful rulers, that our nation may strive toward what is honorable, true and just. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, according to Your will grant healing to the sick and infirm [especially _____________]. Grant them patience to endure their time of suffering, and crown their days with Your mercy. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful God, though we come to Your table as servants who owe a debt we cannot pay, Your Son has forgiven it in its entirety. As we receive His very body and blood for our forgiveness, let us be grateful and go out to serve others with the same spirit of forgiveness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Hear us, heavenly Father, for the sake of Christ Jesus, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Offering Prayer
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, for the countless blessings You so freely bestow on us and all creation. Above all, we give thanks for Your boundless love shown to us when You sent Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into our flesh and laid on Him our sin, giving Him into death that we might not die eternally. Because He is now risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity, all who believe in Him will overcome sin and death and will rise again to new life. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Prayer of Thanksgiving
P Blessed are You, O Lord our God, king of all creation, for You have had mercy on us and given Your only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
In Your righteous judgment You condemned the sin of Adam and Eve, who ate the forbidden fruit, and You justly barred them and all their children from the tree of life. Yet, in Your great mercy, You promised salvation by a second Adam, Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and made His cross a life-giving tree for all who trust in Him.
We give You thanks for the redemption You have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may faithfully eat and drink of the fruits of His cross and receive the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation that come to us in His body and blood.
Hear us as we pray in His name and as He has taught us:
Lord’s Prayer
C 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.
The Words of Our Lord
Pax Domini
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C Amen.
Agnus Dei
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
609 “Jesus Sinners Doth Receive”
1 Jesus sinners doth receive;
Oh, may all this saying ponder
Who in sin’s delusions live
And from God and heaven wander!
Here is hope for all who grieve:
Jesus sinners doth receive.
2 We deserve but grief and shame,
Yet His words, rich grace revealing,
Pardon, peace, and life proclaim;
Here our ills have perfect healing.
Firmly in these words believe:
Jesus sinners doth receive.
3 Sheep that from the fold did stray
No true shepherd e’er forsaketh;
Weary souls that lost their way
Christ, the Shepherd, gently taketh
In His arms that they may live:
Jesus sinners doth receive.
4 I, a sinner, come to Thee
With a penitent confession.
Savior, mercy show to me;
Grant for all my sins remission.
Let these words my soul relieve:
Jesus sinners doth receive.
5 Oh, how blest it is to know:
Were as scarlet my transgression,
It shall be as white as snow
By Thy blood and bitter passion;
For these words I now believe:
Jesus sinners doth receive.
6 Now my conscience is at peace;
From the Law I stand acquitted.
Christ hath purchased my release
And my ev’ry sin remitted.
Naught remains my soul to grieve:
Jesus sinners doth receive.
7 Jesus sinners doth receive;
Also I have been forgiven;
And when I this earth must leave,
I shall find an open heaven.
Dying, still to Him I cleave:
Jesus sinners doth receive.
Text: tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.; Erdmann Neumeister, 1671–1756
Text: Public domain
610 “Lord Jesus, Think on Me”
1 Lord Jesus, think on me
And purge away my sin;
From worldly passions set me free
And make me pure within.
2 Lord Jesus, think on me,
By anxious thoughts oppressed;
Let me Your loving servant be
And taste Your promised rest.
3 Lord Jesus, think on me
Amid the battle’s strife;
In all my pain and misery,
O be my health and life!
4 Lord Jesus, think on me
Nor let me go astray;
Through darkness and perplexity
Point out Your chosen way.
5 Lord Jesus, think on me
That, when this life is past,
I may the_eternal brightness see
And share Your joy at last.
Text: Synesius of Cyrene, c. 365–c. 414; tr. Allen W. Chatfield, 1808–96, alt.
Text: Public domain
Stand
Nunc Dimittis
Post-Communion Collect
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benedicamus
A Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Benediction
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and T give you peace.
C Amen.
Closing Hymn: 818 “In Thee Is Gladness”
1 In Thee is gladness
Amid all sadness,
Jesus, sunshine of my heart.
By Thee are given
The gifts of heaven,
Thou the true Redeemer art.
Our souls Thou wakest,
Our bonds Thou breakest;
Who trusts Thee surely
Has built securely;
He stands forever: Alleluia!
Our hearts are pining
To see Thy shining,
Dying or living
To Thee are cleaving;
Naught can us sever: Alleluia!
2 Since He is ours,
We fear no powers,
Not of earth nor sin nor death.
He sees and blesses
In worst distresses;
He can change them with a breath.
Wherefore the story
Tell of His glory
With hearts and voices;
All heav’n rejoices
In Him forever: Alleluia!
We shout for gladness,
Triumph o’er sadness,
Love Him and praise Him
And still shall raise Him
Glad hymns forever: Alleluia!
Text: Johann Lindemann, 1549–1631; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude, Refreshments, Adult Bible Class & Children’s Study
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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing House.
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 10, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Note: We will not be celebrating Holy Communion today due to pastor being away. Lord willing, we look forward to celebrating The Lord’s Supper on September 17th. We thank the elders for filling in today.
WHAT DOES THE GREATEST COMMAND HINGE UPON?
Love. What will be the defining characteristic of followers of Jesus? Love. What will never pass away, even after faith and hope are gone? Love. Love is the mark of the disciple. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Not our Bible knowledge. Not our fasting. Not our stance on public issues. Those things are important indeed, but according to Jesus, the defining mark of Christian discipleship is love. It makes sense, then, that Christians should not only be marked by love, but that Christians should be growing in love.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski (absent today)
Elders Gil McMillan and Howard Holman
Acolyte Gena Dillon
Organist Fred Weber
Communion Preparation (No communion today)
Ushers Allan Bliss, Randy Peeters, Howard
Holman, Robert Potts
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THE CHURCH COUNCIL will meet on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here at the church.
A VOTERS’ MEETING is scheduled for next Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
CHECK IT OUT!—On the inside front cover of the hymnal, there are seven prayers that may be prayed while in God’s House. There are more prayers on pages 305-318 under seven different categories: 1) The Church and Her Mission; 2) At Worship; 3) Baptismal Life; 4) Civil Realm; 5) Home and Family; 6) In Times of Need; and 7) In Times of Joy.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT--
“The Christian faith is a unity and may not be subdivided into favored and disapproved doctrines. Luther calls the Christian teaching the punctum mathematicum, “the mathematical point.” This means that it is incapable of subdivision. Doctrine may not be subjected to more and less, better and worse, or tugging and pulling. That is love’s business, our business. We have no right to take the chain saw of our wisdom to the inviolate whole of God’s Word and chop out what we dislike. It would bring the death of the patient. God’s teaching is not ours to control. God controls it (John 3:8). We only teach it.” The Rev. Dr. Scott Murray, LCMS pastor in Texas and our church body’s southwest regional vice-president.THE ORDER OF SUMMER SERVICE
The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 10, 2023
PRE-SERVICE MUSIC AND THE RINGING OF THE CHURCH BELL
OPENING HYMN no. 904, “Blessed Jesus, at Your Word”
INVOCATION [We acknowledge that we are in God’s presence.]
L: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: AMEN. (spoken)
CONFESSION & ABSOLUTION [We have sinned, but God forgives us.]
ALL: MOST MERCIFUL GOD, WE CONFESS THAT WE ARE BY NATURE
SINFUL AND UNCLEAN. WE HAVE SINNED AGAINST YOU AND
OUR NEIGHBORS IN THOUGHT, WORD, AND DEED. WE
DESERVE YOUR PRESENT AND ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. FOR
JESUS’ SAKE, HAVE MERCY ON US—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.
L: Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, has had mercy on us
and has given His only Son to die for us and for His sake
forgives us all our sins. To those who believe on His name
He gives power to become the children of God and has
promised them His Holy Spirit. He that believes and is
baptized shall be saved. Grant this Lord, unto us all.
C: AMEN. (spoken)
HYMN OF PRAISE “Oh, Come and Sing Unto the Lord”
Oh, come and sing unto the Lord, Salvation’s Rock we praise.
With thanks we come before Him now, With singing all our days.
The Lord is great above all gods, And Yahweh is our King.
The deeps He holds inside His hands, The peaks their tribute bring.
The sea is His, He made its waves; His hands the land congealed.
Oh, come bow down before the Lord, In worship let us kneel.[cont.]
He is our God and we His flock, We live under His love.
To Father, Son, and Spirit blest, All praise we lift above.
OLD TESTAMENT LESSON Ezekiel 33:7-9
see back of bulletin or Bible under pew seat
A VERSE FROM THE PSALMS L: Your Word, O LORD, is eternal;
C: IT STANDS FIRM IN THE HEAVENS.
L: Your faithfulness continues through all generations;
C: YOU ESTABLISHED THE EARTH, AND IT ENDURES.
L: Your Word is a lamp to my feet
C: AND A LIGHT FOR MY PATH.
SECOND LESSON Romans 13:1-10
GOSPEL LESSON Matthew 18:1-20
THE APOSTLES’ CREED [We state what we believe in a short statement.] ALL: 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 CHRISTIAN CHURCH,
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS,
THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY, AND THE LIFE (+)
EVERLASTING. AMEN.
SERMON HYMN no. 605, “Father Welcomes”
SERMON “Who Is the Greatest” Matthew 18:1-20
Who Is the Greatest? - Matthew 18:1-20
This morning’s Gospel begins with a question from the disciples “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1) Jesus used this question as a starting point for describing the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, how the church should deal with the greatest in the kingdom, and the magnitude of the forgiveness of sins that is set aside for the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Last week’s Gospel described that point in time when Jesus began to show his disciples that “He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” (Matthew 16:21) “Shortly after that time, Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.” (Matthew 17:1–2) We covered that reading on the Sunday of the Transfiguration at the end of the Epiphany season. A few verses before today’s Gospel begins, we have another Passion prediction. As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” (Matthew 17:22–23)
So, Jesus has recently given some of the disciples a glimpse of His glory, and, at least twice, He has told them about His upcoming suffering, death, and resurrection. You would think that the disciples would be interested in the topic that Jesus placed before them … His upcoming suffering, death, and resurrection. You would think they would have questions about that. That is what you would think, but that is not what they asked. At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1) Some of them had seen Jesus shining brighter than the sun and talking with Moses and Elijah. All of them had heard Jesus talk about His upcoming suffering, death, and resurrection in Jerusalem. And this is the question that comes to their minds?
Jesus never skipped a beat. He knew a good teaching opportunity when it happened. Calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:2–4) Jesus took the opportunity of their question to teach them that greatness in the kingdom of heaven is totally different than in the kingdoms of this world.
Right away a lot of people are saying something like, “Ah, the innocence of youth. That is what Jesus is teaching. He is pointing to a child because the child is so innocent.” I’ve got to admit that when they are all decked out in their Sunday best, they can look pretty innocent, but ask any parent who has raised a couple of kids. You must teach children to tell the truth because they are natural liars. You must teach children to share because they are selfish by nature. Have you ever seen infants with murder in their eyes? Children may look innocent, but they are not. As King David wrote, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5)
So why did Jesus use a child as an example of the greatest? What is so special about them? What can they do for the kingdom? What can they do for Jesus? The answer of course is nothing.
That’s just the point, isn’t it? Children have no capacity for entering the kingdom of God and not much for serving in it. Children are helpless. We think of Jesus with the children, but those children never came on their own. “Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them.” (Luke 18:15) Notice that someone brought the infants. They didn’t come of their own power or volition. In today’s Gospel, Jesus put him in the midst of them. Did the children even know what was going on in these situations? Probably not.
Which, again, is just the point, isn’t it? For when it comes to the Kingdom and a right relationship with God, there is no room for human initiative, effort, self-seeking, self-promotion, self-justification, self-advocacy … none at all! In fact, that all gets in the way, forms obstacles to grace, and misses the point entirely of how God wants to save us, God’s way of saving us … by doing it all for us Himself in Jesus!
So Jesus taught His disciples that the one who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is the one who needs the most help. The one who is totally helpless is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. This is the opposite of this world where the one who gives the most help is the greatest.
So the one who is the most helpless comes under God’s protection. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!” (Matthew 18:6–7) “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.” (Matthew 18:10–14)
Even the verses that deal with church discipline are about the helpless … the helpless one who has strayed. Even here, Jesus teaches, “If [your brother] listens to you, you have gained your brother.” (Matthew 18:15)
So the helpless are the greatest. They are the perfect candidates for grace.
At another time, Jesus said, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26–28) God himself became helpless, humble, lowly. The one who needs no one’s help became not only a little child, but also a suffering, dying grown-up. He humbled himself even to death on the cross to secure God’s grace for these little ones.
This sinful world seeks greatness through power. Jesus Himself said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. (Matthew 20:25) That is the way of the world … get power and use it to control others. The one who uses power and control the most effectively is the greatest.
On the other hand, Jesus points to a helpless child as the standard of greatness in the kingdom of heaven. The one who is the most helpless, the weakest, the humblest, the lowliest, the most dependent on God, and the most reliant on Jesus … this is the greatest.
There are the times when the difficult life of bearing the cross beats down. The flaming darts of the evil one are especially fierce. Those who suffer these attacks are the little ones who are the greatest. Jesus said, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.” (Matthew 18:5) In this way, the Holy Spirit works through the church to bear one another’s burdens.
Then there is the way that all of us need and depend on God. At the time that God the Holy Spirit works faith in us, He must take us back to infancy. We are all helpless to save ourselves. Therefore, we are all like helpless children who need rescuing. That is what the Holy Spirit does when He gives us the faith that relies on Jesus alone.
When we were at our most helpless, when we were dead in trespasses and sin, the Lord treated us as the greatest in the kingdom. He took on our weakness and died that we might live. He rose that we might have eternal life with Him forever. It is He who takes the most helpless and makes them the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Amen
OFFERING PRAYER [One way to thank God is with a monetary gift.]
PRAYERS [We pray for all people according to their needs.]
Prayer of the Church--Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18A)--10 September 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Blessed Lord, You have promised that where two or three are gathered in Your name, You are in the midst of them. Hear the prayers of Your people, and grant our supplications. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord God, heavenly Father, You have sent us pastors as watchmen. Let them be ever faithful in calling sinners to repentance and joyfully announcing Your forgiveness to those who heed their warning. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Gracious Father, because You have made us our brother’s keeper, fill us with care for the members of our earthly families and for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Forgive our sins and strengthen us to live so that we owe no one anything except to love each other. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Righteous God, You give leaders to every nation and people. Grant us good and wise public servants to bear the sword righteously, defending the innocent and punishing wrongdoers. Guard those who protect us, especially our armed forces, police and firefighters. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Lord, look with compassion upon those who are struggling with illness, grief, loneliness or any malady [especially _____________]. Reassure them of Your love, which is like that of the shepherd who seeks and saves the one lost sheep. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, grant that we would receive Christ’s body and blood with childlike faith. Let us humbly trust that Your forgiveness is poured out for us in this Sacrament. May it strengthen us in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, because You desire that none of Your little ones should perish and because sin is constantly crouching at our door, we beg You to call us back to Yourself when we are tempted to stray. Deliver us from temptation, and keep us in the faith. Make us humble like little children, seeing how Your Son humbled Himself for us and for our salvation. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
HYMN No. 711, “Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us”
LORD’S PRAYERALL: 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.
BENEDICTION [We receive God’s blessing as we go our homeward way.]
L: The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to
you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.
C: AMEN. (spoken)
CLOSING HYMN no. 876, “O Blessed, Holy Trinity”
+ And God’s people said: AMEN! +
ANNOUNCEMENTS
POST-SERVICE MUSIC
REFRESHMENTS SERVED IN THE FELLOWSHIP ROOM
ADULT BIBLE CLASS AND CHILDREN’S STUDY
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 3, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Gil McMillan
Acolyte Becca Potts
Organist Karen Broach
Communion Preparation Becca Potts
Ushers Allan Bliss, Randy Peeters, Howard
Holman, Robert Potts
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here at the church.
Can You Imagine?
Imagine that you are trapped in a large burning building. Both your legs are broken, all your ribs are cracked (we're going to make this real bad), you can hardly breathe, you are pinned to the floor, fire is everywhere, you are ready to give up and die and someone rescues you. Could you imagine later on one of your friends saying to you, "Hey, how did you get rescued?" And you reply, "I'm not going to tell you. It's a secret. Don't embarrass me by having to tell." Would you do that? Then why are you embarrassed to tell about your biggest Rescuer who saved you from the biggest fire, the fire of hell, who is your very, very best Friend and Savior, to whom you owe your life now and forever in heaven, Jesus Christ? My friend, it's time for you to stop being embarrassed about Jesus! You have a great story to tell, and you know some people who are "dying" to hear it! Someone told you. Now you get to tell it.
Jesus bids us shine with a clear, pure light,
Like a little candle burning in the night,
In this world of darkness, we must shine,
You in your small corner, and I in mine!
Jesus bids us shine as we work for Him,
Bringing those that wander, from the path of sin,
He will ever help us, if we shine,
You in your small corner, and I in mine.
The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 3, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 869 “With the Lord Begin Your Task”
1 With the Lord begin your task;
Jesus will direct it.
For His aid and counsel ask;
Jesus will perfect it.
Ev’ry morn with Jesus rise,
And when day is ended,
In His name then close your eyes;
Be to Him commended.
2 Let each day begin with prayer,
Praise, and adoration.
On the Lord cast ev’ry care;
He is your salvation.
Morning, evening, and at night
Jesus will be near you,
Save you from the tempter’s might,
With His presence cheer you.
3 With your Savior at your side,
Foes need not alarm you;
In His promises confide,
And no ill can harm you.
All your trust and hope repose
In the mighty Master,
Who in wisdom truly knows
How to stem disaster.
4 If your task be thus begun
With the Savior’s blessing,
Safely then your course will run,
Toward the promise pressing.
Good will follow ev’rywhere
While you here must wander;
You at last the joy will share
In the mansions yonder.
5 Thus, Lord Jesus, ev’ry task
Be to You commended;
May Your will be done, I ask,
Until life is ended.
Jesus, in Your name begun
Be the day’s endeavor;
Grant that it may well be done
To Your praise forever.
Text: Morgen- und Abend-segen, 1734, Waldenburg; tr. W. Gustave Polack, 1890–1950, alt.
Text: © 1941 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Please stand if able
L O Lord, open my lips,
C and my mouth will declare Your praise.
L Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
C make haste to help me, O Lord.
C Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Praise to You, O Christ. Alleluia.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C O come, let us worship Him.
Venite [sung] LSB 220
C O come, let us sing to the Lord,
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving,
let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise.
For the Lord is a great God
and a great king above all gods.
The deep places of the earth are in His hand;
the strength of the hills is His also.
The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hand formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our maker.
For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C O come, let us worship Him.
Sit
Reading Jeremiah 15:15–21
L A reading from Jeremiah, chapter 15.
15O Lord, you know;
remember me and visit me,
and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In your forbearance take me not away;
know that for your sake I bear reproach.
16Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
17I did not sit in the company of revelers,
nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,
for you had filled me with indignation.
18Why is my pain unceasing,
my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?
Will you be to me like a deceitful brook,
like waters that fail?
19Therefore thus says the Lord:
“If you return, I will restore you,
and you shall stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
you shall be as my mouth.
They shall turn to you,
but you shall not turn to them.
20And I will make you to this people
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you,
but they shall not prevail over you,
for I am with you
to save you and deliver you,
declares the Lord.
21I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.”
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Reading Romans 12:9–21
L A reading from Romans, chapter 12.
9Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. 17Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Reading Matthew 16:21–28
L A reading from Matthew, chapter 16.
21From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
24Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? 27For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Responsory [spoken]
L Forever, O Lord, Your Word is firmly set in the heavens.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
Hymn of the Day: 531 “Hail, Thou Once Despised Jesus”
1 Hail, Thou once despisèd Jesus!
Hail, Thou Galilean King!
Thou didst suffer to release us;
Thou didst free salvation bring.
Hail, Thou universal Savior,
Bearer of our sin and shame!
By Thy merit we find favor:
Life is given through Thy name.
2 Paschal Lamb, by God appointed,
All our sins on Thee were laid;
By almighty love anointed,
Thou hast full atonement made.
All Thy people are forgiven
Through the virtue of Thy blood;
Opened is the gate of heaven,
Reconciled are we with God.
3 Jesus, hail! Enthroned in glory,
There forever to abide;
All the heav’nly hosts adore Thee,
Seated at Thy Father’s side.
There for sinners Thou art pleading;
There Thou dost our place prepare,
Ever for us interceding
Till in glory we appear.
4 Worship, honor, pow’r, and blessing
Thou art worthy to receive;
Highest praises, without ceasing,
Right it is for us to give.
Help, ye bright angelic spirits,
All your noblest anthems raise;
Help to sing our Savior’s merits,
Help to chant Immanuel’s praise!
Text (sts. 1, 3–4): Hymns Addressed to the Holy, Holy, Holy, Triune God, 1757, London, alt.; (sts. 2–4): A Collection of Psalms and Hymns, 1760, London, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “Crossbearing” Matthew 16:21-28
Crossbearing – Matthew 16:21-28
Some years ago I heard the story of a Russian man who was born to atheist parents, grew up in an atheist town and attended an atheist school. He had never in his life heard the truth of Jesus Christ. But somewhere along the path of his life he saw a picture of a man who had died on a cross. He never forgot that picture and often wondered why he was strangely drawn to that picture. He wanted to understand it. At first he thought the man must have been a very bad criminal. Then he thought that he might have been a very persecuted man. Eventually he met a Christian who also knew about this picture. Anxiously the Russian man asked the Christian to explain it to him. He did, and finally the Russian man knew why he had such a strange attraction to that picture. The picture, of course, was of Jesus’ crucifixion. The explanation was this man’s ticket to salvation.
Jesus is the Christ - What Does This Mean?
Last Sunday our Gospel lesson came from the verses right before today’s lesson where Peter boldly confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. But Peter didn’t fully understand what that meant. Jesus went on to explain that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer, die, and rise again. Peter, like so many people before and after him, could not conceive of the Son of God suffering like that. The Son, he thought, should be crushing His enemies, not being crushed by them. But Jesus was only fulfilling the plan that God had in mind from the foundation of the world. In the very first promise of the Messiah, God told Satan, “You will crush His heel, but He will crush your head” (Genesis 3.15). Jesus would suffer and die at the hands of God’s enemies. But in the end He would rise from the dead, and His victory would mean forgiveness and salvation for those who trust in God.
If we would all be honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that this makes no sense at all. We can understand Peter’s confusion. When has anyone conquered by being killed? What army has ever won a war by being destroyed in battle? It doesn’t make sense if we only have in mind the “things of men” as Jesus says. But so typical of Jesus... There’s much more to this.
Let me try to explain it this way. There was a farmer who was having trouble with snakes squeezing into the cracks and crevices of his chicken coup and devouring eggs. No matter how much he tried to seal up every crack, the snakes somehow managed to slither in. One day he decided to trick the snakes by placing a fake, porcelain egg among the other eggs. The hungry snakes would devour the fake eggs but be unable to digest them. With the big, hard lump in their bodies they were also unable to slither out through the cracks they had entered. They were caught and destroyed.
What Peter was struggling to understand and what Jesus was gradually unfolding before his eyes in His earthly ministry was that He was not just another ordinary man. He wasn’t even just an extra-ordinary man. He wasn’t a man who came to use the ways of men to destroy evil. He was the perfect, pure, righteous, truthful Son of God. Satan had the power to crush anything of this world and of men. But he couldn’t crush Jesus. In fact, by trying, he was crushed. This is why we, like the Russian man, are not only drawn to this picture of a dead man on a cross, but more importantly to the meaning of it. In death, the death of the cross, Jesus defeated the cause of death and ended its reign over this earth.
Take Up Your Cross - What Does This Mean?
Now, Jesus says something just as shocking about the cross. He says that those who follow Him must take up their cross as well. Please remember that in Jesus’ day the cross represented the worst punishment for evil that anyone could think of. Today He might have said, “Take up your electric chair or lethal injection.” This was serious. As He defeated sin and Satan through death, so must we. What are our crosses?
The first cross, and the most difficult of all, is the cross of repentance. Only the Holy Spirit can bring about that change in our hearts that causes us to quit making excuses and to quit blaming others or even God for our failure to live according to God’s commands. It is also the Holy Spirit that draws us to Jesus and to see how this dead man on the cross is the perfect, Holy One of God, who was swallowed by Satan and who destroyed Satan. Only in this greatest act of love of all time are our sins forgiven and in fact destroyed. The prophet Micah foretold this when he spoke of Jesus saying, “He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7.19). I love the word Micah uses for “subdue.” You may have heard this Hebrew word before. It is the word “kabash.” Jesus, in his perfect and faithful life and in His innocent suffering and death, put the kabash on sin. With this ultimate kabash, you are now able to take on this cross and pray every day as Martin Luther did at the beginning of every day that the Lord would “keep me this day from all sin and evil.” And then praying at the end of the day, “I pray that You would forgive me of all my sins where I have done wrong.”
The second cross is that which the world puts upon us for being Christians. In chapter ten of Matthew Jesus said, “You will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (10.22). This time of the year I see it as I am trying to form up confirmation classes to help young people grow in their faith. The world doesn’t care about faith. So the world gladly schedules soccer games and other athletic events on Sunday mornings. I also see it in the young people who are torn between what they’ve learned from Jesus and what they see in the world around them. Don’t make fun of people just because they’re a little different. Show respect to people who have the responsibility take care of you. Don’t slouch around on the job but actually get something done. Save sex for marriage. Don’t destroy your body for the empty pleasures that chemicals can give you, and so on.
The third cross is that which Satan and all the powers of darkness put upon us. Cancer is not necessarily a cross. Sickness is unfortunately part of the curse that God has put on this world for turning away from Him in sin. Everyone suffers physically sooner or later whether they are Christians or not. But here, Jesus is specifically speaking to those who suffering because they follow Him. However, Satan’s cross comes from the fear, the doubt, the spiritual confusion that these physical troubles trigger in our lives. Satan’s cross is the one labeled “Why God?” He is the tempter, the deceiver, the one who confuses everything. This was Jeremiah’s cross as we heard in the first lesson this morning. Jeremiah was trying to serve God, but everything was going wrong. Jeremiah even comes to the point of saying, “You (God) have filled me with indignation” (Jer. 15.17). We will be talking about this today in our Adult Bible class as we discuss the problem of anger with God.
Here is your challenge today: Look at all the problems you face. You may pray that they go away, and I’m sure some of them will. But just as Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not My will, but Yours be done,” so be prepared for the fact that not all of them will go away. Now, looking to Jesus, who bore the cross for you, take up your cross and follow Christ. Good will come of it.
Conclusion
Let’s summarize this message by focusing again on Jesus’ words “the things of men” and the “the things of God.” We cannot fight evil with the things of men. Humans are by nature sinful and weak. Our powers may seem great, but they are no match for ultimate evil. The things of God are truth, righteousness, love, and good works. These are the things that defeat evil. This is what Christ has given us in His crossbearing, and this is what empowers us for our crossbearing lives.
Andy had the unfortunate fate of being born to a very immature and ignorant father. His father routinely mocked him for his lack of athletic ability and for his difficulties in relating to girls. Andy was tempted to hate his father, and for a time he did. He even had daydreams about killing his father. But something was holding him back. Andy was a Christian, and his family regularly attended church. For Andy this sometimes made everything worse. His father was a blatant hypocrite. Andy, however, took up his pastor’s recommendation that he actually read one of the Gospels to learn about Jesus for himself. As he read through the Gospel of Matthew, he came to this passage that we’ve read today, and he realized what his cross was. It was his father. From that moment on he stopped hating him and began to pray for him. Andy didn’t allow Satan’s venom that was working so effectively in his father to infect him. He grew up to be an outstanding young man, advancing far beyond his father’s achievements in every way. Andy didn’t flaunt his success in front of his father. He didn’t stop talking to him, visiting, or praying for him. He just felt sorry for him. I wish I could tell you that his father finally came to repentance, but I can’t. I don’t know. God does. This isn’t a fairy tale, this is real life. But I can tell you that Andy’s life did not go unnoticed. He had a brother and a sister who also struggled with the pain inflicted by their father. Through Andy’s crossbearing life they also learned to be crossbearers themselves, and Satan’s attempts to drag them into the pit of hatred did not work.
Looking to Jesus, who bore the cross for you, take up your cross and follow Christ. Good will come of it—and that is God’s promise!
Canticle: 941 “We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God”
1 We praise You and acknowledge You, O God, to be the Lord,
The Father everlasting, by all the earth adored.
To You all angel powers cry aloud, the heavens sing,
The cherubim and seraphim their praises to You bring:
“O holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth;
Your majesty and glory fill the heavens and the earth!”
2 The band of the apostles in glory sing Your praise;
The fellowship of prophets their deathless voices raise.
The martyrs of Your kingdom, a great and noble throng,
Sing with the holy Church throughout all the world this song:
“O all-majestic Father, Your true and only Son,
And Holy Spirit, Comforter—forever Three in One!”
3 You, Christ, are King of glory, the everlasting Son,
Yet You, with boundless love, sought to rescue ev’ryone:
You laid aside Your glory, were born of virgin’s womb,
Were crucified for us and were placed into a tomb;
Then by Your resurrection You won for us reprieve--
You opened heaven’s kingdom to all who would believe.
4 You sit in splendid glory, enthroned at God’s right hand,
Upholding earth and heaven by forces You command.
We know that You will come as our Judge that final day,
So help Your servants You have redeemed by blood, we pray;
May we with saints be numbered where praises never end,
In glory everlasting. Amen, O Lord, amen!
Text: Stephen P. Starke, 1955
Text: © 1999 Stephen P. Starke, admin. Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church--Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 17A)--3 September 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Almighty Avenger, teach Your faithful ones to trust so fully in Your fatherly care that they seek not vengeance but mercy. Stoke our zeal to bless those who curse us, and so heap holy coals upon their heads. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, You have made us feast on Your Word to the delight of our hearts. Keep us from the worldly company of revelers who despise Your Word, and inspire the pastors of Your Church to brazenly proclaim what is precious: the Gospel of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, open wide the hearts of Christians to one another, especially within the home and between neighbors. Let love be genuine, speech truthful and patience constant. Let us commend ourselves in everything as those known by God’s love and, therefore, unashamed to serve one another. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Preserve our nation, its leaders and those who serve for the good of our people and for their protection. Grant peace in our time, O Lord, for You alone fight for us. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Great Physician, heal and restore. [We especially remember _____________.] Give them Your holy care and strength to bear their crosses, that they may endure to see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, lead us to repentance and faith, that we might not think more highly of ourselves than is right, but that we would set our hearts and minds on the things of God. Prepare us to receive the blessed gifts of our Lord’s table, by which You preserve us holy and blameless in Christ until He comes again. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Rise up, O Lord, and avenge those who are persecuted for the name of Your Son, Jesus. In communion with all Your saints, grant us endurance to bear our crosses as Christ bore His for us. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
All these things and whatever else You know that we need, grant us, Father, for the sake of Him who died and rose again and now lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Kyrie
C Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy.
Stand
Celebration of Holy Communion
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy
Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Communion Liturgy
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
C For His mercy endures forever.
Words of Institution
Lord’s Prayer
C 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
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C And also with you.
Sit
Communion Distribution and Hymns:
688 “Come, Follow Me,” the Savior Spake
1 “Come, follow Me,” the Savior spake,
“All in My way abiding;
Deny yourselves, the world forsake,
Obey My call and guiding.
O bear the cross, whate’er betide,
Take My example for your guide.
2 “I am the light, I light the way,
A godly life displaying;
I bid you walk as in the day;
I keep your feet from straying.
I am the way, and well I show
How you must sojourn here below.
3 “My heart abounds in lowliness,
My soul with love is glowing;
And gracious words My lips express,
With meekness overflowing.
My heart, My mind, My strength, My all,
To God I yield, on Him I call.
4 “I teach you how to shun and flee
What harms your soul’s salvation,
Your heart from ev’ry guile to free,
From sin and its temptation.
I am the refuge of the soul
And lead you to your heav’nly goal.”
5 Then let us follow Christ, our Lord,
And take the cross appointed
And, firmly clinging to His Word,
In suff’ring be undaunted.
For those who bear the battle’s strain
The crown of heav’nly life obtain.
Text: tr. Charles W. Schaeffer, 1813–96; (sts. 1–3, 5): Johann Scheffler, 1624–77; (st. 4): Geistliche Lieder und Lobgesänge, 1695
Text: Public domain
753 “All for Christ I Have Forsaken”
1 All for Christ I have forsaken
And have taken up my cross;
Worldly joy, its fame and fortune,
Now I count as worthless dross.
2 Who is sweeter than Christ Jesus?
No good thing in Him I lack!
Hand to plow, at peace I follow
Where He leads me . . . why look back?
3 Gone the past, unknown the future--
Grace supplies my daily breath;
Strong in Christ through death’s dark valley,
Firm and faithful unto death.
4 When God takes me home to heaven,
Should this be the day I die,
God will keep my spouse and children
As the apple of His eye.
5 Though the road ahead be thorny,
Though dark clouds all light obscure,
Though my cross-shaped path grows steeper,
With the Lord, I am secure.
Text: Calvin Chao, 1906–96; tr. Stephen P. Starke, 1955
Text: © 1999 Stephen P. Starke, admin. Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Stand
Collects
L O Lord, hear my prayer.
C And let my cry come to You.
Collect of the Day
L Almighty God, Your Son willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross for our redemption. Grant us courage to take up our cross daily and follow Him wherever He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Collect for Grace
L O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, You have safely brought us to the beginning of this day. Defend us in the same with Your mighty power and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger, but that all our doings, being ordered by Your governance, may be righteous in Your sight; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benedicamus
L Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Benediction
P The grace of our Lord T Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C Amen.
Closing Hymn: 661 “The Son of God Goes Forth to War”
1 The Son of God goes forth to war
A kingly crown to gain.
His blood-red banner streams afar;
Who follows in His train?
Who best can drink His cup of woe,
Triumphant over pain,
Who patient bears his cross below--
He follows in His train.
2 The martyr first, whose eagle eye
Could pierce beyond the grave,
Who saw his master in the sky
And called on Him to save.
Like Him, with pardon on His tongue
In midst of mortal pain,
He prayed for those who did the wrong--
Who follows in his train?
3 A glorious band, the chosen few,
On whom the Spirit came,
Twelve valiant saints—their hope they knew
And mocked the cross and flame.
They met the tyrant’s brandished steel,
The lion’s gory mane;
They bowed their necks their death to feel--
Who follows in their train?
4 A noble army, men and boys,
The matron and the maid,
Around the Savior’s throne rejoice,
In robes of light arrayed.
They climbed the steep ascent of heav’n
Through peril, toil, and pain.
O God, to us may grace be giv’n
To follow in their train!
Text: Reginald Heber, 1783–1826, alt.
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Matins 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.
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 3, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Gil McMillan
Acolyte Becca Potts
Organist Karen Broach
Communion Preparation Becca Potts
Ushers Allan Bliss, Randy Peeters, Howard
Holman, Robert Potts
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here at the church.
Can You Imagine?
Imagine that you are trapped in a large burning building. Both your legs are broken, all your ribs are cracked (we're going to make this real bad), you can hardly breathe, you are pinned to the floor, fire is everywhere, you are ready to give up and die and someone rescues you. Could you imagine later on one of your friends saying to you, "Hey, how did you get rescued?" And you reply, "I'm not going to tell you. It's a secret. Don't embarrass me by having to tell." Would you do that? Then why are you embarrassed to tell about your biggest Rescuer who saved you from the biggest fire, the fire of hell, who is your very, very best Friend and Savior, to whom you owe your life now and forever in heaven, Jesus Christ? My friend, it's time for you to stop being embarrassed about Jesus! You have a great story to tell, and you know some people who are "dying" to hear it! Someone told you. Now you get to tell it.
Jesus bids us shine with a clear, pure light,
Like a little candle burning in the night,
In this world of darkness, we must shine,
You in your small corner, and I in mine!
Jesus bids us shine as we work for Him,
Bringing those that wander, from the path of sin,
He will ever help us, if we shine,
You in your small corner, and I in mine.
The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 3, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 869 “With the Lord Begin Your Task”
1 With the Lord begin your task;
Jesus will direct it.
For His aid and counsel ask;
Jesus will perfect it.
Ev’ry morn with Jesus rise,
And when day is ended,
In His name then close your eyes;
Be to Him commended.
2 Let each day begin with prayer,
Praise, and adoration.
On the Lord cast ev’ry care;
He is your salvation.
Morning, evening, and at night
Jesus will be near you,
Save you from the tempter’s might,
With His presence cheer you.
3 With your Savior at your side,
Foes need not alarm you;
In His promises confide,
And no ill can harm you.
All your trust and hope repose
In the mighty Master,
Who in wisdom truly knows
How to stem disaster.
4 If your task be thus begun
With the Savior’s blessing,
Safely then your course will run,
Toward the promise pressing.
Good will follow ev’rywhere
While you here must wander;
You at last the joy will share
In the mansions yonder.
5 Thus, Lord Jesus, ev’ry task
Be to You commended;
May Your will be done, I ask,
Until life is ended.
Jesus, in Your name begun
Be the day’s endeavor;
Grant that it may well be done
To Your praise forever.
Text: Morgen- und Abend-segen, 1734, Waldenburg; tr. W. Gustave Polack, 1890–1950, alt.
Text: © 1941 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Please stand if able
L O Lord, open my lips,
C and my mouth will declare Your praise.
L Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
C make haste to help me, O Lord.
C Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Praise to You, O Christ. Alleluia.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C O come, let us worship Him.
Venite [sung] LSB 220
C O come, let us sing to the Lord,
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving,
let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise.
For the Lord is a great God
and a great king above all gods.
The deep places of the earth are in His hand;
the strength of the hills is His also.
The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hand formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our maker.
For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C O come, let us worship Him.
Sit
Reading Jeremiah 15:15–21
L A reading from Jeremiah, chapter 15.
15O Lord, you know;
remember me and visit me,
and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In your forbearance take me not away;
know that for your sake I bear reproach.
16Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
17I did not sit in the company of revelers,
nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,
for you had filled me with indignation.
18Why is my pain unceasing,
my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?
Will you be to me like a deceitful brook,
like waters that fail?
19Therefore thus says the Lord:
“If you return, I will restore you,
and you shall stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
you shall be as my mouth.
They shall turn to you,
but you shall not turn to them.
20And I will make you to this people
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you,
but they shall not prevail over you,
for I am with you
to save you and deliver you,
declares the Lord.
21I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.”
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Reading Romans 12:9–21
L A reading from Romans, chapter 12.
9Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. 17Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Reading Matthew 16:21–28
L A reading from Matthew, chapter 16.
21From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
24Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? 27For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Responsory [spoken]
L Forever, O Lord, Your Word is firmly set in the heavens.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
Hymn of the Day: 531 “Hail, Thou Once Despised Jesus”
1 Hail, Thou once despisèd Jesus!
Hail, Thou Galilean King!
Thou didst suffer to release us;
Thou didst free salvation bring.
Hail, Thou universal Savior,
Bearer of our sin and shame!
By Thy merit we find favor:
Life is given through Thy name.
2 Paschal Lamb, by God appointed,
All our sins on Thee were laid;
By almighty love anointed,
Thou hast full atonement made.
All Thy people are forgiven
Through the virtue of Thy blood;
Opened is the gate of heaven,
Reconciled are we with God.
3 Jesus, hail! Enthroned in glory,
There forever to abide;
All the heav’nly hosts adore Thee,
Seated at Thy Father’s side.
There for sinners Thou art pleading;
There Thou dost our place prepare,
Ever for us interceding
Till in glory we appear.
4 Worship, honor, pow’r, and blessing
Thou art worthy to receive;
Highest praises, without ceasing,
Right it is for us to give.
Help, ye bright angelic spirits,
All your noblest anthems raise;
Help to sing our Savior’s merits,
Help to chant Immanuel’s praise!
Text (sts. 1, 3–4): Hymns Addressed to the Holy, Holy, Holy, Triune God, 1757, London, alt.; (sts. 2–4): A Collection of Psalms and Hymns, 1760, London, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “Crossbearing” Matthew 16:21-28
Crossbearing – Matthew 16:21-28
Some years ago I heard the story of a Russian man who was born to atheist parents, grew up in an atheist town and attended an atheist school. He had never in his life heard the truth of Jesus Christ. But somewhere along the path of his life he saw a picture of a man who had died on a cross. He never forgot that picture and often wondered why he was strangely drawn to that picture. He wanted to understand it. At first he thought the man must have been a very bad criminal. Then he thought that he might have been a very persecuted man. Eventually he met a Christian who also knew about this picture. Anxiously the Russian man asked the Christian to explain it to him. He did, and finally the Russian man knew why he had such a strange attraction to that picture. The picture, of course, was of Jesus’ crucifixion. The explanation was this man’s ticket to salvation.
Jesus is the Christ - What Does This Mean?
Last Sunday our Gospel lesson came from the verses right before today’s lesson where Peter boldly confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. But Peter didn’t fully understand what that meant. Jesus went on to explain that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer, die, and rise again. Peter, like so many people before and after him, could not conceive of the Son of God suffering like that. The Son, he thought, should be crushing His enemies, not being crushed by them. But Jesus was only fulfilling the plan that God had in mind from the foundation of the world. In the very first promise of the Messiah, God told Satan, “You will crush His heel, but He will crush your head” (Genesis 3.15). Jesus would suffer and die at the hands of God’s enemies. But in the end He would rise from the dead, and His victory would mean forgiveness and salvation for those who trust in God.
If we would all be honest with ourselves, we would have to admit that this makes no sense at all. We can understand Peter’s confusion. When has anyone conquered by being killed? What army has ever won a war by being destroyed in battle? It doesn’t make sense if we only have in mind the “things of men” as Jesus says. But so typical of Jesus... There’s much more to this.
Let me try to explain it this way. There was a farmer who was having trouble with snakes squeezing into the cracks and crevices of his chicken coup and devouring eggs. No matter how much he tried to seal up every crack, the snakes somehow managed to slither in. One day he decided to trick the snakes by placing a fake, porcelain egg among the other eggs. The hungry snakes would devour the fake eggs but be unable to digest them. With the big, hard lump in their bodies they were also unable to slither out through the cracks they had entered. They were caught and destroyed.
What Peter was struggling to understand and what Jesus was gradually unfolding before his eyes in His earthly ministry was that He was not just another ordinary man. He wasn’t even just an extra-ordinary man. He wasn’t a man who came to use the ways of men to destroy evil. He was the perfect, pure, righteous, truthful Son of God. Satan had the power to crush anything of this world and of men. But he couldn’t crush Jesus. In fact, by trying, he was crushed. This is why we, like the Russian man, are not only drawn to this picture of a dead man on a cross, but more importantly to the meaning of it. In death, the death of the cross, Jesus defeated the cause of death and ended its reign over this earth.
Take Up Your Cross - What Does This Mean?
Now, Jesus says something just as shocking about the cross. He says that those who follow Him must take up their cross as well. Please remember that in Jesus’ day the cross represented the worst punishment for evil that anyone could think of. Today He might have said, “Take up your electric chair or lethal injection.” This was serious. As He defeated sin and Satan through death, so must we. What are our crosses?
The first cross, and the most difficult of all, is the cross of repentance. Only the Holy Spirit can bring about that change in our hearts that causes us to quit making excuses and to quit blaming others or even God for our failure to live according to God’s commands. It is also the Holy Spirit that draws us to Jesus and to see how this dead man on the cross is the perfect, Holy One of God, who was swallowed by Satan and who destroyed Satan. Only in this greatest act of love of all time are our sins forgiven and in fact destroyed. The prophet Micah foretold this when he spoke of Jesus saying, “He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7.19). I love the word Micah uses for “subdue.” You may have heard this Hebrew word before. It is the word “kabash.” Jesus, in his perfect and faithful life and in His innocent suffering and death, put the kabash on sin. With this ultimate kabash, you are now able to take on this cross and pray every day as Martin Luther did at the beginning of every day that the Lord would “keep me this day from all sin and evil.” And then praying at the end of the day, “I pray that You would forgive me of all my sins where I have done wrong.”
The second cross is that which the world puts upon us for being Christians. In chapter ten of Matthew Jesus said, “You will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (10.22). This time of the year I see it as I am trying to form up confirmation classes to help young people grow in their faith. The world doesn’t care about faith. So the world gladly schedules soccer games and other athletic events on Sunday mornings. I also see it in the young people who are torn between what they’ve learned from Jesus and what they see in the world around them. Don’t make fun of people just because they’re a little different. Show respect to people who have the responsibility take care of you. Don’t slouch around on the job but actually get something done. Save sex for marriage. Don’t destroy your body for the empty pleasures that chemicals can give you, and so on.
The third cross is that which Satan and all the powers of darkness put upon us. Cancer is not necessarily a cross. Sickness is unfortunately part of the curse that God has put on this world for turning away from Him in sin. Everyone suffers physically sooner or later whether they are Christians or not. But here, Jesus is specifically speaking to those who suffering because they follow Him. However, Satan’s cross comes from the fear, the doubt, the spiritual confusion that these physical troubles trigger in our lives. Satan’s cross is the one labeled “Why God?” He is the tempter, the deceiver, the one who confuses everything. This was Jeremiah’s cross as we heard in the first lesson this morning. Jeremiah was trying to serve God, but everything was going wrong. Jeremiah even comes to the point of saying, “You (God) have filled me with indignation” (Jer. 15.17). We will be talking about this today in our Adult Bible class as we discuss the problem of anger with God.
Here is your challenge today: Look at all the problems you face. You may pray that they go away, and I’m sure some of them will. But just as Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not My will, but Yours be done,” so be prepared for the fact that not all of them will go away. Now, looking to Jesus, who bore the cross for you, take up your cross and follow Christ. Good will come of it.
Conclusion
Let’s summarize this message by focusing again on Jesus’ words “the things of men” and the “the things of God.” We cannot fight evil with the things of men. Humans are by nature sinful and weak. Our powers may seem great, but they are no match for ultimate evil. The things of God are truth, righteousness, love, and good works. These are the things that defeat evil. This is what Christ has given us in His crossbearing, and this is what empowers us for our crossbearing lives.
Andy had the unfortunate fate of being born to a very immature and ignorant father. His father routinely mocked him for his lack of athletic ability and for his difficulties in relating to girls. Andy was tempted to hate his father, and for a time he did. He even had daydreams about killing his father. But something was holding him back. Andy was a Christian, and his family regularly attended church. For Andy this sometimes made everything worse. His father was a blatant hypocrite. Andy, however, took up his pastor’s recommendation that he actually read one of the Gospels to learn about Jesus for himself. As he read through the Gospel of Matthew, he came to this passage that we’ve read today, and he realized what his cross was. It was his father. From that moment on he stopped hating him and began to pray for him. Andy didn’t allow Satan’s venom that was working so effectively in his father to infect him. He grew up to be an outstanding young man, advancing far beyond his father’s achievements in every way. Andy didn’t flaunt his success in front of his father. He didn’t stop talking to him, visiting, or praying for him. He just felt sorry for him. I wish I could tell you that his father finally came to repentance, but I can’t. I don’t know. God does. This isn’t a fairy tale, this is real life. But I can tell you that Andy’s life did not go unnoticed. He had a brother and a sister who also struggled with the pain inflicted by their father. Through Andy’s crossbearing life they also learned to be crossbearers themselves, and Satan’s attempts to drag them into the pit of hatred did not work.
Looking to Jesus, who bore the cross for you, take up your cross and follow Christ. Good will come of it—and that is God’s promise!
Canticle: 941 “We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God”
1 We praise You and acknowledge You, O God, to be the Lord,
The Father everlasting, by all the earth adored.
To You all angel powers cry aloud, the heavens sing,
The cherubim and seraphim their praises to You bring:
“O holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth;
Your majesty and glory fill the heavens and the earth!”
2 The band of the apostles in glory sing Your praise;
The fellowship of prophets their deathless voices raise.
The martyrs of Your kingdom, a great and noble throng,
Sing with the holy Church throughout all the world this song:
“O all-majestic Father, Your true and only Son,
And Holy Spirit, Comforter—forever Three in One!”
3 You, Christ, are King of glory, the everlasting Son,
Yet You, with boundless love, sought to rescue ev’ryone:
You laid aside Your glory, were born of virgin’s womb,
Were crucified for us and were placed into a tomb;
Then by Your resurrection You won for us reprieve--
You opened heaven’s kingdom to all who would believe.
4 You sit in splendid glory, enthroned at God’s right hand,
Upholding earth and heaven by forces You command.
We know that You will come as our Judge that final day,
So help Your servants You have redeemed by blood, we pray;
May we with saints be numbered where praises never end,
In glory everlasting. Amen, O Lord, amen!
Text: Stephen P. Starke, 1955
Text: © 1999 Stephen P. Starke, admin. Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church--Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 17A)--3 September 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Almighty Avenger, teach Your faithful ones to trust so fully in Your fatherly care that they seek not vengeance but mercy. Stoke our zeal to bless those who curse us, and so heap holy coals upon their heads. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, You have made us feast on Your Word to the delight of our hearts. Keep us from the worldly company of revelers who despise Your Word, and inspire the pastors of Your Church to brazenly proclaim what is precious: the Gospel of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, open wide the hearts of Christians to one another, especially within the home and between neighbors. Let love be genuine, speech truthful and patience constant. Let us commend ourselves in everything as those known by God’s love and, therefore, unashamed to serve one another. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Preserve our nation, its leaders and those who serve for the good of our people and for their protection. Grant peace in our time, O Lord, for You alone fight for us. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Great Physician, heal and restore. [We especially remember _____________.] Give them Your holy care and strength to bear their crosses, that they may endure to see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, lead us to repentance and faith, that we might not think more highly of ourselves than is right, but that we would set our hearts and minds on the things of God. Prepare us to receive the blessed gifts of our Lord’s table, by which You preserve us holy and blameless in Christ until He comes again. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Rise up, O Lord, and avenge those who are persecuted for the name of Your Son, Jesus. In communion with all Your saints, grant us endurance to bear our crosses as Christ bore His for us. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
All these things and whatever else You know that we need, grant us, Father, for the sake of Him who died and rose again and now lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Kyrie
C Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy.
Stand
Celebration of Holy Communion
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy
Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Communion Liturgy
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
C For His mercy endures forever.
Words of Institution
Lord’s Prayer
C 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
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C And also with you.
Sit
Communion Distribution and Hymns:
688 “Come, Follow Me,” the Savior Spake
1 “Come, follow Me,” the Savior spake,
“All in My way abiding;
Deny yourselves, the world forsake,
Obey My call and guiding.
O bear the cross, whate’er betide,
Take My example for your guide.
2 “I am the light, I light the way,
A godly life displaying;
I bid you walk as in the day;
I keep your feet from straying.
I am the way, and well I show
How you must sojourn here below.
3 “My heart abounds in lowliness,
My soul with love is glowing;
And gracious words My lips express,
With meekness overflowing.
My heart, My mind, My strength, My all,
To God I yield, on Him I call.
4 “I teach you how to shun and flee
What harms your soul’s salvation,
Your heart from ev’ry guile to free,
From sin and its temptation.
I am the refuge of the soul
And lead you to your heav’nly goal.”
5 Then let us follow Christ, our Lord,
And take the cross appointed
And, firmly clinging to His Word,
In suff’ring be undaunted.
For those who bear the battle’s strain
The crown of heav’nly life obtain.
Text: tr. Charles W. Schaeffer, 1813–96; (sts. 1–3, 5): Johann Scheffler, 1624–77; (st. 4): Geistliche Lieder und Lobgesänge, 1695
Text: Public domain
753 “All for Christ I Have Forsaken”
1 All for Christ I have forsaken
And have taken up my cross;
Worldly joy, its fame and fortune,
Now I count as worthless dross.
2 Who is sweeter than Christ Jesus?
No good thing in Him I lack!
Hand to plow, at peace I follow
Where He leads me . . . why look back?
3 Gone the past, unknown the future--
Grace supplies my daily breath;
Strong in Christ through death’s dark valley,
Firm and faithful unto death.
4 When God takes me home to heaven,
Should this be the day I die,
God will keep my spouse and children
As the apple of His eye.
5 Though the road ahead be thorny,
Though dark clouds all light obscure,
Though my cross-shaped path grows steeper,
With the Lord, I am secure.
Text: Calvin Chao, 1906–96; tr. Stephen P. Starke, 1955
Text: © 1999 Stephen P. Starke, admin. Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Stand
Collects
L O Lord, hear my prayer.
C And let my cry come to You.
Collect of the Day
L Almighty God, Your Son willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross for our redemption. Grant us courage to take up our cross daily and follow Him wherever He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Collect for Grace
L O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, You have safely brought us to the beginning of this day. Defend us in the same with Your mighty power and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger, but that all our doings, being ordered by Your governance, may be righteous in Your sight; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benedicamus
L Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Benediction
P The grace of our Lord T Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C Amen.
Closing Hymn: 661 “The Son of God Goes Forth to War”
1 The Son of God goes forth to war
A kingly crown to gain.
His blood-red banner streams afar;
Who follows in His train?
Who best can drink His cup of woe,
Triumphant over pain,
Who patient bears his cross below--
He follows in His train.
2 The martyr first, whose eagle eye
Could pierce beyond the grave,
Who saw his master in the sky
And called on Him to save.
Like Him, with pardon on His tongue
In midst of mortal pain,
He prayed for those who did the wrong--
Who follows in his train?
3 A glorious band, the chosen few,
On whom the Spirit came,
Twelve valiant saints—their hope they knew
And mocked the cross and flame.
They met the tyrant’s brandished steel,
The lion’s gory mane;
They bowed their necks their death to feel--
Who follows in their train?
4 A noble army, men and boys,
The matron and the maid,
Around the Savior’s throne rejoice,
In robes of light arrayed.
They climbed the steep ascent of heav’n
Through peril, toil, and pain.
O God, to us may grace be giv’n
To follow in their train!
Text: Reginald Heber, 1783–1826, alt.
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Matins 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.
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 27, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Gil McMillan
Lay Reader Doak Whitley
Acolyte Sue Hullen
Organist Allison Yee
Communion Preparation Kathy McCarthy
Ushers Lynn Tallman, Wayne Helley, Steve
Broach
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here at the church.
Lynn and Coleen Tallman wish to thank everyone at St. Paul for their prayers, condolences and cards given over the last few months. Blessings to all of you—Lynn and Coleen.
On listening...
"When God wants to speak and deal with us, he does not avail himself as an angel but as parents, or the pastor, or a neighbor."--Martin Luther
Last week, 14 people attended Adult Bible Class. Pray that even more will attend today. We meet in the Fellowship Room following the fellowship time, starting between 10:15 and 10:30. Refreshments will be served. Hebrews 10:25 states, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Our Adult Bible Class is the perfect way to do this. Pastor Poganski promises to make you feel at home and that you will grow and grow and grow and you'll enjoy doing it.
In Christ alone my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song, This Cornerstone, this solid ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm; What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, When strivings cease, My Comforter, My All in All, Here in the love of Christ I stand.
THE ORDER OF HOLY COMMUNION
The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 27, 2023
PRE-SERVICE MUSIC AND THE RINGING OF THE CHURCH BELL
OPENING HYMN no. 802, “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
INVOCATION [We acknowledge that we are in God’s presence.]
P: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: AMEN. (spoken)
CONFESSION & ABSOLUTION [We have sinned, but God forgives us.]
ALL: MOST MERCIFUL GOD, WE CONFESS THAT WE ARE BY NATURE
SINFUL AND UNCLEAN. WE HAVE SINNED AGAINST YOU AND
OUR NEIGHBORS IN THOUGHT, WORD, AND DEED. WE
DESERVE YOUR PRESENT AND ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. FOR
JESUS’ SAKE, HAVE MERCY ON US—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.
P: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you
and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and
ordained servant of the Word I therefore forgive you all your
sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit.
C: AMEN. (spoken)
HYMN OF PRAISE “Oh, Come and Sing Unto the Lord”
Oh, come and sing unto the Lord, Salvation’s Rock we praise.
With thanks we come before Him now, With singing all our days.
The Lord is great above all gods, And Yahweh is our King.
The deeps He holds inside His hands, The peaks their tribute bring.
The sea is His, He made its waves; His hands the land congealed.
Oh, come bow down before the Lord, In worship let us kneel. [cont.]
He is our God and we His flock, We live under His love.
To Father, Son, and Spirit blest, All praise we lift above.
OLD TESTAMENT LESSON Isaiah 51:1-6
see back of bulletin or Bible under pew seat
A VERSE FROM THE PSALMS P: Your Word, O LORD, is eternal;
C: IT STANDS FIRM IN THE HEAVENS.
P: Your faithfulness continues through all generations;
C: YOU ESTABLISHED THE EARTH, AND IT ENDURES.
P: Your Word is a lamp to my feet
C: AND A LIGHT FOR MY PATH.
SECOND LESSON Romans 11:33-12:8
GOSPEL LESSON Matthew 16:13-20
THE APOSTLES’ CREED [We state what we believe in a short statement.] ALL: 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 CHRISTIAN CHURCH,
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS,
THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY, AND THE LIFE (+)
EVERLASTING. AMEN.
SERMON HYMN no. 912, “Christ Is Our Cornerstone”
SERMON “Who Is Jesus Christ?” Matthew 16:13-20
WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?
Matthew 16:13-20
There suddenly turns up a Man in Palestine who goes about talking as if He were God; He said He always existed; that He is the one principally offended when man sins; that He is able to forgive man his sins; and that He will judge the world on the Last Day. Now for a man that is merely a man to have said those sort of things would not make Him a mere moral teacher—He would either be a lunatic or the devil of hell. Now you must make a choice: Either this man was and is the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, or you can fall at His feet and call Him, “My Lord, and My God.” Perhaps you recognize these shocking words as coming from the pen of one of the great Christian writers of the 20th century—C.S. Lewis.
Who do you say that Jesus Christ is? It is the most important question we can be asked in this life for the answer determines the quality of the life that you live, the priorities of life, the ethical standards you pursue, and your life’s purpose and eternal destiny.
When Jesus asked His disciples at Caesarea Philippi “Who do you say that I am,” it was a question about His Person, because on His Person rested the entire redemption of the world, and their part in sharing that good news. They had to be convinced about His Person, for immediately after that answer was given, Jesus began to show His disciples how He had to go up to Jerusalem and suffer and die and on the third day rise again.
We consider our theme then, “Who is Jesus Christ?” by giving a five-part answer to that question.
I.
First of all, “Who is Jesus Christ?” is answered by Peter who acts as the spokesman for the disciples. He stated, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” When Peter made this great confession, there were other’s in his day who thought that Jesus was a devil. Some called Him illegitimate because they could not accept His Virgin Birth. Others called Him a drunkard because He followed the social custom of having a glass of wine on occasion. Still others referred to Him as a glutton because He ate with tax collectors and other various and sundry “sinners.” Such people had a view of Jesus which “mocked” Him.
Others had what has been termed a “mystical” view of Jesus, meaning that they believed that there was something “secretive” about His existence (e.g. who He was, where He came from, etc.) In Luke 9: 7-9 we read that when King Herod heard about the things that Jesus was doing, “he was perplexed, because some were saying that John (the Baptist) had been raised from the dead. Herod said, ‘I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?’” So when Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is,” they shared with Him the mystical view about Jesus.
-Some say “John the Baptist” –John preached repentance and so did Jesus
-Some say “Elijah” –Elijah had zeal for God and a heart for the poor and so did Jesus.
Elijah raised a dead boy to life—Jesus did as well.
-Still others say “Jeremiah” --Jeremiah had a heart for people, He sorrowed over their
sorrows—so did Jesus.
-Others say “One of the prophets” --either reincarnated as they believed, or raised from
the dead.
While these were complimentary remarks because John, Elijah, Jeremiah, and the other prophets were “great,” simply affording Jesus a high place in their thinking was not good enough because it was untrue.
In our own time, people also mock Jesus or think of Him as merely a great prophet among so many others that have lived in the course of human history. They view Jesus as being in the company of Mohammed, Buddha, Zoroaster, Mary Baker Eddy, Joseph Smith, and Confucius, just to name a few, and see all these religious leaders as being “one” in their religious tenets and goals, AND approving of each other. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The disciples were in the presence of Jesus for three years. They matched the words, actions, and claims of Jesus to the predictions of the prophets of the Old Testament. And Peter concluded: Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” “Christ” means anointed One, the Greek expression for the Hebrew term, Messiah. Both Christ and Messiah mean “the One anointed by the Holy Spirit to be the world’s prophet, priest and king.” As such He is the eternal Son of God incarnate—in the flesh. In the text, Jesus uses the Old Testament term from Daniel 7, “Son of Man,” where Daniel in a night vision saw the clouds of heaven “and there stood One like a Son of Man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
When Jesus applied the term, “Son of Man,” to Himself, He lifted Himself above ordinary men--
-Ordinary men have a human nature only. Jesus Christ had a divine nature in a human nature.
-Ordinary men have a human nature that is sinful from the moment of conception, but Jesus
had a sinless human nature by conception of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.
Now if Peter had spoken incorrectly, surely Jesus would have corrected him and said, “I’m not the Son of the Living God as you say I Am,” but He accepted it as the true statement of His Person.
Not that many centuries later, the group of Christians we refer to as the Early church fathers searched the Holy Scriptures, and packed their findings about Jesus Christ in creedal statements (statements of what they believed, taught and confessed)--
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God, begotten of 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.
We continue to confess those words as they appear in the Nicene Creed. And as our namesake, Dr.
Martin Luther penned, we confess--
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity,
And also true man, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed Me…….
II.
Secondly, “Who is Jesus Christ?” Jesus is the world’s One and Only Savior. He had to suffer, die, and rise again for our sins and the sins of all people so that full payment could be made for them. “For the saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” “He came to serve, not to be served, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” He came to walk in the shoes of sinners. He identified with our plight. He Himself was sinless but He took our sins upon Himself and bore them on the tree of the cross that we might be redeemed from the curse of the law going back to Adam and Eve, our first parents, when they disobeyed God by eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He became “sin for us” that we might receive the righteousness of God—that we might be clothed in Christ’s righteousness alone and be faultless to stand before God’s throne. For we are redeemed, restored, forgiven, through Jesus’ precious blood. His shed blood makes us heirs of our home with Him in heaven. We praise our pardoning God!
So, lay your sins on Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, He bears them all and frees you from the
accursed load. Bring your guilt to Jesus to wash your crimson stains. Be white in His blood most precious, till not a spot of sin remains.
III.
Thirdly, “Who is Jesus Christ?” He is the author and finisher of our faith. Given what Jesus says to Peter after he made the confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” it may have been that Peter made that statement in a boastful way, thinking that Jesus would compliment him for being so “wise.” Jesus said, “Blessed are you,” (and he reminded Peter of his human or natural origin)—Blessed are you, son of Jonah (flesh born of flesh, meaning he couldn’t confess Christ by his own powers)—“This was not revealed to you by man but by my Father in heaven.” The Father in heaven didn’t use some ecclesiastical sky-writing to give Peter this knowledge, but through the working of the Holy Spirit, he could state, “Jesus, you are the Son of the Living God.”
All through life, we need to be knowing about Jesus, “growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ,” for if we are to trust Him with the fate of our souls, if we are to love Him and devote our lives to His service and trust Him in the hour of death, it behooves us to know Him, and know Him well as our Personal Savior. As one hymnwriter puts it: Lord, I believe your precious blood, which at the mercy seat of God, Pleads for the captives’ liberty, was also shed in love for me. When from the dust of death I rise, to claim my mansion in the skies, this then shall be my only plea: Christ Jesus lived and died for me.
IV.
Fourthly, “Who is Jesus Christ?” He is the Rock of my eternal security. Peter made his confession and Jesus said, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Upon first hearing this sentence, one might conclude that Jesus has gone a little nutty, having to tell Peter who he is. Such is not the case. What is going on here is that there is a play on words between Peter’s name and the word “rock.” In the greek language in which these words were first written, Peter’s name is PETROS, meaning “a rock or rolling stone.” The word used for rock is PETRA, meaning “a rock cliff.” The word PETROS is in the masculine gender. The word PETRA is feminine. What does this mean? It means that the church is not built on Peter, he is not the first pope. The church is built however, on what Peter confessed—“You are the Christ.” Luther said, “All Christians
are Peters because they make the confession here made by Peter which confession is the Rock on which Peter and all Peters are built.” I Corinthians 3:11 states: “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
As one hymnwriter has put it: “Christ, thou art the sure foundation, Thou the head and cornerstone, chosen of the Lord most precious, binding all the church in one.”
We can be thankful that the church is not built on a human’s person and faith. In fact, when the Lord announced the necessity of His going to Jerusalem just after the words of our sermon text in verses 21 and following, Peter stated, “Never, Lord.” Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Out of my sight, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’” We, of course, also know about Peter’s shameful denial of Jesus in the courtyard of the High Priest.
Christ alone, in whom Peter found victory over sin, death, and hell, could say: “ I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” Hades is the hereafter where God is not and the place of the devil, his evil angels and all who are lost due to their rejection of Jesus as their Savior. Thanks be to God that the church on earth has union with God the three-in-one. It is only because of that that “the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
V.
Fifthly, “Who is Jesus Christ?” He is the dear name to confess. Our text ends by stating that Jesus “warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.” That didn’t mean that they were never to do so. But for the moment, when the hatred of others was running so high, there might have been an attempt to stone Jesus to death on the spot. But His plan had to be carried out. His timetable would happen—the cross on Calvary, His resurrection, His disciples sharing that blessed Good News with others as they were given the power to do so by the Holy Spirit. And to this day, the church speaks for Jesus. Jesus stated to Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” This is Jewish legal language. To “bind” something meant to declare it forbidden. To “loose” something meant to declare it allowed. Peter and every Christian have a serious responsibility by God’s law to show that sin binds man with guilt and an eternal death penalty, BUT that by faith in Christ, the sinner is loosed from the death penalty and guilt; and when we as God’s redeemed, restored, forgiven children tell others, “This is the way it is: the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ,” it is as if God Himself in heaven did the telling. If a sinner believes, guilt is loosed. If they don’t believe, they are still in bondage. This teaching of Holy Scripture known as “The Office of the Keys”, the declaring of forgiveness in Christ, which unlocks the doors of heaven, is the possession of every Christian, in every congregation, the world over, for as Peter writes in his first epistle: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”
May your heart always give the right answer to the question, “Who is Jesus Christ” and may your life give evidence of living that correct answer before others, always knowing that His mercy and pardon is for you and all the people you will ever meet in this life.
Christ is our cornerstone, On Him alone we build;
With His true saints alone The courts of heaven are filled.
On His great love Our hopes we place Of present grace And joys above.
May God grant it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
VOTUM
Offering
+Soli Deo Gloria+
OFFERING [One way to thank God is with a monetary gift.]
PRAYERS [We pray for all people according to their needs.]
Prayer of the Church - Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 16A) - 27 August 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Almighty God, from You and through You and to You are all things. You have built Your Church on the confession of the Gospel and have promised that the gates of hell will not overcome it. To Your Church throughout the world grant the faith and courage to confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord God Almighty, You transform Your Church by the Holy Spirit so that she does not conform to the world. Draw forth from Your people their proclamation of thanksgiving, that they may tell of all Your wondrous deeds. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, grant that the Office of the Keys may be honored among us, in order that we may confess our sin and be absolved in the name of Christ. As You have so graciously forgiven us, grant that we may extend this grace by forgiving others. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, care for all families, children, single adults and youth, that they might steadfastly walk in the way that leads to life eternal. Grant an increase in wisdom and grace to all who teach and learn. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord God, grant that all nations and leaders might act for peace; promote godliness; and protect all who live under violence, oppression, injustice and fear, that all people might extol You. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, care for all victims of disaster, for those stricken by illness or infirmity, for the aged and infirm, for the grieving and for those near death. [Especially show Your steadfast love to _____________.] Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, lead us to repentance and faith, that we may not think more highly of ourselves than is right, but that we would set our hearts and minds on the things of God. Prepare us to receive the blessed gifts of our Lord’s table, that this food may keep us holy and blameless in Christ now and when He comes again. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
From You and through You and to You are all things! To You, O Father, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, be glory now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
COMMUNION LITURGY [We prepare to celebrate the Lord’s Supper.]
P: The Lord be with you.
C: AND ALSO WITH YOU.
P: Lift up your hearts.
C: WE LIFT THEM TO THE LORD.
P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C: IT IS RIGHT TO GIVE HIM THANKS AND PRAISE.
P: Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
C: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION [Jesus established/instituted this special meal.]
LORD’S PRAYERALL: 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.
COMMUNION DISTRIBUTION
Hymns-- no. 645, “Built on the Rock”
no. 575, “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less”
POST-COMMUNION HYMN “O Jesus, Blessed Lord, to Thee”[tune: Old Hundreth]
O Jesus, blessed Lord, to Thee
My heartfelt thanks forever be,
Who hast so lovingly bestowed
On me Thy body and Thy blood.
Break forth, my soul, for joy and say:
What wealth is come to me this day!
My Savior dwells within my heart:
How blessed am I! How good Thou Art!
BENEDICTION [We receive God’s blessing as we go our homeward way.]
P: The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to
you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.
C: AMEN. (spoken)
CLOSING HYMN no. 662, “Onward, Christian Soldiers”
ANNOUNCEMENTS
POST-SERVICE MUSIC
REFRESHMENTS SERVED IN THE FELLOWSHIP ROOM
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION HOUR AT 10:30 A.M.
+ And God’s people said: AMEN! +
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 27, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Gil McMillan
Lay Reader Doak Whitley
Acolyte Sue Hullen
Organist Allison Yee
Communion Preparation Kathy McCarthy
Ushers Lynn Tallman, Wayne Helley, Steve
Broach
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here at the church.
Lynn and Coleen Tallman wish to thank everyone at St. Paul for their prayers, condolences and cards given over the last few months. Blessings to all of you—Lynn and Coleen.
On listening...
"When God wants to speak and deal with us, he does not avail himself as an angel but as parents, or the pastor, or a neighbor."--Martin Luther
Last week, 14 people attended Adult Bible Class. Pray that even more will attend today. We meet in the Fellowship Room following the fellowship time, starting between 10:15 and 10:30. Refreshments will be served. Hebrews 10:25 states, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Our Adult Bible Class is the perfect way to do this. Pastor Poganski promises to make you feel at home and that you will grow and grow and grow and you'll enjoy doing it.
In Christ alone my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song, This Cornerstone, this solid ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm; What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, When strivings cease, My Comforter, My All in All, Here in the love of Christ I stand.
THE ORDER OF HOLY COMMUNION
The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 27, 2023
PRE-SERVICE MUSIC AND THE RINGING OF THE CHURCH BELL
OPENING HYMN no. 802, “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
INVOCATION [We acknowledge that we are in God’s presence.]
P: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: AMEN. (spoken)
CONFESSION & ABSOLUTION [We have sinned, but God forgives us.]
ALL: MOST MERCIFUL GOD, WE CONFESS THAT WE ARE BY NATURE
SINFUL AND UNCLEAN. WE HAVE SINNED AGAINST YOU AND
OUR NEIGHBORS IN THOUGHT, WORD, AND DEED. WE
DESERVE YOUR PRESENT AND ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. FOR
JESUS’ SAKE, HAVE MERCY ON US—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.
P: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you
and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and
ordained servant of the Word I therefore forgive you all your
sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit.
C: AMEN. (spoken)
HYMN OF PRAISE “Oh, Come and Sing Unto the Lord”
Oh, come and sing unto the Lord, Salvation’s Rock we praise.
With thanks we come before Him now, With singing all our days.
The Lord is great above all gods, And Yahweh is our King.
The deeps He holds inside His hands, The peaks their tribute bring.
The sea is His, He made its waves; His hands the land congealed.
Oh, come bow down before the Lord, In worship let us kneel. [cont.]
He is our God and we His flock, We live under His love.
To Father, Son, and Spirit blest, All praise we lift above.
OLD TESTAMENT LESSON Isaiah 51:1-6
see back of bulletin or Bible under pew seat
A VERSE FROM THE PSALMS P: Your Word, O LORD, is eternal;
C: IT STANDS FIRM IN THE HEAVENS.
P: Your faithfulness continues through all generations;
C: YOU ESTABLISHED THE EARTH, AND IT ENDURES.
P: Your Word is a lamp to my feet
C: AND A LIGHT FOR MY PATH.
SECOND LESSON Romans 11:33-12:8
GOSPEL LESSON Matthew 16:13-20
THE APOSTLES’ CREED [We state what we believe in a short statement.] ALL: 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 CHRISTIAN CHURCH,
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS,
THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY, AND THE LIFE (+)
EVERLASTING. AMEN.
SERMON HYMN no. 912, “Christ Is Our Cornerstone”
SERMON “Who Is Jesus Christ?” Matthew 16:13-20
WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?
Matthew 16:13-20
There suddenly turns up a Man in Palestine who goes about talking as if He were God; He said He always existed; that He is the one principally offended when man sins; that He is able to forgive man his sins; and that He will judge the world on the Last Day. Now for a man that is merely a man to have said those sort of things would not make Him a mere moral teacher—He would either be a lunatic or the devil of hell. Now you must make a choice: Either this man was and is the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, or you can fall at His feet and call Him, “My Lord, and My God.” Perhaps you recognize these shocking words as coming from the pen of one of the great Christian writers of the 20th century—C.S. Lewis.
Who do you say that Jesus Christ is? It is the most important question we can be asked in this life for the answer determines the quality of the life that you live, the priorities of life, the ethical standards you pursue, and your life’s purpose and eternal destiny.
When Jesus asked His disciples at Caesarea Philippi “Who do you say that I am,” it was a question about His Person, because on His Person rested the entire redemption of the world, and their part in sharing that good news. They had to be convinced about His Person, for immediately after that answer was given, Jesus began to show His disciples how He had to go up to Jerusalem and suffer and die and on the third day rise again.
We consider our theme then, “Who is Jesus Christ?” by giving a five-part answer to that question.
I.
First of all, “Who is Jesus Christ?” is answered by Peter who acts as the spokesman for the disciples. He stated, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” When Peter made this great confession, there were other’s in his day who thought that Jesus was a devil. Some called Him illegitimate because they could not accept His Virgin Birth. Others called Him a drunkard because He followed the social custom of having a glass of wine on occasion. Still others referred to Him as a glutton because He ate with tax collectors and other various and sundry “sinners.” Such people had a view of Jesus which “mocked” Him.
Others had what has been termed a “mystical” view of Jesus, meaning that they believed that there was something “secretive” about His existence (e.g. who He was, where He came from, etc.) In Luke 9: 7-9 we read that when King Herod heard about the things that Jesus was doing, “he was perplexed, because some were saying that John (the Baptist) had been raised from the dead. Herod said, ‘I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?’” So when Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is,” they shared with Him the mystical view about Jesus.
-Some say “John the Baptist” –John preached repentance and so did Jesus
-Some say “Elijah” –Elijah had zeal for God and a heart for the poor and so did Jesus.
Elijah raised a dead boy to life—Jesus did as well.
-Still others say “Jeremiah” --Jeremiah had a heart for people, He sorrowed over their
sorrows—so did Jesus.
-Others say “One of the prophets” --either reincarnated as they believed, or raised from
the dead.
While these were complimentary remarks because John, Elijah, Jeremiah, and the other prophets were “great,” simply affording Jesus a high place in their thinking was not good enough because it was untrue.
In our own time, people also mock Jesus or think of Him as merely a great prophet among so many others that have lived in the course of human history. They view Jesus as being in the company of Mohammed, Buddha, Zoroaster, Mary Baker Eddy, Joseph Smith, and Confucius, just to name a few, and see all these religious leaders as being “one” in their religious tenets and goals, AND approving of each other. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The disciples were in the presence of Jesus for three years. They matched the words, actions, and claims of Jesus to the predictions of the prophets of the Old Testament. And Peter concluded: Jesus, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” “Christ” means anointed One, the Greek expression for the Hebrew term, Messiah. Both Christ and Messiah mean “the One anointed by the Holy Spirit to be the world’s prophet, priest and king.” As such He is the eternal Son of God incarnate—in the flesh. In the text, Jesus uses the Old Testament term from Daniel 7, “Son of Man,” where Daniel in a night vision saw the clouds of heaven “and there stood One like a Son of Man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
When Jesus applied the term, “Son of Man,” to Himself, He lifted Himself above ordinary men--
-Ordinary men have a human nature only. Jesus Christ had a divine nature in a human nature.
-Ordinary men have a human nature that is sinful from the moment of conception, but Jesus
had a sinless human nature by conception of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.
Now if Peter had spoken incorrectly, surely Jesus would have corrected him and said, “I’m not the Son of the Living God as you say I Am,” but He accepted it as the true statement of His Person.
Not that many centuries later, the group of Christians we refer to as the Early church fathers searched the Holy Scriptures, and packed their findings about Jesus Christ in creedal statements (statements of what they believed, taught and confessed)--
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God, begotten of 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.
We continue to confess those words as they appear in the Nicene Creed. And as our namesake, Dr.
Martin Luther penned, we confess--
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity,
And also true man, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed Me…….
II.
Secondly, “Who is Jesus Christ?” Jesus is the world’s One and Only Savior. He had to suffer, die, and rise again for our sins and the sins of all people so that full payment could be made for them. “For the saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” “He came to serve, not to be served, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” He came to walk in the shoes of sinners. He identified with our plight. He Himself was sinless but He took our sins upon Himself and bore them on the tree of the cross that we might be redeemed from the curse of the law going back to Adam and Eve, our first parents, when they disobeyed God by eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He became “sin for us” that we might receive the righteousness of God—that we might be clothed in Christ’s righteousness alone and be faultless to stand before God’s throne. For we are redeemed, restored, forgiven, through Jesus’ precious blood. His shed blood makes us heirs of our home with Him in heaven. We praise our pardoning God!
So, lay your sins on Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, He bears them all and frees you from the
accursed load. Bring your guilt to Jesus to wash your crimson stains. Be white in His blood most precious, till not a spot of sin remains.
III.
Thirdly, “Who is Jesus Christ?” He is the author and finisher of our faith. Given what Jesus says to Peter after he made the confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” it may have been that Peter made that statement in a boastful way, thinking that Jesus would compliment him for being so “wise.” Jesus said, “Blessed are you,” (and he reminded Peter of his human or natural origin)—Blessed are you, son of Jonah (flesh born of flesh, meaning he couldn’t confess Christ by his own powers)—“This was not revealed to you by man but by my Father in heaven.” The Father in heaven didn’t use some ecclesiastical sky-writing to give Peter this knowledge, but through the working of the Holy Spirit, he could state, “Jesus, you are the Son of the Living God.”
All through life, we need to be knowing about Jesus, “growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ,” for if we are to trust Him with the fate of our souls, if we are to love Him and devote our lives to His service and trust Him in the hour of death, it behooves us to know Him, and know Him well as our Personal Savior. As one hymnwriter puts it: Lord, I believe your precious blood, which at the mercy seat of God, Pleads for the captives’ liberty, was also shed in love for me. When from the dust of death I rise, to claim my mansion in the skies, this then shall be my only plea: Christ Jesus lived and died for me.
IV.
Fourthly, “Who is Jesus Christ?” He is the Rock of my eternal security. Peter made his confession and Jesus said, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Upon first hearing this sentence, one might conclude that Jesus has gone a little nutty, having to tell Peter who he is. Such is not the case. What is going on here is that there is a play on words between Peter’s name and the word “rock.” In the greek language in which these words were first written, Peter’s name is PETROS, meaning “a rock or rolling stone.” The word used for rock is PETRA, meaning “a rock cliff.” The word PETROS is in the masculine gender. The word PETRA is feminine. What does this mean? It means that the church is not built on Peter, he is not the first pope. The church is built however, on what Peter confessed—“You are the Christ.” Luther said, “All Christians
are Peters because they make the confession here made by Peter which confession is the Rock on which Peter and all Peters are built.” I Corinthians 3:11 states: “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
As one hymnwriter has put it: “Christ, thou art the sure foundation, Thou the head and cornerstone, chosen of the Lord most precious, binding all the church in one.”
We can be thankful that the church is not built on a human’s person and faith. In fact, when the Lord announced the necessity of His going to Jerusalem just after the words of our sermon text in verses 21 and following, Peter stated, “Never, Lord.” Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Out of my sight, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.’” We, of course, also know about Peter’s shameful denial of Jesus in the courtyard of the High Priest.
Christ alone, in whom Peter found victory over sin, death, and hell, could say: “ I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” Hades is the hereafter where God is not and the place of the devil, his evil angels and all who are lost due to their rejection of Jesus as their Savior. Thanks be to God that the church on earth has union with God the three-in-one. It is only because of that that “the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
V.
Fifthly, “Who is Jesus Christ?” He is the dear name to confess. Our text ends by stating that Jesus “warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.” That didn’t mean that they were never to do so. But for the moment, when the hatred of others was running so high, there might have been an attempt to stone Jesus to death on the spot. But His plan had to be carried out. His timetable would happen—the cross on Calvary, His resurrection, His disciples sharing that blessed Good News with others as they were given the power to do so by the Holy Spirit. And to this day, the church speaks for Jesus. Jesus stated to Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” This is Jewish legal language. To “bind” something meant to declare it forbidden. To “loose” something meant to declare it allowed. Peter and every Christian have a serious responsibility by God’s law to show that sin binds man with guilt and an eternal death penalty, BUT that by faith in Christ, the sinner is loosed from the death penalty and guilt; and when we as God’s redeemed, restored, forgiven children tell others, “This is the way it is: the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ,” it is as if God Himself in heaven did the telling. If a sinner believes, guilt is loosed. If they don’t believe, they are still in bondage. This teaching of Holy Scripture known as “The Office of the Keys”, the declaring of forgiveness in Christ, which unlocks the doors of heaven, is the possession of every Christian, in every congregation, the world over, for as Peter writes in his first epistle: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”
May your heart always give the right answer to the question, “Who is Jesus Christ” and may your life give evidence of living that correct answer before others, always knowing that His mercy and pardon is for you and all the people you will ever meet in this life.
Christ is our cornerstone, On Him alone we build;
With His true saints alone The courts of heaven are filled.
On His great love Our hopes we place Of present grace And joys above.
May God grant it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
VOTUM
Offering
+Soli Deo Gloria+
OFFERING [One way to thank God is with a monetary gift.]
PRAYERS [We pray for all people according to their needs.]
Prayer of the Church - Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 16A) - 27 August 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Almighty God, from You and through You and to You are all things. You have built Your Church on the confession of the Gospel and have promised that the gates of hell will not overcome it. To Your Church throughout the world grant the faith and courage to confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord God Almighty, You transform Your Church by the Holy Spirit so that she does not conform to the world. Draw forth from Your people their proclamation of thanksgiving, that they may tell of all Your wondrous deeds. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, grant that the Office of the Keys may be honored among us, in order that we may confess our sin and be absolved in the name of Christ. As You have so graciously forgiven us, grant that we may extend this grace by forgiving others. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, care for all families, children, single adults and youth, that they might steadfastly walk in the way that leads to life eternal. Grant an increase in wisdom and grace to all who teach and learn. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord God, grant that all nations and leaders might act for peace; promote godliness; and protect all who live under violence, oppression, injustice and fear, that all people might extol You. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, care for all victims of disaster, for those stricken by illness or infirmity, for the aged and infirm, for the grieving and for those near death. [Especially show Your steadfast love to _____________.] Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, lead us to repentance and faith, that we may not think more highly of ourselves than is right, but that we would set our hearts and minds on the things of God. Prepare us to receive the blessed gifts of our Lord’s table, that this food may keep us holy and blameless in Christ now and when He comes again. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
From You and through You and to You are all things! To You, O Father, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, be glory now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
COMMUNION LITURGY [We prepare to celebrate the Lord’s Supper.]
P: The Lord be with you.
C: AND ALSO WITH YOU.
P: Lift up your hearts.
C: WE LIFT THEM TO THE LORD.
P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C: IT IS RIGHT TO GIVE HIM THANKS AND PRAISE.
P: Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
C: FOR HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION [Jesus established/instituted this special meal.]
LORD’S PRAYERALL: 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.
COMMUNION DISTRIBUTION
Hymns-- no. 645, “Built on the Rock”
no. 575, “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less”
POST-COMMUNION HYMN “O Jesus, Blessed Lord, to Thee”[tune: Old Hundreth]
O Jesus, blessed Lord, to Thee
My heartfelt thanks forever be,
Who hast so lovingly bestowed
On me Thy body and Thy blood.
Break forth, my soul, for joy and say:
What wealth is come to me this day!
My Savior dwells within my heart:
How blessed am I! How good Thou Art!
BENEDICTION [We receive God’s blessing as we go our homeward way.]
P: The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to
you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.
C: AMEN. (spoken)
CLOSING HYMN no. 662, “Onward, Christian Soldiers”
ANNOUNCEMENTS
POST-SERVICE MUSIC
REFRESHMENTS SERVED IN THE FELLOWSHIP ROOM
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION HOUR AT 10:30 A.M.
+ And God’s people said: AMEN! +
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost – August 20, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Mark Klein
Lay Reader Allan Bliss
Acolyte Kathy McCarthy
Organist Coleen Tallman
Communion Preparation Coleen Tallman
Ushers Lynn Tallman, Wayne Helley, Steve
Broach
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here at the church.
Be open to conversations - Aaron Earls
Half of Americans (51%), including 60% of the religiously unaffiliated, say they’re curious as to why some people are so devoted to their faith, according to a recent Lifeway Research study. Two in 3 Americans (66%) say they’re at least open to having a conversation about faith with a friend. And 51% are even open to those conversations with a stranger. Even with a growing number of Americans no longer believing in God’s existence, most are still willing to have a conversation about faith and religion.
IT IS TIME
Most of our congregations were structured to get people to come to our churches. But the Bible is clear that our mandate is to go to them. “Go into all the world…..” (Matthew 28:19). It is time to share Jesus with others instead of simply expecting them to come to us. It is simple but radical for most churches. And yet, Jesus calls us His ambassadors to be doing just that (2 Corinthians 5:20). “Jesus bids us shine with a clear, pure light, like a little candle burning in the night; in this world of darkness we must shine, you in your small corner and I in mine.”
“The Bible is about Christ from cover to cover. The Incarnate Word [Jesus Christ] makes Himself known in the written Word.”
Gene Edward Veith in “Why God’s Word Is All We Need”
The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
August 20, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 902 “Lord Jesus Christ, Be Present Now”
1 Lord Jesus Christ, be present now;
Our hearts in true devotion bow.
Your Spirit send with light divine,
And let Your truth within us shine.
2 Unseal our lips to sing Your praise
In endless hymns through all our days.
Increase our faith and light our minds;
And set us free from doubt that blinds.
3 Then shall we join the hosts that cry,
“O holy, holy Lord Most High!”
And in the light of that blest place
We then shall see You face to face.
D 4 All glory to the Father, Son,
And Holy Spirit, Three in One!
To You, O blessèd Trinity,
Be praise throughout eternity!
Text: Lutherisch Hand-Büchlein, 1648, Altenburg; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
C But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.
P Since we are gathered to hear God’s Word, call upon Him in prayer and praise, and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fellowship of this altar, let us first consider our unworthiness and confess before God and one another that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, and that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition. Together as His people let us take refuge in the infinite mercy of God, our heavenly Father, seeking His grace for the sake of Christ, and saying:
C God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen.
P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 28:8, 1–2, 6–7
P The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
Blessèd be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Let us pray.
Almighty and everlasting Father, You give Your children many blessings even though we are undeserving. In every trial and temptation grant us steadfast confidence in Your loving-kindness and mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 56:1, 6–8
1Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed. . . .
6“And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
and holds fast my covenant--
7these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.”
8The Lord God,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
“I will gather yet others to him
besides those already gathered.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung by all] Psalm 67
1May God be gracious to us and | bless us*
and make his face to shine up- | on us,
2that your way may be | known on earth,*
your saving power among all | nations.
3Let the peoples praise you, | O God;*
let all the peoples | praise you!
4Let the nations be glad and | sing for joy,*
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations up- | on earth.
5Let the peoples praise you, | O God;*
let all the peoples | praise you!
6The earth has yielded its | increase;*
God, our God, shall | bless us.
7God shall | bless us;*
let all the ends of the earth | fear him!
Epistle Romans 11:1–2a, 13–15, 28–32
1I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. . . .
13Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? . . .
28As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30Just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia and Verse
Holy Gospel Matthew 15:21–28
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the fifteenth chapter.
C Glory to You, O Lord.
21Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C Praise to You, O Christ.
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Sit
Hymn of the Day:571 “God Loved the World So That He Gave”
1 God loved the world so that He gave
His only Son the lost to save,
That all who would in Him believe
Should everlasting life receive.
2 Christ Jesus is the ground of faith,
Who was made flesh and suffered death;
All then who trust in Him alone
Are built on this chief cornerstone.
3 God would not have the sinner die;
His Son with saving grace is nigh;
His Spirit in the Word declares
How we in Christ are heaven’s heirs.
4 Be of good cheer, for God’s own Son
Forgives all sins which you have done;
And, justified by Jesus’ blood,
Your Baptism grants the highest good.
5 If you are sick, if death is near,
This truth your troubled heart can cheer:
Christ Jesus saves your soul from death;
That is the firmest ground of faith.
D 6 Glory to God the Father, Son,
And Holy Spirit, Three in One!
To You, O blessèd Trinity,
Be praise now and eternally!
Text: Heiliges Lippen- und Hertzens-Opffer, c. 1778, Stettin; tr. August Crull, 1845–1923, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “An Eventful Vacation” Matthew 15:21-28
An Eventful Vacation! - Matthew 15:21-28
The disciples needed a break now more than ever. Two weeks ago, we noted that the disciples had just learned that Herod executed John the Baptist. This was a source of great grief for Jesus and the disciples. They had also been working very hard. Jesus took them to the wilderness on the other side of the Sea of Galilee for a little R&R. However, the crowds figured out where they were going and were waiting for them when they got there. Jesus spent all day ministering to those crowds and then He fed them in the event known as the Feeding of the Five Thousand. Then, last week, we learned that right after the Feeding of the Five Thousand, Jesus put the disciples back in the boat and told them to go back to the other side while He dismissed the crowds. The disciples ended up spending the entire night crossing the sea because of a brutal head wind. It was almost dawn when Jesus came walking to them on the water and they finally made it to the other side. The verses after that tell us that some early risers recognized Jesus and woke up the neighborhood and the crowds gathered as soon as they landed. Then the Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem and Jesus had to have a debate with them. Basically, it has been almost two days without sleep and a night full of hard labor since Jesus first decided that the disciples needed a break. If they needed a break then, they really need a break now.
The portion of the Gospel that we heard today informs us that Jesus finally took the disciples completely out of Jewish territory. “Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.” (Matthew 15:21) Tyre and Sidon are two cities on the Mediterranean coast in the territory of Phoenicia. This means that Jesus has taken the disciples about a day’s journey into the Gentile territory north of Galilee. Perhaps there, in Gentile territory, completely outside the borders of Galilee, they can finally get some rest and deal with the death of John the Baptist.
Well, not so much. Behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” (Matthew 15:22) What would you think if you were one of the disciples under those circumstances? I’d be thinking, “Oh no! Not again!” At first, it seems as if even Jesus is thinking that way. For the Gospel said He did not answer her a word. (Matthew 15:23) It almost seems as if Jesus is hoping that if He ignores her, she will go away.
Notice that the text does not say that she cried. It says that she was crying. This means that she continually repeated her prayer, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” Over and over again, she repeated this prayer. She was getting on the disciples’ nerves. His disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” (Matthew 15:23) It is as if the disciples were saying, “Look Jesus, we’ve seen this kind of woman before. She is not going to give us any peace until you answer her one way or the other. Just drive out the demon. She will go away, and we can get some peace.”
Jesus knew something about this woman that the neither the disciples nor even the woman knew. He knew that somewhere along the line, someone had told this woman who He was. The Holy Spirit used this information to create faith in this woman. She referred to Jesus as the Son of David. This meant that she believed that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus saw a great and beautiful faith in this woman. Jesus wanted the woman, the disciples, and you to know how strong this faith was. Since only God can look at the heart, Jesus set up a few tests to demonstrate the strength of the faith in this woman.
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24) Although Jesus was speaking to the disciples, I am certain that the woman heard what He said. Take a moment to put yourself in the woman’s shoes. Jesus has just said, “I was sent to the Jews. You are a Gentile. Too bad for you!” Be honest! Would you be angry? Would you be crushed? How would you respond?
But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” (Matthew 15:25) This woman ran in front of Jesus and fell before Him so that He almost tripped over her. Then she kept right on praying, “Lord, help me.” The faith that the Holy Spirit has given this woman will not be denied.
But Jesus knew there was even more to this woman’s faith. This time He spoke directly to the woman and he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” (Matthew 15:26) I’ll tell you right now that calling a woman a dog was no more of a complement back then than it is today. Again, how would you respond if Jesus called you a dog? Be honest.
She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” (Matthew 15:27) This woman took Jesus at His word. “Yes, Lord, if you say that I am a dog, then I must be a dog. But ya’know, even the dogs get to eat the crumbs that fall. If you give me a crumb, it will be enough.” She knew that even a crumb from Jesus would be enough to drive out the demon.
I’m pretty sure that didn’t have fist pumps in the first century, but if Jesus were around to day, He would go, “YES!” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. (Matthew 15:28)
It is interesting that a few verses before today’s Gospel, Jesus was debating with Pharisees and scribes … some of the best educated people in the area. Jesus simply tore their case apart. Now here is this Gentile woman … probably uneducated, and she won her debate with Jesus. The Holy Spirit had given this woman faith to move mountains. Jesus put up some serious blockades and this woman’s faith knocked them aside as though they were soap bubbles on a light breeze. Now this woman could praise God for the wonderful faith He had given to her. She knew it. The disciples knew it. The Holy Spirit inspired Matthew to record this account so that you would know it too.
Why is it so important for you to know about this woman’s faith? Remember that Matthew’s Gospel was originally written for Jewish converts to the faith. There was a great controversy in the early church. Many people believed that you had to convert to Judaism before you could become a Christian. The Gospel according to Matthew regularly puts that idea to rest. Matthew regularly recorded the faith of Gentiles throughout His Gospel account … the magi, Roman Centurions, the woman in today’s reading, and other Gentiles show that salvation is for all people in all places and times.
A Canaanite woman is about as Gentile as you can get. The Canaanites were on the list of people that the Israelites had to drive out of Canaan as the Lord said through His servant Moses, “You shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the LORD your God has commanded.” (Deuteronomy 20:17) If a Canaanite woman can have the faith that causes Jesus to say, “O woman, great is your faith!” then that faith is for you too. The Holy Spirit can work saving faith in anyone. Here “there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.” (Colossians 3:11)
The Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write, “It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.” (Romans 9:8) With these words, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the true Israel is not based on genetics, but faith in the promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation that we have in Jesus Christ. This woman has demonstrated that the Holy Spirit has given her a great faith. Jesus acknowledged her faith and in so doing proclaimed that, although she was a Gentile genetically, by grace she is a child of Abraham – one of the lost sheep of Israel.
Jesus loved this woman deeply. He loved her enough to suffer the offense of living among sinners and interacting with them even though He never sinned. He loved her enough to suffer an unjust trial and cruel physical torture. He loved her enough to lift up her sins and carry them to the cross. With His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death He earned a place for her at the table with the rest of the children of God. She now waits with Jesus for the Last Day. On that day Jesus will raise her body from the grave just as Jesus Himself rose from the dead. On that day, she will join the true and eternal Israel at the wedding feast of the Lamb. She does not deserve this, but she has it because Christ earned it for her.
Like the Canaanite woman, we do not deserve to be at the table of the Lamb. Nevertheless, the Lamb offers His table to us. Not only did Jesus sacrifice Himself to earn eternal life for this woman, but He also did that for you. When the Holy Spirit plants faith in you, He makes you a part of the true, eternal Israel … the Holy Christian Church. He cleanses you with the blood of Jesus and covers you with righteousness. You deserve none of it, but it is all yours because the Holy Lord, Jesus Christ earned it for you. You also have a place at the table with the rest of God’s children. It is all yours by grace through faith in the crucified and risen Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church - Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 15A) - 20 August 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
O Lord, bless this congregation and church. Grant that it may be a house of prayer and we a people of prayer. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, grant that the Church may steadfastly proclaim Your irrevocable gifts and calling, that the disobedient may receive mercy and that those who hear would become grafted onto Jesus Christ, the true vine. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, bless all honest work and occupations, and grant that we may use well the fruits of our labors. Give us generosity for those in need. Bless the tithes and offerings that accompany our sacrifice of praise. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, grant that the government and those who protect us might keep justice and do righteousness for Your name’s sake and according to Your will. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, care for those who cry to You, whether beset with grief, sorrow, pain or trouble [especially _____________]. Be pleased for Christ’s sake to answer them according to Your will. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, bless all who are about to receive Christ’s body and blood from this altar. Grant that these crumbs from Your table may strengthen us in faith and love, united with You and our neighbors. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
All these things and whatever else You know that we need, grant us, Father, for the sake of Him who died and rose again and now lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Offering Prayer
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, for the countless blessings You so freely bestow on us and all creation. Above all, we give thanks for Your boundless love shown to us when You sent Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into our flesh and laid on Him our sin, giving Him into death that we might not die eternally. Because He is now risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity, all who believe in Him will overcome sin and death and will rise again to new life. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Prayer of Thanksgiving
P Blessed are You, O Lord our God, king of all creation, for You have had mercy on us and given Your only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
In Your righteous judgment You condemned the sin of Adam and Eve, who ate the forbidden fruit, and You justly barred them and all their children from the tree of life. Yet, in Your great mercy, You promised salvation by a second Adam, Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and made His cross a life-giving tree for all who trust in Him.
We give You thanks for the redemption You have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may faithfully eat and drink of the fruits of His cross and receive the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation that come to us in His body and blood.
Hear us as we pray in His name and as He has taught us:
Lord’s Prayer
C 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.
The Words of Our Lord
P Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My T body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”
In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My T blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
Pax Domini
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C Amen.
Agnus Dei LSB 210
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
832 “Jesus Shall Reign”
1 Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does its successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
2 To Him shall endless prayer be made,
And endless praises crown His head;
His name like sweet perfume shall rise
With ev’ry morning sacrifice.
3 People and realms of ev’ry tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His name.
4 Blessings abound where’er He reigns:
The pris’ners leap, unloose their chains,
The weary find eternal rest,
And all who suffer want are blest.
5 Let ev’ry creature rise and bring
Honors peculiar to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud amen.
Text: Isaac Watts, 1674–1748, alt.
Text: Public domain
770 “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”
1 What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit;
Oh, what needless pain we bear--
All because we do not carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!
2 Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged--
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our ev’ry weakness--
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
3 Are we weak and heavy laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge--
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee;
Thou wilt find a solace there.
Text: Joseph M. Scriven, 1819–86
Text: Public domain
Stand
Nunc Dimittis
Post-Communion Collect
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benedicamus
A Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Benediction
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and T give you peace.
C Amen.
Closing Hymn: 936 “Sing Praise to the God of Israel”
1 Sing praise to the God of Israel!
Sing praise for His visitation!
Redeeming His people from their sin,
Accomplishing their salvation,
Upraising a mighty horn within
The house of His servant David!
2 God spoke by the prophets long ago,
His promise on oath recalling--
To Abraham made in former years:
Of vanquishing foes appalling,
That those He delivered from their fears
Might gladly and truly serve Him.
3 You, child, will go on before the Lord
As prophet, His way preparing;
To speak on behalf of God Most High,
His counsel of truth declaring:
Rich mercy and grace for all whereby
Iniquity is forgiven.
4 O bright, rising Sun, now shine on us
In need of illumination;
Come scatter the shades of sin and death
And shatter their domination.
Be guiding our footsteps on the path
Of peace, in Your presence dawning!
Text: Stephen P. Starke, 1955
Text: © 1992 Stephen P. Starke, admin. Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing House.
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost – August 20, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Mark Klein
Lay Reader Allan Bliss
Acolyte Kathy McCarthy
Organist Coleen Tallman
Communion Preparation Coleen Tallman
Ushers Lynn Tallman, Wayne Helley, Steve
Broach
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here at the church.
Be open to conversations - Aaron Earls
Half of Americans (51%), including 60% of the religiously unaffiliated, say they’re curious as to why some people are so devoted to their faith, according to a recent Lifeway Research study. Two in 3 Americans (66%) say they’re at least open to having a conversation about faith with a friend. And 51% are even open to those conversations with a stranger. Even with a growing number of Americans no longer believing in God’s existence, most are still willing to have a conversation about faith and religion.
IT IS TIME
Most of our congregations were structured to get people to come to our churches. But the Bible is clear that our mandate is to go to them. “Go into all the world…..” (Matthew 28:19). It is time to share Jesus with others instead of simply expecting them to come to us. It is simple but radical for most churches. And yet, Jesus calls us His ambassadors to be doing just that (2 Corinthians 5:20). “Jesus bids us shine with a clear, pure light, like a little candle burning in the night; in this world of darkness we must shine, you in your small corner and I in mine.”
“The Bible is about Christ from cover to cover. The Incarnate Word [Jesus Christ] makes Himself known in the written Word.”
Gene Edward Veith in “Why God’s Word Is All We Need”
The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
August 20, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 902 “Lord Jesus Christ, Be Present Now”
1 Lord Jesus Christ, be present now;
Our hearts in true devotion bow.
Your Spirit send with light divine,
And let Your truth within us shine.
2 Unseal our lips to sing Your praise
In endless hymns through all our days.
Increase our faith and light our minds;
And set us free from doubt that blinds.
3 Then shall we join the hosts that cry,
“O holy, holy Lord Most High!”
And in the light of that blest place
We then shall see You face to face.
D 4 All glory to the Father, Son,
And Holy Spirit, Three in One!
To You, O blessèd Trinity,
Be praise throughout eternity!
Text: Lutherisch Hand-Büchlein, 1648, Altenburg; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
C But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.
P Since we are gathered to hear God’s Word, call upon Him in prayer and praise, and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fellowship of this altar, let us first consider our unworthiness and confess before God and one another that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, and that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition. Together as His people let us take refuge in the infinite mercy of God, our heavenly Father, seeking His grace for the sake of Christ, and saying:
C God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen.
P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 28:8, 1–2, 6–7
P The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed. To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
Blessèd be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Let us pray.
Almighty and everlasting Father, You give Your children many blessings even though we are undeserving. In every trial and temptation grant us steadfast confidence in Your loving-kindness and mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 56:1, 6–8
1Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed. . . .
6“And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
and holds fast my covenant--
7these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.”
8The Lord God,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
“I will gather yet others to him
besides those already gathered.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung by all] Psalm 67
1May God be gracious to us and | bless us*
and make his face to shine up- | on us,
2that your way may be | known on earth,*
your saving power among all | nations.
3Let the peoples praise you, | O God;*
let all the peoples | praise you!
4Let the nations be glad and | sing for joy,*
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations up- | on earth.
5Let the peoples praise you, | O God;*
let all the peoples | praise you!
6The earth has yielded its | increase;*
God, our God, shall | bless us.
7God shall | bless us;*
let all the ends of the earth | fear him!
Epistle Romans 11:1–2a, 13–15, 28–32
1I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. . . .
13Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? . . .
28As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30Just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia and Verse
Holy Gospel Matthew 15:21–28
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the fifteenth chapter.
C Glory to You, O Lord.
21Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C Praise to You, O Christ.
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Sit
Hymn of the Day:571 “God Loved the World So That He Gave”
1 God loved the world so that He gave
His only Son the lost to save,
That all who would in Him believe
Should everlasting life receive.
2 Christ Jesus is the ground of faith,
Who was made flesh and suffered death;
All then who trust in Him alone
Are built on this chief cornerstone.
3 God would not have the sinner die;
His Son with saving grace is nigh;
His Spirit in the Word declares
How we in Christ are heaven’s heirs.
4 Be of good cheer, for God’s own Son
Forgives all sins which you have done;
And, justified by Jesus’ blood,
Your Baptism grants the highest good.
5 If you are sick, if death is near,
This truth your troubled heart can cheer:
Christ Jesus saves your soul from death;
That is the firmest ground of faith.
D 6 Glory to God the Father, Son,
And Holy Spirit, Three in One!
To You, O blessèd Trinity,
Be praise now and eternally!
Text: Heiliges Lippen- und Hertzens-Opffer, c. 1778, Stettin; tr. August Crull, 1845–1923, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “An Eventful Vacation” Matthew 15:21-28
An Eventful Vacation! - Matthew 15:21-28
The disciples needed a break now more than ever. Two weeks ago, we noted that the disciples had just learned that Herod executed John the Baptist. This was a source of great grief for Jesus and the disciples. They had also been working very hard. Jesus took them to the wilderness on the other side of the Sea of Galilee for a little R&R. However, the crowds figured out where they were going and were waiting for them when they got there. Jesus spent all day ministering to those crowds and then He fed them in the event known as the Feeding of the Five Thousand. Then, last week, we learned that right after the Feeding of the Five Thousand, Jesus put the disciples back in the boat and told them to go back to the other side while He dismissed the crowds. The disciples ended up spending the entire night crossing the sea because of a brutal head wind. It was almost dawn when Jesus came walking to them on the water and they finally made it to the other side. The verses after that tell us that some early risers recognized Jesus and woke up the neighborhood and the crowds gathered as soon as they landed. Then the Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem and Jesus had to have a debate with them. Basically, it has been almost two days without sleep and a night full of hard labor since Jesus first decided that the disciples needed a break. If they needed a break then, they really need a break now.
The portion of the Gospel that we heard today informs us that Jesus finally took the disciples completely out of Jewish territory. “Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.” (Matthew 15:21) Tyre and Sidon are two cities on the Mediterranean coast in the territory of Phoenicia. This means that Jesus has taken the disciples about a day’s journey into the Gentile territory north of Galilee. Perhaps there, in Gentile territory, completely outside the borders of Galilee, they can finally get some rest and deal with the death of John the Baptist.
Well, not so much. Behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” (Matthew 15:22) What would you think if you were one of the disciples under those circumstances? I’d be thinking, “Oh no! Not again!” At first, it seems as if even Jesus is thinking that way. For the Gospel said He did not answer her a word. (Matthew 15:23) It almost seems as if Jesus is hoping that if He ignores her, she will go away.
Notice that the text does not say that she cried. It says that she was crying. This means that she continually repeated her prayer, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” Over and over again, she repeated this prayer. She was getting on the disciples’ nerves. His disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” (Matthew 15:23) It is as if the disciples were saying, “Look Jesus, we’ve seen this kind of woman before. She is not going to give us any peace until you answer her one way or the other. Just drive out the demon. She will go away, and we can get some peace.”
Jesus knew something about this woman that the neither the disciples nor even the woman knew. He knew that somewhere along the line, someone had told this woman who He was. The Holy Spirit used this information to create faith in this woman. She referred to Jesus as the Son of David. This meant that she believed that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus saw a great and beautiful faith in this woman. Jesus wanted the woman, the disciples, and you to know how strong this faith was. Since only God can look at the heart, Jesus set up a few tests to demonstrate the strength of the faith in this woman.
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24) Although Jesus was speaking to the disciples, I am certain that the woman heard what He said. Take a moment to put yourself in the woman’s shoes. Jesus has just said, “I was sent to the Jews. You are a Gentile. Too bad for you!” Be honest! Would you be angry? Would you be crushed? How would you respond?
But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” (Matthew 15:25) This woman ran in front of Jesus and fell before Him so that He almost tripped over her. Then she kept right on praying, “Lord, help me.” The faith that the Holy Spirit has given this woman will not be denied.
But Jesus knew there was even more to this woman’s faith. This time He spoke directly to the woman and he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” (Matthew 15:26) I’ll tell you right now that calling a woman a dog was no more of a complement back then than it is today. Again, how would you respond if Jesus called you a dog? Be honest.
She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” (Matthew 15:27) This woman took Jesus at His word. “Yes, Lord, if you say that I am a dog, then I must be a dog. But ya’know, even the dogs get to eat the crumbs that fall. If you give me a crumb, it will be enough.” She knew that even a crumb from Jesus would be enough to drive out the demon.
I’m pretty sure that didn’t have fist pumps in the first century, but if Jesus were around to day, He would go, “YES!” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. (Matthew 15:28)
It is interesting that a few verses before today’s Gospel, Jesus was debating with Pharisees and scribes … some of the best educated people in the area. Jesus simply tore their case apart. Now here is this Gentile woman … probably uneducated, and she won her debate with Jesus. The Holy Spirit had given this woman faith to move mountains. Jesus put up some serious blockades and this woman’s faith knocked them aside as though they were soap bubbles on a light breeze. Now this woman could praise God for the wonderful faith He had given to her. She knew it. The disciples knew it. The Holy Spirit inspired Matthew to record this account so that you would know it too.
Why is it so important for you to know about this woman’s faith? Remember that Matthew’s Gospel was originally written for Jewish converts to the faith. There was a great controversy in the early church. Many people believed that you had to convert to Judaism before you could become a Christian. The Gospel according to Matthew regularly puts that idea to rest. Matthew regularly recorded the faith of Gentiles throughout His Gospel account … the magi, Roman Centurions, the woman in today’s reading, and other Gentiles show that salvation is for all people in all places and times.
A Canaanite woman is about as Gentile as you can get. The Canaanites were on the list of people that the Israelites had to drive out of Canaan as the Lord said through His servant Moses, “You shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the LORD your God has commanded.” (Deuteronomy 20:17) If a Canaanite woman can have the faith that causes Jesus to say, “O woman, great is your faith!” then that faith is for you too. The Holy Spirit can work saving faith in anyone. Here “there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.” (Colossians 3:11)
The Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write, “It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.” (Romans 9:8) With these words, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the true Israel is not based on genetics, but faith in the promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation that we have in Jesus Christ. This woman has demonstrated that the Holy Spirit has given her a great faith. Jesus acknowledged her faith and in so doing proclaimed that, although she was a Gentile genetically, by grace she is a child of Abraham – one of the lost sheep of Israel.
Jesus loved this woman deeply. He loved her enough to suffer the offense of living among sinners and interacting with them even though He never sinned. He loved her enough to suffer an unjust trial and cruel physical torture. He loved her enough to lift up her sins and carry them to the cross. With His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death He earned a place for her at the table with the rest of the children of God. She now waits with Jesus for the Last Day. On that day Jesus will raise her body from the grave just as Jesus Himself rose from the dead. On that day, she will join the true and eternal Israel at the wedding feast of the Lamb. She does not deserve this, but she has it because Christ earned it for her.
Like the Canaanite woman, we do not deserve to be at the table of the Lamb. Nevertheless, the Lamb offers His table to us. Not only did Jesus sacrifice Himself to earn eternal life for this woman, but He also did that for you. When the Holy Spirit plants faith in you, He makes you a part of the true, eternal Israel … the Holy Christian Church. He cleanses you with the blood of Jesus and covers you with righteousness. You deserve none of it, but it is all yours because the Holy Lord, Jesus Christ earned it for you. You also have a place at the table with the rest of God’s children. It is all yours by grace through faith in the crucified and risen Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church - Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 15A) - 20 August 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
O Lord, bless this congregation and church. Grant that it may be a house of prayer and we a people of prayer. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, grant that the Church may steadfastly proclaim Your irrevocable gifts and calling, that the disobedient may receive mercy and that those who hear would become grafted onto Jesus Christ, the true vine. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, bless all honest work and occupations, and grant that we may use well the fruits of our labors. Give us generosity for those in need. Bless the tithes and offerings that accompany our sacrifice of praise. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, grant that the government and those who protect us might keep justice and do righteousness for Your name’s sake and according to Your will. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, care for those who cry to You, whether beset with grief, sorrow, pain or trouble [especially _____________]. Be pleased for Christ’s sake to answer them according to Your will. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, bless all who are about to receive Christ’s body and blood from this altar. Grant that these crumbs from Your table may strengthen us in faith and love, united with You and our neighbors. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
All these things and whatever else You know that we need, grant us, Father, for the sake of Him who died and rose again and now lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Offering Prayer
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, for the countless blessings You so freely bestow on us and all creation. Above all, we give thanks for Your boundless love shown to us when You sent Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into our flesh and laid on Him our sin, giving Him into death that we might not die eternally. Because He is now risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity, all who believe in Him will overcome sin and death and will rise again to new life. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Prayer of Thanksgiving
P Blessed are You, O Lord our God, king of all creation, for You have had mercy on us and given Your only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
In Your righteous judgment You condemned the sin of Adam and Eve, who ate the forbidden fruit, and You justly barred them and all their children from the tree of life. Yet, in Your great mercy, You promised salvation by a second Adam, Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and made His cross a life-giving tree for all who trust in Him.
We give You thanks for the redemption You have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may faithfully eat and drink of the fruits of His cross and receive the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation that come to us in His body and blood.
Hear us as we pray in His name and as He has taught us:
Lord’s Prayer
C 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.
The Words of Our Lord
P Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My T body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”
In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My T blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
Pax Domini
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C Amen.
Agnus Dei LSB 210
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
832 “Jesus Shall Reign”
1 Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does its successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
2 To Him shall endless prayer be made,
And endless praises crown His head;
His name like sweet perfume shall rise
With ev’ry morning sacrifice.
3 People and realms of ev’ry tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His name.
4 Blessings abound where’er He reigns:
The pris’ners leap, unloose their chains,
The weary find eternal rest,
And all who suffer want are blest.
5 Let ev’ry creature rise and bring
Honors peculiar to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud amen.
Text: Isaac Watts, 1674–1748, alt.
Text: Public domain
770 “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”
1 What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit;
Oh, what needless pain we bear--
All because we do not carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!
2 Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged--
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our ev’ry weakness--
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
3 Are we weak and heavy laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge--
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee;
Thou wilt find a solace there.
Text: Joseph M. Scriven, 1819–86
Text: Public domain
Stand
Nunc Dimittis
Post-Communion Collect
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benedicamus
A Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Benediction
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and T give you peace.
C Amen.
Closing Hymn: 936 “Sing Praise to the God of Israel”
1 Sing praise to the God of Israel!
Sing praise for His visitation!
Redeeming His people from their sin,
Accomplishing their salvation,
Upraising a mighty horn within
The house of His servant David!
2 God spoke by the prophets long ago,
His promise on oath recalling--
To Abraham made in former years:
Of vanquishing foes appalling,
That those He delivered from their fears
Might gladly and truly serve Him.
3 You, child, will go on before the Lord
As prophet, His way preparing;
To speak on behalf of God Most High,
His counsel of truth declaring:
Rich mercy and grace for all whereby
Iniquity is forgiven.
4 O bright, rising Sun, now shine on us
In need of illumination;
Come scatter the shades of sin and death
And shatter their domination.
Be guiding our footsteps on the path
Of peace, in Your presence dawning!
Text: Stephen P. Starke, 1955
Text: © 1992 Stephen P. Starke, admin. Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing House.
AUGUST 13, 2023
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 6, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Howard Holman
Acolyte Becca Potts
Organist Fred Weber
Communion Preparation Jeri Bliss
Ushers Lynn Tallman, Wayne Helley, Steve
Broach
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here at the church.
A MEMORIAL SERVICE is scheduled for Cheriese Vega, daughter of Coleen and Lynn Tallman, this Saturday, August 12th at 11 a.m., followed by a light luncheon. In lieu of flowers, donations to the American Cancer Society would be appreciated.
WHAT DOES THE GREATEST COMMAND HINGE UPON?
Love. What will be the defining characteristic of followers of Jesus? Love. What will never pass away, even after faith and hope are gone? Love. Love is the mark of the disciple. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Not our Bible knowledge. Not our fasting. Not our stance on public issues. Those things are important indeed, but according to Jesus, the defining mark of Christian discipleship is love. It makes sense, then, that Christians should not only be marked by love, but that Christians should be growing in love.
And when I am oppressed, beat down, By devil, world, and flesh,
His Supper does with grace abound, His blood shall e’er refresh.
[sung to the tune of “Amazing Grace”]
Trust in the Lord;
don’t lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 6, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 895 “Now Thank We All Our God”
1 Now thank we all our God
With hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done,
In whom His world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms
Has blest us on our way
With countless gifts of love
And still is ours today.
2 Oh, may this bounteous God
Through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts
And blessèd peace to cheer us
And keep us in His grace
And guide us when perplexed
And free us from all ills
In this world and the next!
D 3 All praise and thanks to God
The Father now be given,
The Son, and Him who reigns
With them in highest heaven,
The one eternal God,
Whom earth and heav’n adore;
For thus it was, is now,
And shall be evermore.
Text: Martin Rinckart, 1586–1649; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
L O Lord, open my lips,
C [spoken] and my mouth will declare Your praise.
L Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
C [spoken] make haste to help me, O Lord.
C [spoken] Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Praise to You, O Christ. Alleluia.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C [spoken] O come, let us worship Him.
Venite [sung] LSB 220
C O come, let us sing to the Lord,
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving,
let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise.
For the Lord is a great God
and a great king above all gods.
The deep places of the earth are in His hand;
the strength of the hills is His also.
The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hand formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our maker.
For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C [spoken] O come, let us worship Him.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 55:1–5
L A reading from Isaiah, chapter 55.
1“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
2Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
3Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
4Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
5Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.”
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Epistle Reading Romans 9:1–5
L A reading from Romans, chapter 9.
1I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Gospel Reading Matthew 14:13–21
L A reading from Matthew, chapter 14.
13Now when Jesus heard [about the death of John], he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Responsory LSB 221
L Forever, O Lord, Your Word is firmly set in the heavens.
C [spoken] Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.
C [spoken] Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
C [spoken] Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
Sit
Hymn: 774 “Feed Thy Children, God Most Holy”
1 Feed Thy children, God most holy;
Comfort sinners poor and lowly.
O Thou Bread of Life from heaven,
Bless the food Thou here hast given!
As these gifts the body nourish,
May our souls in graces flourish
Till with saints in heav’nly splendor
At Thy feast due thanks we render.
Text: Johann Heermann, 1585–1647; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941
Text: © 1941 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Sermon “Time to Eat!” Matthew 14:13-21
Time to Eat! - Matthew 14:13-21
The disciples needed a break. The verses that precede today’s Gospel tell us about the death of John the Baptist. The preceding verses also tell us that Jesus and His disciples had been insanely busy for quite some time. They were all tired. It made sense to get away in the wilderness on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They needed to grieve for John and they needed to take a breather from their heavy work load. Now-a-days, we might say they needed to get away and recharge their batteries.
The crowds had other ideas. As they watched Jesus and His disciples pull away from the shore it didn’t take them long to figure out their destination. They did a quick march around the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. When Jesus arrived at the other shore, the crowds were already starting to arrive. They wanted more teaching from Jesus. Matthew described the situation as Jesus stepped out of the boat in this way: “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” (Matthew 14:14) As Jesus came ashore, we see the kingdom of Heaven at work as God reigns through Jesus to heal the sick … to reverse the corruption that sin brought into this world.
As Jesus filled the spiritual emptiness of the crowd, the day wore on. Soon, the disciples began to think about the physical emptiness of the crowd. They came to Jesus and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” (Matthew 14:15) This request indicates that the disciples didn’t expect Jesus Himself to do anything for the crowds.
Of course, Jesus knew there was no need to send the people away and He said so: “They need not go away; …” (Matthew 14:16) But then Jesus said, “… you give them something to eat.” (Matthew 14:16) What did Jesus mean when He said, “… you give them something to eat?” The disciples responded as though Jesus expected them to feed the crowds from their own resources. They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” (Matthew 14:17) They did not yet understand that when Jesus asks for the impossible, He has a plan to show that nothing will be impossible with God. (Luke 1:37)
Jesus instructed the people to arrange themselves in an orderly fashion. The text tells us there were 5,000 men plus women and children. The people would naturally arrange themselves in families. Then, as though they were all part of His family, God the Son gave thanks to God the Father. He then gave the food to His disciples. His disciples gave the food to the fathers. The fathers gave the food to their families. All ate and all were satisfied. Jesus had instructed His disciples to feed the people and then He provided the food so that the people could eat their fill.
The events in today’s Gospel give us another example of Jesus caring for His people, but they are more than that. As we study the events of this miracle, we also see the model of how God serves His people. This model of God’s service to us is everywhere in our lives. It is so pervasive that we don’t even notice unless someone calls our attention to it.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus worked through His disciples to fill thousands of empty stomachs. Today, He feeds us through farmers, wholesalers, grocers, and the people who transport our food from place to place. Jesus healed the people in the crowd. Today, Jesus gives the gift of healing to people who go to school and become doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and so forth. When we look for God at work in our lives, we find people in their vocations serving us as they bring God’s gifts into our lives.
Luther puts it even more strongly: “Vocations are ‘masks of God.’ On the surface, we see an ordinary human face … our mother, the doctor, the teacher, the waitress, our pastor … but, beneath the appearances, God is ministering to us through them.” God is hidden in human vocations.
In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Martin Luther asked the question, “What is meant by daily bread?” He answered with these words: “Everything that belongs to the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, field, cattle, money, goods, a pious spouse, pious children, pious servants, pious and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.” Jesus regularly works through people to bring us the things we need. All the people who bring God’s daily bread to us are God’s answer to this petition.
Just as Jesus delivers daily bread through people, He also delivers His salvation through people.
Jesus earned our salvation by bearing the punishment of our sin when He hung on the cross. As He hung on the cross, He took away our sin and gave us His righteousness. He has promised to give us eternal life with Him and His resurrection from the dead is the sign that He keeps all His promises. The only problem is that He hung on that cross and rose from the dead outside of Jerusalem almost two thousand years ago. How does He get His forgiveness and the promise of eternal life from first century Jerusalem to twenty-first century Auburn?
Jesus gave His eternal gifts to His servants, the Apostles. The Apostles gave the gifts to us in their writings … the book that we know as the Bible. The church has passed this down from generation to generation. People have died so that we can have the writings of the prophets and apostles and it is through those writings that Jesus Christ passes His gifts on to us … the gifts that He earned for us on the cross … the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation.
When fathers teach their children to pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” they are taking the very forgiveness that Jesus earned for them on the cross and giving it to their children. When pastors pour water on us according to Christ’s command, they are giving Jesus Himself along with the water. When pastors bless the bread and wine according to Christ’s command, they are giving us the very body and blood of Jesus Himself along with those elements. God reigns through these simple actions and because God reigns, His kingdom is here. As Jesus Himself often preached, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
When the disciples reminded Jesus that the people had been with them for a long time and might be hungry, Jesus said, “… you give them something to eat.” (Matthew 14:16) Jesus asked the disciples to do something that they could not do. Nevertheless, “nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37) Jesus performed the miracle that they needed to fulfill His instructions. Then, as they fulfilled His instructions by distributing the food, He gave them the privilege of participating in the miracle. As we hear the account of this miracle, we not only hear one more proof that Jesus is indeed true God, but we also hear about the model of God serving His people.
I recall one pastor serving a rural congregation once saying, “the next time you are stuck in traffic behind a slow-moving piece of farm equipment, remember that that is God at work making sure that you are getting the food you need to sustain your life. In fact, there are farmers right now raising the wheat that will be ground into flour that will be used to make those bland little wafers that the pastor blesses … those bland little wafers that transport the risen Christ into your mouth. God has a habit of working through the ordinary in order to give us His extraordinary gifts.” Amen
Canticle: 941 “We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God”
1 We praise You and acknowledge You, O God, to be the Lord,
The Father everlasting, by all the earth adored.
To You all angel powers cry aloud, the heavens sing,
The cherubim and seraphim their praises to You bring:
“O holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth;
Your majesty and glory fill the heavens and the earth!”
2 The band of the apostles in glory sing Your praise;
The fellowship of prophets their deathless voices raise.
The martyrs of Your kingdom, a great and noble throng,
Sing with the holy Church throughout all the world this song:
“O all-majestic Father, Your true and only Son,
And Holy Spirit, Comforter—forever Three in One!”
3 You, Christ, are King of glory, the everlasting Son,
Yet You, with boundless love, sought to rescue ev’ryone:
You laid aside Your glory, were born of virgin’s womb,
Were crucified for us and were placed into a tomb;
Then by Your resurrection You won for us reprieve--
You opened heaven’s kingdom to all who would believe.
4 You sit in splendid glory, enthroned at God’s right hand,
Upholding earth and heaven by forces You command.
We know that You will come as our Judge that final day,
So help Your servants You have redeemed by blood, we pray;
May we with saints be numbered where praises never end,
In glory everlasting. Amen, O Lord, amen!
Text: Stephen P. Starke, 1955
Text: © 1999 Stephen P. Starke, admin. Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church - Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 13A) - 6 August 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Father, Your steadfast love is gracious and overflowing. Teach Your people to look to You in every need; to be thankful for everything that You give them; and to know that no danger, trouble or hardship can ever separate them from Your love in Christ Jesus. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father, we give You thanks that You have blessed us beyond what we deserve and given to us Your Church. Bless all pastors and church workers in their service to us in Your name, and bless those now considering and preparing for church work. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father, Your Son miraculously fed the 5,000 and satisfied them. We thank You for all You provide to support our bodies and lives. Make us content with what You give, that we may not covet or turn elsewhere for what comes from Your hand alone. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father, we are richly and daily surrounded with Your love and care. Give us eyes to see Your mercies new every morning, and grant us grateful hearts, that what we have received we may generously share with the needy and Your Church. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father, daily You bless us with abundance and freedom. Bless those who defend us from our enemies, who serve us in government and who protect us in our communities. Be with our president, Congress, our governor, and our judges and magistrates, that they may discern the right path and lead us with honor and integrity. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father, visit us in Your compassion. Deliver the sick from their infirmity, the troubled from their afflictions, the grieving from their sorrow and the dying from their fear [especially _____________]. May all who cry to You receive grace according to Your will. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father, Your steadfast love and mercy are forever, but our faith is daily tested and tempted. Give us strength and endurance, that we may not despair but have confidence in Your sufficient grace within Your Word and Sacraments. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, let us seek You while You may be found, call upon You in the day of salvation and be prepared by Your mercy for the day of judgment; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Kyrie
C [spoken] Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy.
Stand
Celebration of Holy Communion
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy
Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Communion Liturgy
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
C For His mercy endures forever.
Words of Institution
Lord’s Prayer
C 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
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C And also with you.
Sit
Communion Distribution and Hymns:
641 “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart”
ref You satisfy the hungry heart
With gift of finest wheat.
Come give to us, O saving Lord,
The bread of life to eat.
1 As when the shepherd calls his sheep,
They know and heed his voice;
So when You call Your fam’ly, Lord,
We follow and rejoice. Refrain
2 With joyful lips we sing to You
Our praise and gratitude
That You should count us worthy, Lord,
To share this heav’nly food. Refrain
3 Is not the cup we bless and share
The blood of Christ outpoured?
Do not one cup, one loaf, declare
Our oneness in the Lord? Refrain
4 The myst’ry of Your presence, Lord,
No mortal tongue can tell:
Whom all the world cannot contain
Comes in our hearts to dwell. Refrain
5 You give Yourself to us, O Lord;
Then selfless let us be,
To serve each other in Your name
In truth and charity. Refrain
Text: Omer E. Westendorf, 1916–97
Text: © 1977 Archdiocese of Philadelphia, admin. International Liturgy Publications. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
618 “I Come, O Savior, to Thy Table”
1 I come, O Savior, to Thy table,
For weak and weary is my soul;
Thou, Bread of Life, alone art able
To satisfy and make me whole: Refrain
ref Lord, may Thy body and Thy blood
Be for my soul the highest good!
2 Thy heart is filled with fervent yearning
That sinners may salvation see
Who, Lord, to Thee in faith are turning;
So I, a sinner, come to Thee. Refrain
3 Unworthy though I am, O Savior,
Because I have a sinful heart,
Yet Thou Thy lamb wilt banish never,
For Thou my faithful shepherd art: Refrain
4 Weary am I and heavy laden;
With sin my soul is sore oppressed;
Receive me graciously and gladden
My heart, for I am now Thy guest. Refrain
5 What higher gift can we inherit?
It is faith’s bond and solid base;
It is the strength of heart and spirit,
The covenant of hope and grace. Refrain
Text: Friedrich Christian Heyder, 1677–1754; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, abr.
Text: © 1941 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Stand
Collects
L O Lord, hear my prayer.
C And let my cry come to You.
Collect of the Day
Heavenly Father, though we do not deserve Your goodness, still You provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may acknowledge Your gifts, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Collect for Grace
L O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, You have safely brought us to the beginning of this day. Defend us in the same with Your mighty power and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger, but that all our doings, being ordered by Your governance, may be righteous in Your sight; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benedicamus
L Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Benediction
P The grace of our Lord T Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C Amen.
Closing Hymn: 919 “Abide, O Dearest Jesus”
1 Abide, O dearest Jesus,
Among us with Your grace
That Satan may not harm us
Nor we to sin give place.
2 Abide, O dear Redeemer,
Among us with Your Word,
And thus now and hereafter
True peace and joy afford.
3 Abide with heav’nly brightness
Among us, precious Light;
Your truth direct and keep us
From error’s gloomy night.
4 Abide with richest blessings
Among us, bounteous Lord;
Let us in grace and wisdom
Grow daily through Your Word.
5 Abide with Your protection
Among us, Lord, our strength,
Lest world and Satan fell us
And overcome at length.
6 Abide, O faithful Savior,
Among us with Your love;
Grant steadfastness and help us
To reach our home above.
Text: Josua Stegmann, 1588–1632; tr. August Crull, 1845–1923, alt.
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Matins 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost – August 6, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Howard Holman
Acolyte Becca Potts
Organist Fred Weber
Communion Preparation Jeri Bliss
Ushers Lynn Tallman, Wayne Helley, Steve
Broach
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here at the church.
A MEMORIAL SERVICE is scheduled for Cheriese Vega, daughter of Coleen and Lynn Tallman, this Saturday, August 12th at 11 a.m., followed by a light luncheon. In lieu of flowers, donations to the American Cancer Society would be appreciated.
WHAT DOES THE GREATEST COMMAND HINGE UPON?
Love. What will be the defining characteristic of followers of Jesus? Love. What will never pass away, even after faith and hope are gone? Love. Love is the mark of the disciple. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Not our Bible knowledge. Not our fasting. Not our stance on public issues. Those things are important indeed, but according to Jesus, the defining mark of Christian discipleship is love. It makes sense, then, that Christians should not only be marked by love, but that Christians should be growing in love.
And when I am oppressed, beat down, By devil, world, and flesh,
His Supper does with grace abound, His blood shall e’er refresh.
[sung to the tune of “Amazing Grace”]
Trust in the Lord;
don’t lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 6, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 895 “Now Thank We All Our God”
1 Now thank we all our God
With hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done,
In whom His world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms
Has blest us on our way
With countless gifts of love
And still is ours today.
2 Oh, may this bounteous God
Through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts
And blessèd peace to cheer us
And keep us in His grace
And guide us when perplexed
And free us from all ills
In this world and the next!
D 3 All praise and thanks to God
The Father now be given,
The Son, and Him who reigns
With them in highest heaven,
The one eternal God,
Whom earth and heav’n adore;
For thus it was, is now,
And shall be evermore.
Text: Martin Rinckart, 1586–1649; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain
L O Lord, open my lips,
C [spoken] and my mouth will declare Your praise.
L Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
C [spoken] make haste to help me, O Lord.
C [spoken] Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Praise to You, O Christ. Alleluia.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C [spoken] O come, let us worship Him.
Venite [sung] LSB 220
C O come, let us sing to the Lord,
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving,
let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise.
For the Lord is a great God
and a great king above all gods.
The deep places of the earth are in His hand;
the strength of the hills is His also.
The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hand formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our maker.
For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C [spoken] O come, let us worship Him.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 55:1–5
L A reading from Isaiah, chapter 55.
1“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
2Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
3Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
4Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
5Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,
and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.”
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Epistle Reading Romans 9:1–5
L A reading from Romans, chapter 9.
1I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Gospel Reading Matthew 14:13–21
L A reading from Matthew, chapter 14.
13Now when Jesus heard [about the death of John], he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Responsory LSB 221
L Forever, O Lord, Your Word is firmly set in the heavens.
C [spoken] Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.
C [spoken] Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
C [spoken] Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
Sit
Hymn: 774 “Feed Thy Children, God Most Holy”
1 Feed Thy children, God most holy;
Comfort sinners poor and lowly.
O Thou Bread of Life from heaven,
Bless the food Thou here hast given!
As these gifts the body nourish,
May our souls in graces flourish
Till with saints in heav’nly splendor
At Thy feast due thanks we render.
Text: Johann Heermann, 1585–1647; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941
Text: © 1941 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Sermon “Time to Eat!” Matthew 14:13-21
Time to Eat! - Matthew 14:13-21
The disciples needed a break. The verses that precede today’s Gospel tell us about the death of John the Baptist. The preceding verses also tell us that Jesus and His disciples had been insanely busy for quite some time. They were all tired. It made sense to get away in the wilderness on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They needed to grieve for John and they needed to take a breather from their heavy work load. Now-a-days, we might say they needed to get away and recharge their batteries.
The crowds had other ideas. As they watched Jesus and His disciples pull away from the shore it didn’t take them long to figure out their destination. They did a quick march around the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. When Jesus arrived at the other shore, the crowds were already starting to arrive. They wanted more teaching from Jesus. Matthew described the situation as Jesus stepped out of the boat in this way: “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” (Matthew 14:14) As Jesus came ashore, we see the kingdom of Heaven at work as God reigns through Jesus to heal the sick … to reverse the corruption that sin brought into this world.
As Jesus filled the spiritual emptiness of the crowd, the day wore on. Soon, the disciples began to think about the physical emptiness of the crowd. They came to Jesus and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” (Matthew 14:15) This request indicates that the disciples didn’t expect Jesus Himself to do anything for the crowds.
Of course, Jesus knew there was no need to send the people away and He said so: “They need not go away; …” (Matthew 14:16) But then Jesus said, “… you give them something to eat.” (Matthew 14:16) What did Jesus mean when He said, “… you give them something to eat?” The disciples responded as though Jesus expected them to feed the crowds from their own resources. They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” (Matthew 14:17) They did not yet understand that when Jesus asks for the impossible, He has a plan to show that nothing will be impossible with God. (Luke 1:37)
Jesus instructed the people to arrange themselves in an orderly fashion. The text tells us there were 5,000 men plus women and children. The people would naturally arrange themselves in families. Then, as though they were all part of His family, God the Son gave thanks to God the Father. He then gave the food to His disciples. His disciples gave the food to the fathers. The fathers gave the food to their families. All ate and all were satisfied. Jesus had instructed His disciples to feed the people and then He provided the food so that the people could eat their fill.
The events in today’s Gospel give us another example of Jesus caring for His people, but they are more than that. As we study the events of this miracle, we also see the model of how God serves His people. This model of God’s service to us is everywhere in our lives. It is so pervasive that we don’t even notice unless someone calls our attention to it.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus worked through His disciples to fill thousands of empty stomachs. Today, He feeds us through farmers, wholesalers, grocers, and the people who transport our food from place to place. Jesus healed the people in the crowd. Today, Jesus gives the gift of healing to people who go to school and become doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and so forth. When we look for God at work in our lives, we find people in their vocations serving us as they bring God’s gifts into our lives.
Luther puts it even more strongly: “Vocations are ‘masks of God.’ On the surface, we see an ordinary human face … our mother, the doctor, the teacher, the waitress, our pastor … but, beneath the appearances, God is ministering to us through them.” God is hidden in human vocations.
In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Martin Luther asked the question, “What is meant by daily bread?” He answered with these words: “Everything that belongs to the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, field, cattle, money, goods, a pious spouse, pious children, pious servants, pious and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.” Jesus regularly works through people to bring us the things we need. All the people who bring God’s daily bread to us are God’s answer to this petition.
Just as Jesus delivers daily bread through people, He also delivers His salvation through people.
Jesus earned our salvation by bearing the punishment of our sin when He hung on the cross. As He hung on the cross, He took away our sin and gave us His righteousness. He has promised to give us eternal life with Him and His resurrection from the dead is the sign that He keeps all His promises. The only problem is that He hung on that cross and rose from the dead outside of Jerusalem almost two thousand years ago. How does He get His forgiveness and the promise of eternal life from first century Jerusalem to twenty-first century Auburn?
Jesus gave His eternal gifts to His servants, the Apostles. The Apostles gave the gifts to us in their writings … the book that we know as the Bible. The church has passed this down from generation to generation. People have died so that we can have the writings of the prophets and apostles and it is through those writings that Jesus Christ passes His gifts on to us … the gifts that He earned for us on the cross … the gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation.
When fathers teach their children to pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” they are taking the very forgiveness that Jesus earned for them on the cross and giving it to their children. When pastors pour water on us according to Christ’s command, they are giving Jesus Himself along with the water. When pastors bless the bread and wine according to Christ’s command, they are giving us the very body and blood of Jesus Himself along with those elements. God reigns through these simple actions and because God reigns, His kingdom is here. As Jesus Himself often preached, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
When the disciples reminded Jesus that the people had been with them for a long time and might be hungry, Jesus said, “… you give them something to eat.” (Matthew 14:16) Jesus asked the disciples to do something that they could not do. Nevertheless, “nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37) Jesus performed the miracle that they needed to fulfill His instructions. Then, as they fulfilled His instructions by distributing the food, He gave them the privilege of participating in the miracle. As we hear the account of this miracle, we not only hear one more proof that Jesus is indeed true God, but we also hear about the model of God serving His people.
I recall one pastor serving a rural congregation once saying, “the next time you are stuck in traffic behind a slow-moving piece of farm equipment, remember that that is God at work making sure that you are getting the food you need to sustain your life. In fact, there are farmers right now raising the wheat that will be ground into flour that will be used to make those bland little wafers that the pastor blesses … those bland little wafers that transport the risen Christ into your mouth. God has a habit of working through the ordinary in order to give us His extraordinary gifts.” Amen
Canticle: 941 “We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God”
1 We praise You and acknowledge You, O God, to be the Lord,
The Father everlasting, by all the earth adored.
To You all angel powers cry aloud, the heavens sing,
The cherubim and seraphim their praises to You bring:
“O holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth;
Your majesty and glory fill the heavens and the earth!”
2 The band of the apostles in glory sing Your praise;
The fellowship of prophets their deathless voices raise.
The martyrs of Your kingdom, a great and noble throng,
Sing with the holy Church throughout all the world this song:
“O all-majestic Father, Your true and only Son,
And Holy Spirit, Comforter—forever Three in One!”
3 You, Christ, are King of glory, the everlasting Son,
Yet You, with boundless love, sought to rescue ev’ryone:
You laid aside Your glory, were born of virgin’s womb,
Were crucified for us and were placed into a tomb;
Then by Your resurrection You won for us reprieve--
You opened heaven’s kingdom to all who would believe.
4 You sit in splendid glory, enthroned at God’s right hand,
Upholding earth and heaven by forces You command.
We know that You will come as our Judge that final day,
So help Your servants You have redeemed by blood, we pray;
May we with saints be numbered where praises never end,
In glory everlasting. Amen, O Lord, amen!
Text: Stephen P. Starke, 1955
Text: © 1999 Stephen P. Starke, admin. Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Offering Prayer
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church - Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 13A) - 6 August 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Father, Your steadfast love is gracious and overflowing. Teach Your people to look to You in every need; to be thankful for everything that You give them; and to know that no danger, trouble or hardship can ever separate them from Your love in Christ Jesus. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father, we give You thanks that You have blessed us beyond what we deserve and given to us Your Church. Bless all pastors and church workers in their service to us in Your name, and bless those now considering and preparing for church work. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father, Your Son miraculously fed the 5,000 and satisfied them. We thank You for all You provide to support our bodies and lives. Make us content with what You give, that we may not covet or turn elsewhere for what comes from Your hand alone. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father, we are richly and daily surrounded with Your love and care. Give us eyes to see Your mercies new every morning, and grant us grateful hearts, that what we have received we may generously share with the needy and Your Church. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father, daily You bless us with abundance and freedom. Bless those who defend us from our enemies, who serve us in government and who protect us in our communities. Be with our president, Congress, our governor, and our judges and magistrates, that they may discern the right path and lead us with honor and integrity. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father, visit us in Your compassion. Deliver the sick from their infirmity, the troubled from their afflictions, the grieving from their sorrow and the dying from their fear [especially _____________]. May all who cry to You receive grace according to Your will. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Father, Your steadfast love and mercy are forever, but our faith is daily tested and tempted. Give us strength and endurance, that we may not despair but have confidence in Your sufficient grace within Your Word and Sacraments. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, let us seek You while You may be found, call upon You in the day of salvation and be prepared by Your mercy for the day of judgment; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Kyrie
C [spoken] Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy.
Stand
Celebration of Holy Communion
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy
Spirit.
C Amen.
P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Communion Liturgy
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
C For His mercy endures forever.
Words of Institution
Lord’s Prayer
C 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
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C And also with you.
Sit
Communion Distribution and Hymns:
641 “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart”
ref You satisfy the hungry heart
With gift of finest wheat.
Come give to us, O saving Lord,
The bread of life to eat.
1 As when the shepherd calls his sheep,
They know and heed his voice;
So when You call Your fam’ly, Lord,
We follow and rejoice. Refrain
2 With joyful lips we sing to You
Our praise and gratitude
That You should count us worthy, Lord,
To share this heav’nly food. Refrain
3 Is not the cup we bless and share
The blood of Christ outpoured?
Do not one cup, one loaf, declare
Our oneness in the Lord? Refrain
4 The myst’ry of Your presence, Lord,
No mortal tongue can tell:
Whom all the world cannot contain
Comes in our hearts to dwell. Refrain
5 You give Yourself to us, O Lord;
Then selfless let us be,
To serve each other in Your name
In truth and charity. Refrain
Text: Omer E. Westendorf, 1916–97
Text: © 1977 Archdiocese of Philadelphia, admin. International Liturgy Publications. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
618 “I Come, O Savior, to Thy Table”
1 I come, O Savior, to Thy table,
For weak and weary is my soul;
Thou, Bread of Life, alone art able
To satisfy and make me whole: Refrain
ref Lord, may Thy body and Thy blood
Be for my soul the highest good!
2 Thy heart is filled with fervent yearning
That sinners may salvation see
Who, Lord, to Thee in faith are turning;
So I, a sinner, come to Thee. Refrain
3 Unworthy though I am, O Savior,
Because I have a sinful heart,
Yet Thou Thy lamb wilt banish never,
For Thou my faithful shepherd art: Refrain
4 Weary am I and heavy laden;
With sin my soul is sore oppressed;
Receive me graciously and gladden
My heart, for I am now Thy guest. Refrain
5 What higher gift can we inherit?
It is faith’s bond and solid base;
It is the strength of heart and spirit,
The covenant of hope and grace. Refrain
Text: Friedrich Christian Heyder, 1677–1754; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, abr.
Text: © 1941 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Stand
Collects
L O Lord, hear my prayer.
C And let my cry come to You.
Collect of the Day
Heavenly Father, though we do not deserve Your goodness, still You provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may acknowledge Your gifts, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Collect for Grace
L O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, You have safely brought us to the beginning of this day. Defend us in the same with Your mighty power and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger, but that all our doings, being ordered by Your governance, may be righteous in Your sight; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benedicamus
L Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Benediction
P The grace of our Lord T Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C Amen.
Closing Hymn: 919 “Abide, O Dearest Jesus”
1 Abide, O dearest Jesus,
Among us with Your grace
That Satan may not harm us
Nor we to sin give place.
2 Abide, O dear Redeemer,
Among us with Your Word,
And thus now and hereafter
True peace and joy afford.
3 Abide with heav’nly brightness
Among us, precious Light;
Your truth direct and keep us
From error’s gloomy night.
4 Abide with richest blessings
Among us, bounteous Lord;
Let us in grace and wisdom
Grow daily through Your Word.
5 Abide with Your protection
Among us, Lord, our strength,
Lest world and Satan fell us
And overcome at length.
6 Abide, O faithful Savior,
Among us with Your love;
Grant steadfastness and help us
To reach our home above.
Text: Josua Stegmann, 1588–1632; tr. August Crull, 1845–1923, alt.
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Matins 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost – July 30, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Gil McMillan
Lay Reader
Acolyte Sue Hullen
Organist Karen Broach
Communion Preparation Sonja Helley
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley,
Orville Harshbarger (honorary), Ted Smith
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here at the church.
A MEMORIAL SERVICE is scheduled for Cheriese Tallman on Saturday, August 12th at 11 a.m., followed by a light luncheon.
The Time Is Now
Eternity will not be long enough to thank Jesus for dying on the cross to save me. Eternity will not be long enough to thank a friend who introduced me to Jesus. But in eternity I will not be able to introduce anyone to Jesus - the time to do that is now. It is not a year from now. It is now! But with whom shall I do it?
The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost – July 30, 2023
PRESERVICE MUSIC AND RINGING OF THE CHURCH BELL
OPENING HYMN: 475, “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice and Sing”
INVOCATION, CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
P: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
ALL: Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Maker of all
things, Judge of all people, we admit and confess our sinful-
ness. We have turned away from you and from each other in
our thoughts, words, and actions. We do repent and are truly
sorry for our sins. Have mercy on us, kind Father, because of
the obedience of our Brother, Jesus Christ, your Son. Forgive
us all that is past, renew us with the power of the Holy Spirit,
and move us to faithful service in the kingdom of Jesus Christ
our Lord.
P: God has promised forgiveness of sins to those who repent and turn to
Him. May He keep you in His grace by the Holy Spirit, lead you to
greater faith and obedience, and bring you to live with Him forever,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
C: Amen.
KYRIE [sung to the tune of the hymn Amazing Grace]
Have mercy on Your people, Lord.
Have mercy, Christ our King.
Renew us by Your mercy, Lord;
Accept the prayers we bring.
HYMN OF PRAISE [tune – Hark the Herald Angels Sing]
“Glory be to God on high.” This is now our joyful cry.
Peace to all who live on earth, Grace and favor for new birth.
You we praise and glorify, Worship You, O Lord most high.
Gracious Father, heav’nly King, To Your name alone we sing:
Praise the glory of Your name, Now and evermore the same.
Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, Sole-begotten, Holy One,
Born on earth from realms on high, Born true man for us to die,
Lamb of God, You take away This world’s sin: Grant peace we pray.
With the Spirit, You alone Are most high, O God the Son,
And the Father, God above. Praise we now Your glorious love.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Sit
FIRST LESSON Deuteronomy 7:6-9
6“You are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.”
EPISTLE LESSON Romans 8:28-39
28We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Stand
GOSPEL Matthew 13:44-52
44[Jesus said:] “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
Sit
SERMON HYMN: 654, “Your Kingdom, O God….”
SERMON “The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like…..” Matthew 13:44-52
The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like….. – Matthew 13:44-52
This morning, we heard Jesus tell four more parables. The challenge of these parables is that a couple of these parables do not have an obvious explanation. In fact, when Jesus finished the first three, He asked, “Have you understood all these things?” and They said to him, “Yes.” (Matthew 13:51) So it is entirely possible that Jesus never gave an interpretation of these parables. Now that would be all well and good if the meaning was as obvious to us as it was to the disciples. The problem is that the meanings of the first two parables that we heard today are not nearly as clear as we would like them to be.
The two parables are both very short, and the themes are similar: a man discovers something of great value and then sacrifices everything that he has in order to obtain the item of great value. In the first parable, the item of great value is a treasure. In the second, it is a precious pearl. Despite the simplicity of the two parables, faithful theologians have come up with two possible interpretations.
One interpretation is that the Kingdom of Heaven is the item of great value … the treasure … or the pearl. In this case, the parable teaches that we should be like the man or the merchant and give up everything to obtain the Kingdom of Heaven.
The other interpretation is that the Kingdom of Heaven is the main actor in the parable … the man or the merchant. In this case, both the treasure and the pearl represent the Holy Christian Church. The idea is that the Kingdom of Heaven suffered all in the person of Jesus Christ in order to redeem you … His treasure, His pearl of great price.
The fact that good, solid, faithful theologians can in all honesty come up with two valid, reasonable interpretations of these parables does illustrate one point. Unless the Bible itself gives the explanation to a parable, we should not base any teachings on parables. We can use parables to illustrate teachings that are clearly expressed in other parts of the Bible, but we should not rely on parables alone as a source for doctrine.
But what should we do with the parables that we heard from Jesus this morning? Although I do not have the intellectual horsepower of the great doctors of the church, I am going to give you something to think about when you hear these parables.
Jesus began the first of these parables and said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up.” (Matthew 13:44) This sounds like the Kingdom of Heaven is the treasure hidden in the field. In that case, Jesus is indeed illustrating that the Kingdom of Heaven is precious. In fact, it is so precious that Jesus went on to say, “Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44) This implies that there is no price that is too much to pay for the treasure of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Now this would be great if it weren’t for one important detail. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1–3) Because our sin has corrupted our human nature, we do not recognize the value of the Kingdom of Heaven. We are certainly not inclined to surrender everything in order to obtain it. And even if we wanted to obtain it, we are not able to pay the price required by so great a treasure. So, we are beyond hope.
But now we hear the second parable from the mouth of Jesus. This time, Jesus began and said, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.” (Matthew 13:45) In this parable, the Kingdom of Heaven is the merchant who searches for fine pearls. With this parable, Jesus portrays the Kingdom of Heaven as the one who does the searching. The Kingdom of Heaven is the Reign of God who searches for excellent pearls. But what are these excellent pearls for whom the Kingdom of Heaven searches? At another time, Jesus Himself said, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) In other words, you are the excellent pearl. In this second parable, Jesus is the merchant who sold all that he had … even his body to death on a cross … in order to obtain you … His precious Pearl.
So, although I do not have the intellectual horsepower of the great doctors of the church, I want you to consider the words of Jesus that we heard this morning. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.” (Matthew 13:44) In this parable, the Kingdom of Heaven is a precious treasure … beyond anything that we could pay. Nevertheless, in the second parable, Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.” (Matthew 13:45) In the second parable, the Kingdom of Heaven searches for you. You are the precious pearl for which Jesus Christ gave His all.
So, what difference does it make that you are the precious pearl of the Kingdom of Heaven? Well, that becomes apparent in the next parable.
The Parable of the Net makes it very clear what will happen to all people on Judgment Day. Jesus compared the people of this world to the contents of a net full of fish. Just as a net gathers up all things from the water so Judgment Day will gather up all things. Just as fishermen sort the contents of the net into trash and good fish, so God will send His angels to separate the evil from the righteous. The righteous are those who have the righteousness of Christ through the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith. They are God’s valuable treasure – His precious pearl. The evil are those who refuse the Holy Spirit’s gift and rely on their own righteousness for salvation. They may be valuable and precious in their own sight, but that means nothing in God’s eyes.
The Bible tells us that we are sinful creatures. The psalmist says, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5) From this we learn that we are sinners the instant we come into existence at conception. The prophet Isaiah says, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” (Isaiah 64:6) From this verse we learn that nothing we do in our lives can change our sinful status. The Apostle Paul tells us, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) From this we learn that no one can escape from this sinful condition.
From today’s parables, we learn that God still considers us precious in spite of our sinful condition. We learn that God will spare nothing to ransom us from this sinful condition. Instead, He will liquidate all His holdings in order to purchase and redeem us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. The Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Peter to write, “You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” (1 Peter 1:18–19) From this we learn that the holdings Christ liquidated were paid in the currency of His holy innocent blood … a shedding of blood into death.
We know that Christ’s payment was sufficient. He did not remain in the grave, but rose on the third day. His resurrection assures us who believe that we are indeed God’s treasure … His precious pearl. His resurrection assures us that we will also rise from the dead. It assures us that we as God’s precious people will enjoy heaven with Him forever. Amen
CREEDAL HYMN [tune – Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise]
In God we believe: the creator whose pow’r
In mercy has brought us for worship this hour.
He graciously grants us our years and our days
And blesses with kindness our work and our ways.
In Jesus, the Savior, our hope is secured,
True God and true man once the cross He endured,
To grant our lives wholeness, forgiveness of sin.
With hearts freed from guilt, we know true peace within.
God’s Spirit at work in our lives we confess;
With power and truth the Church now He does bless.
As saints, God’s forgiven, one day we shall then,
Be living in glory forever. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH/PRAYERS FOR HEALING
P: In our prayers we pray for the whole Church and the world, we lift
before God specific needs especially in our own parish, and we
remember and give thanks for the faithful departed….. Great God our
Healer, by Your power, the Lord Jesus healed the sick and gave hope
to the hopeless. In His name and for His sake,
C: look upon us with mercy and bless us with your healing Spirit.
P: Bring us comfort in the midst of pain, strength to transform our
weakness,
C: and light to illuminate our darkness.
P: Grant Your healing grace to all who are sick, injured, or disabled, that
they may be made whole; Lord in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Grant to all who are lonely, anxious, or despondent, the awareness of
Your presence; Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Mend broken relationships, and restore those in emotional distress to
soundness of mind and serenity of spirit; Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Bless physicians, nurses, and all others who minister to the suffering;
grant them wisdom and skill, sympathy and patience; Lord, in Your
mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Grant to the dying a peaceful, holy death, and with Your grace
strengthen those who mourn; Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Restore to wholeness whatever is broken in our lives, in this nation,
and in the world; Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Gracious God, in baptism You anointed us with the oil of salvation, and
joined us to the death and resurrection of Your Son. Bless all who seek
Your healing presence in their lives. In their suffering draw them more
deeply into the mystery of Your love, that following Christ in the way of
the cross they may know the power of His resurrection; who lives and
reigns forever and ever. Amen.
OFFERING PRAYER
[This will be shared after the offerings are presented at the altar.]
Stand
PREPARATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Lift up your hearts.
C: We lift them to the Lord.
P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C: It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P: It is truly good, right, and salutary…..evermore praising You and
saying:
SANCTUS [tune – Holy, Holy, Holy]
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty!
Day and night we join to praise Your love and majesty.
You alone are holy, worthy and righteous.
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty!
We rejoice to join the hymn of earth and sky and sea.
Generations praise You, with saints and angels,
Holy and bless’d through all eternity.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
LORD’S PRAYER
AGNUS DEI [tune – My Faith Looks Up to Thee]
O Lamb of God, we pray: Take all our sins away,
Our faith increase. Have mercy on us all,
Strengthen us when we fall,
Answer our fervent call And grant us peace.
Sit
DISTRIBUTION OF HOLY COMMUNION AND THE OPTIONAL ANOINTING WITH OIL [See explanation on page 8]
[Note: If you wish to be anointed with oil, please remain kneeling after pastor dismisses the communion table. You may then return to your seat after being anointed.]
DISTRIBUTION HYMNS:
644, “The Church’s One Foundation”
620, “Jesus Comes Today with Healing”
Stand
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER
BENEDICTION
P: Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
CLOSING HYMN: 923, “Almighty Father, Bless the Word”
+ spes mea Christus – My Hope is in Christ +
ANNOUNCEMENTS
POST-SERVICE MUSIC
REFRESHMENTS
BIBLE CLASSES FOR ADULTS AND CHILDREN
Anointing with Oil Oil was and is effective medicine. As Jesus shared the story of the Good Samaritan who bandaged wounds and poured oil on them in Luke 10:30-34, He also instructed His disciples to anoint and cure the ill (Mark 6:7,13). The extended Church and its elders [pastors] in James 5:14-16 were urged to pray for healing and anoint with oil. Oil, applied to the forehead in a service of healing, has no healing effect on its own. However, anointing with the sign of the cross using a forefinger or thumb, touches us with the fingerprint of the Great Physician. Anointing points to the presence of our healing Savior as the source of our restoration to wholeness.
For this reason, some may wish to receive this special anointing. If you do not wish to do so, it does not mean that you do not wish God’s healing presence in your life. It is simply an optional rite in the Church that some have found helpful/advantageous over the centuries, as Psalm 23:5 indicates—“you anoint my head with oil.”
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost – July 30, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Gil McMillan
Lay Reader
Acolyte Sue Hullen
Organist Karen Broach
Communion Preparation Sonja Helley
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley,
Orville Harshbarger (honorary), Ted Smith
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here at the church.
A MEMORIAL SERVICE is scheduled for Cheriese Tallman on Saturday, August 12th at 11 a.m., followed by a light luncheon.
The Time Is Now
Eternity will not be long enough to thank Jesus for dying on the cross to save me. Eternity will not be long enough to thank a friend who introduced me to Jesus. But in eternity I will not be able to introduce anyone to Jesus - the time to do that is now. It is not a year from now. It is now! But with whom shall I do it?
- Family Members - spouse, parents, grandparents, etc.
- Neighbors - next door, the elderly, new families
- From Work - any and all you are in contact with
- Through Sports and Hobbies - People you are in contact with
- Friends - your and your spouse's friends, parents of your child's friends, etc.
- Casual Associates - your doctor, dentist, realtor, insurance, professional groups, sales reps who call on you, babysitters
- Those In Need - who are undergoing stress of some kind
- A Fellow Patient - in your hospital room.
The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost – July 30, 2023
PRESERVICE MUSIC AND RINGING OF THE CHURCH BELL
OPENING HYMN: 475, “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice and Sing”
INVOCATION, CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
P: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
ALL: Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Maker of all
things, Judge of all people, we admit and confess our sinful-
ness. We have turned away from you and from each other in
our thoughts, words, and actions. We do repent and are truly
sorry for our sins. Have mercy on us, kind Father, because of
the obedience of our Brother, Jesus Christ, your Son. Forgive
us all that is past, renew us with the power of the Holy Spirit,
and move us to faithful service in the kingdom of Jesus Christ
our Lord.
P: God has promised forgiveness of sins to those who repent and turn to
Him. May He keep you in His grace by the Holy Spirit, lead you to
greater faith and obedience, and bring you to live with Him forever,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
C: Amen.
KYRIE [sung to the tune of the hymn Amazing Grace]
Have mercy on Your people, Lord.
Have mercy, Christ our King.
Renew us by Your mercy, Lord;
Accept the prayers we bring.
HYMN OF PRAISE [tune – Hark the Herald Angels Sing]
“Glory be to God on high.” This is now our joyful cry.
Peace to all who live on earth, Grace and favor for new birth.
You we praise and glorify, Worship You, O Lord most high.
Gracious Father, heav’nly King, To Your name alone we sing:
Praise the glory of Your name, Now and evermore the same.
Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, Sole-begotten, Holy One,
Born on earth from realms on high, Born true man for us to die,
Lamb of God, You take away This world’s sin: Grant peace we pray.
With the Spirit, You alone Are most high, O God the Son,
And the Father, God above. Praise we now Your glorious love.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Sit
FIRST LESSON Deuteronomy 7:6-9
6“You are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.”
EPISTLE LESSON Romans 8:28-39
28We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Stand
GOSPEL Matthew 13:44-52
44[Jesus said:] “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
Sit
SERMON HYMN: 654, “Your Kingdom, O God….”
SERMON “The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like…..” Matthew 13:44-52
The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like….. – Matthew 13:44-52
This morning, we heard Jesus tell four more parables. The challenge of these parables is that a couple of these parables do not have an obvious explanation. In fact, when Jesus finished the first three, He asked, “Have you understood all these things?” and They said to him, “Yes.” (Matthew 13:51) So it is entirely possible that Jesus never gave an interpretation of these parables. Now that would be all well and good if the meaning was as obvious to us as it was to the disciples. The problem is that the meanings of the first two parables that we heard today are not nearly as clear as we would like them to be.
The two parables are both very short, and the themes are similar: a man discovers something of great value and then sacrifices everything that he has in order to obtain the item of great value. In the first parable, the item of great value is a treasure. In the second, it is a precious pearl. Despite the simplicity of the two parables, faithful theologians have come up with two possible interpretations.
One interpretation is that the Kingdom of Heaven is the item of great value … the treasure … or the pearl. In this case, the parable teaches that we should be like the man or the merchant and give up everything to obtain the Kingdom of Heaven.
The other interpretation is that the Kingdom of Heaven is the main actor in the parable … the man or the merchant. In this case, both the treasure and the pearl represent the Holy Christian Church. The idea is that the Kingdom of Heaven suffered all in the person of Jesus Christ in order to redeem you … His treasure, His pearl of great price.
The fact that good, solid, faithful theologians can in all honesty come up with two valid, reasonable interpretations of these parables does illustrate one point. Unless the Bible itself gives the explanation to a parable, we should not base any teachings on parables. We can use parables to illustrate teachings that are clearly expressed in other parts of the Bible, but we should not rely on parables alone as a source for doctrine.
But what should we do with the parables that we heard from Jesus this morning? Although I do not have the intellectual horsepower of the great doctors of the church, I am going to give you something to think about when you hear these parables.
Jesus began the first of these parables and said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up.” (Matthew 13:44) This sounds like the Kingdom of Heaven is the treasure hidden in the field. In that case, Jesus is indeed illustrating that the Kingdom of Heaven is precious. In fact, it is so precious that Jesus went on to say, “Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44) This implies that there is no price that is too much to pay for the treasure of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Now this would be great if it weren’t for one important detail. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1–3) Because our sin has corrupted our human nature, we do not recognize the value of the Kingdom of Heaven. We are certainly not inclined to surrender everything in order to obtain it. And even if we wanted to obtain it, we are not able to pay the price required by so great a treasure. So, we are beyond hope.
But now we hear the second parable from the mouth of Jesus. This time, Jesus began and said, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.” (Matthew 13:45) In this parable, the Kingdom of Heaven is the merchant who searches for fine pearls. With this parable, Jesus portrays the Kingdom of Heaven as the one who does the searching. The Kingdom of Heaven is the Reign of God who searches for excellent pearls. But what are these excellent pearls for whom the Kingdom of Heaven searches? At another time, Jesus Himself said, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) In other words, you are the excellent pearl. In this second parable, Jesus is the merchant who sold all that he had … even his body to death on a cross … in order to obtain you … His precious Pearl.
So, although I do not have the intellectual horsepower of the great doctors of the church, I want you to consider the words of Jesus that we heard this morning. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.” (Matthew 13:44) In this parable, the Kingdom of Heaven is a precious treasure … beyond anything that we could pay. Nevertheless, in the second parable, Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.” (Matthew 13:45) In the second parable, the Kingdom of Heaven searches for you. You are the precious pearl for which Jesus Christ gave His all.
So, what difference does it make that you are the precious pearl of the Kingdom of Heaven? Well, that becomes apparent in the next parable.
The Parable of the Net makes it very clear what will happen to all people on Judgment Day. Jesus compared the people of this world to the contents of a net full of fish. Just as a net gathers up all things from the water so Judgment Day will gather up all things. Just as fishermen sort the contents of the net into trash and good fish, so God will send His angels to separate the evil from the righteous. The righteous are those who have the righteousness of Christ through the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith. They are God’s valuable treasure – His precious pearl. The evil are those who refuse the Holy Spirit’s gift and rely on their own righteousness for salvation. They may be valuable and precious in their own sight, but that means nothing in God’s eyes.
The Bible tells us that we are sinful creatures. The psalmist says, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5) From this we learn that we are sinners the instant we come into existence at conception. The prophet Isaiah says, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” (Isaiah 64:6) From this verse we learn that nothing we do in our lives can change our sinful status. The Apostle Paul tells us, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) From this we learn that no one can escape from this sinful condition.
From today’s parables, we learn that God still considers us precious in spite of our sinful condition. We learn that God will spare nothing to ransom us from this sinful condition. Instead, He will liquidate all His holdings in order to purchase and redeem us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. The Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Peter to write, “You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” (1 Peter 1:18–19) From this we learn that the holdings Christ liquidated were paid in the currency of His holy innocent blood … a shedding of blood into death.
We know that Christ’s payment was sufficient. He did not remain in the grave, but rose on the third day. His resurrection assures us who believe that we are indeed God’s treasure … His precious pearl. His resurrection assures us that we will also rise from the dead. It assures us that we as God’s precious people will enjoy heaven with Him forever. Amen
CREEDAL HYMN [tune – Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise]
In God we believe: the creator whose pow’r
In mercy has brought us for worship this hour.
He graciously grants us our years and our days
And blesses with kindness our work and our ways.
In Jesus, the Savior, our hope is secured,
True God and true man once the cross He endured,
To grant our lives wholeness, forgiveness of sin.
With hearts freed from guilt, we know true peace within.
God’s Spirit at work in our lives we confess;
With power and truth the Church now He does bless.
As saints, God’s forgiven, one day we shall then,
Be living in glory forever. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH/PRAYERS FOR HEALING
P: In our prayers we pray for the whole Church and the world, we lift
before God specific needs especially in our own parish, and we
remember and give thanks for the faithful departed….. Great God our
Healer, by Your power, the Lord Jesus healed the sick and gave hope
to the hopeless. In His name and for His sake,
C: look upon us with mercy and bless us with your healing Spirit.
P: Bring us comfort in the midst of pain, strength to transform our
weakness,
C: and light to illuminate our darkness.
P: Grant Your healing grace to all who are sick, injured, or disabled, that
they may be made whole; Lord in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Grant to all who are lonely, anxious, or despondent, the awareness of
Your presence; Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Mend broken relationships, and restore those in emotional distress to
soundness of mind and serenity of spirit; Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Bless physicians, nurses, and all others who minister to the suffering;
grant them wisdom and skill, sympathy and patience; Lord, in Your
mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Grant to the dying a peaceful, holy death, and with Your grace
strengthen those who mourn; Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Restore to wholeness whatever is broken in our lives, in this nation,
and in the world; Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Gracious God, in baptism You anointed us with the oil of salvation, and
joined us to the death and resurrection of Your Son. Bless all who seek
Your healing presence in their lives. In their suffering draw them more
deeply into the mystery of Your love, that following Christ in the way of
the cross they may know the power of His resurrection; who lives and
reigns forever and ever. Amen.
OFFERING PRAYER
[This will be shared after the offerings are presented at the altar.]
Stand
PREPARATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Lift up your hearts.
C: We lift them to the Lord.
P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C: It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P: It is truly good, right, and salutary…..evermore praising You and
saying:
SANCTUS [tune – Holy, Holy, Holy]
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty!
Day and night we join to praise Your love and majesty.
You alone are holy, worthy and righteous.
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty!
We rejoice to join the hymn of earth and sky and sea.
Generations praise You, with saints and angels,
Holy and bless’d through all eternity.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
LORD’S PRAYER
AGNUS DEI [tune – My Faith Looks Up to Thee]
O Lamb of God, we pray: Take all our sins away,
Our faith increase. Have mercy on us all,
Strengthen us when we fall,
Answer our fervent call And grant us peace.
Sit
DISTRIBUTION OF HOLY COMMUNION AND THE OPTIONAL ANOINTING WITH OIL [See explanation on page 8]
[Note: If you wish to be anointed with oil, please remain kneeling after pastor dismisses the communion table. You may then return to your seat after being anointed.]
DISTRIBUTION HYMNS:
644, “The Church’s One Foundation”
620, “Jesus Comes Today with Healing”
Stand
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER
BENEDICTION
P: Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
CLOSING HYMN: 923, “Almighty Father, Bless the Word”
+ spes mea Christus – My Hope is in Christ +
ANNOUNCEMENTS
POST-SERVICE MUSIC
REFRESHMENTS
BIBLE CLASSES FOR ADULTS AND CHILDREN
Anointing with Oil Oil was and is effective medicine. As Jesus shared the story of the Good Samaritan who bandaged wounds and poured oil on them in Luke 10:30-34, He also instructed His disciples to anoint and cure the ill (Mark 6:7,13). The extended Church and its elders [pastors] in James 5:14-16 were urged to pray for healing and anoint with oil. Oil, applied to the forehead in a service of healing, has no healing effect on its own. However, anointing with the sign of the cross using a forefinger or thumb, touches us with the fingerprint of the Great Physician. Anointing points to the presence of our healing Savior as the source of our restoration to wholeness.
For this reason, some may wish to receive this special anointing. If you do not wish to do so, it does not mean that you do not wish God’s healing presence in your life. It is simply an optional rite in the Church that some have found helpful/advantageous over the centuries, as Psalm 23:5 indicates—“you anoint my head with oil.”
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost – July 23, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Note: We will not be celebrating Holy Communion today due to pastor being away. Lord willing, we look forward to celebrating The Lord’s Supper on July 30th. We thank the elders for filling in today.
WHAT DOES THE GREATEST COMMAND HINGE UPON?
Love. What will be the defining characteristic of followers of Jesus? Love. What will never pass away, even after faith and hope are gone? Love. Love is the mark of the disciple. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Not our Bible knowledge. Not our fasting. Not our stance on public issues. Those things are important indeed, but according to Jesus, the defining mark of Christian discipleship is love. It makes sense, then, that Christians should not only be marked by love, but that Christians should be growing in love.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski (absent today)
Elder Howard Holman
Lay Reader Pat Tavare
Acolyte Sue Hullen
Organist Coleen Tallman
Communion Preparation (No communion today)
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley,
Orville Harshbarger (honorary), Ted Smith
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here at the church.
A MEMORIAL SERVICE is scheduled for Cheriese Tallman on Saturday, Aug. 12th at 11 a.m., followed by a light luncheon.
CHECK IT OUT!—On the inside front cover of the hymnal, there are seven prayers that may be prayed while in God’s House. There are more prayers on pages 305-318 under seven different categories: 1) The Church and Her Mission; 2) At Worship; 3) Baptismal Life; 4) Civil Realm; 5) Home and Family; 6) In Times of Need; and 7) In Times of Joy.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT--
“The Christian faith is a unity and may not be subdivided into favored and disapproved doctrines. Luther calls the Christian teaching the punctum mathematicum, “the mathematical point.” This means that it is incapable of subdivision. Doctrine may not be subjected to more and less, better and worse, or tugging and pulling. That is love’s business, our business. We have no right to take the chain saw of our wisdom to the inviolate whole of God’s Word and chop out what we dislike. It would bring the death of the patient. God’s teaching is not ours to control. God controls it (John 3:8). We only teach it.” The Rev. Dr. Scott Murray, LCMS pastor in Texas and our church body’s southwest regional vice-president.
THE ORDER OF SUMMER SERVICE
The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
July 23, 2023
PRE-SERVICE MUSIC AND THE RINGING OF THE CHURCH BELL
OPENING HYMN no. 892, “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come”
INVOCATION [We acknowledge that we are in God’s presence.]
L: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: AMEN. (spoken)
CONFESSION & ABSOLUTION [We have sinned, but God forgives us.]
ALL: MOST MERCIFUL GOD, WE CONFESS THAT WE ARE BY NATURE
SINFUL AND UNCLEAN. WE HAVE SINNED AGAINST YOU AND
OUR NEIGHBORS IN THOUGHT, WORD, AND DEED. WE
DESERVE YOUR PRESENT AND ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. FOR
JESUS’ SAKE, HAVE MERCY ON US—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.
L: Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, has had mercy on us
and has given His only Son to die for us and for His sake
forgives us all our sins. To those who believe on His name
He gives power to become the children of God and has
promised them His Holy Spirit. He that believes and is
baptized shall be saved. Grant this Lord, unto us all.
C: AMEN. (spoken)
HYMN OF PRAISE “Oh, Come and Sing Unto the Lord”
Oh, come and sing unto the Lord, Salvation’s Rock we praise.
With thanks we come before Him now, With singing all our days.
The Lord is great above all gods, And Yahweh is our King.
The deeps He holds inside His hands, The peaks their tribute bring.
The sea is His, He made its waves; His hands the land congealed.
Oh, come bow down before the Lord, In worship let us kneel.
He is our God and we His flock, We live under His love. [cont.]
To Father, Son, and Spirit blest, All praise we lift above.
OLD TESTAMENT LESSON Isaiah 44:6-8
see back of bulletin or Bible under pew seat
A VERSE FROM THE PSALMS L: Your Word, O LORD, is eternal;
C: IT STANDS FIRM IN THE HEAVENS.
L: Your faithfulness continues through all generations;
C: YOU ESTABLISHED THE EARTH, AND IT ENDURES.
L: Your Word is a lamp to my feet
C: AND A LIGHT FOR MY PATH.
SECOND LESSON Romans 8:18-27
GOSPEL LESSON Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
THE APOSTLES’ CREED [We state what we believe in a short statement.] ALL: 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 CHRISTIAN CHURCH,
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS,
THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY, AND THE LIFE (+)
EVERLASTING. AMEN.
SERMON HYMN no. 761, “Rock of Ages”
SERMON “The Harvest” Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
The Harvest - Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Have you ever wasted any time? Perhaps it was a few hours, or even a day. Can you imagine wasting a thousand years? Can you imagine letting a thousand years go by with almost nothing worthy of note happening? We usually think of the Middle Ages that way. And there is a reason why there was no progress for ten centuries. Consider the most famous story to come down from the Dark Ages:
Only the clergy could read at that time, and so one day a group of monks were gathered in the monastery library. Somehow the subject of a horse’s teeth came up, and one monk wondered out loud how many teeth a horse has. They ransacked their memories and their library all night for the answer, bringing up what Aristotle said, or the church fathers, or the great Roman orators, but they got nowhere. Well into the wee hours one brilliant fellow, the youngest in the group, said, “There’s a horse in the yard. Why don’t we just go and count his teeth?” The older monks looked at each other in shocked silence. Without a word, one of them opened the door and two others threw him out into the snow.
The Dark Ages were so dark because the educated people of that time thought all useful knowledge could be found only in books. But you know, that story isn’t so far out of date. When I tried to find out what Christ meant by the Parable of the Weeds, I found scholars today doing the same kind of thing. You can read this Parable in Matthew 13:24-30 and its explanation in verses 36-43. In trying to figure out what those weeds are, various scholars ransacked the 65 volumes of the Jewish Talmud which is the body of work which represents Jewish civil and religious law, and they quote more than two dozen separate works of literature in the Greek and Latin languages. Other scholars have led expeditions to the Holy Land, examining every sort of weed that looks like wheat when it is young. Most agree that the weeds of the parable are a particular kind of grass called the bearded darnel, which causes nausea, vomiting, and even death when eaten by people and animals. An amazing thing is that this is poisonous grass, the only known grass to be poisonous. To discover why, other scholars have taken it into the lab for microscopic and chemical analysis, and learned men have explained that the seeds of this plant carry a fungus that is harmful to man.
What was just said about the bearded darnel is true, but was this to be the point of Jesus’ parable? Did He mean for us to ransack our libraries, take journeys to Palestine, and go into the laboratory? Or did He mean for us to go into our own gardens or that of a friend’s that we know and look at the weeds?
There are two kinds of weeds—the kinds that definitely appear to be weeds and those that look like other bearing vines or plants. This parable concerns itself with the apparent look-a-likes. It is not about the open and obvious sinners, adulterers, murderers, blasphemers of God, and idolaters. The parable concerns itself with the weeds that look like good plants. You cannot tell them from the truly good plants or wheat just by outward appearance. All will be brought to light at the harvest, when Jesus comes again. But for the meantime, there is an intermingling of the two and we are told why—“because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them.”
A “counterfeit” could be someone who would be termed a hypocrite, a “don’t do as I do but as I say” type of person or they could be someone who is a faithful church-goer, living a decent upstanding life, but is wrong about who Jesus Christ is. They may only see Jesus as a way-shower or as one to imitate so that they too, by their own good deeds, may obtain eternal life. Or they may be of the mindset that everything about Christianity has to sound reasonable to them. So, they have already labeled as absurd the idea that infants should be baptized; they have deemed it ludicrous that Christ could be present in, with, and under the bread and wine of the Sacrament with His body and blood; so why should any other portion of Scripture be viewed as closed to re-interpretation when one’s own ability to reason it out is what is important. Such a mindset however can lead one to question if they even need a Savior and if that Savior is Jesus. Dr. Franz Pieper, one of our church body’s presidents in the early 20th century, and also long-time professor at our seminary in St. Louis stated in one of his books that it is only by a felicitous, appropriate inconsistency that reformed Christian churches who don’t baptize infants and only acknowledge Christ in the Sacrament symbolically haven’t also denied that Jesus Christ is the Savior. We have noted sadly that some mainline churches in our day are becoming what they believe to be more universal in
their beliefs and are espousing there are other ways to God than through Jesus Christ.
So, in lieu of the coming harvest, how are we to live? For one thing, we aren’t to smugly say that we are better than those who have written off certain Biblical truths or don’t know Jesus at all. Rather, we should daily hunger and thirst for righteousness from Him who gave His life on Calvary so there might be the good seed of the gospel which gives new life through His atoning death and resurrection. We are to be salt and light for a world which is perishing without a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as Savior. We need to remember our calling as His servants—that Jesus still sows the good seed wherever the gospel is proclaimed.
II.
And we always need to remind ourselves that “this earth is not our home, we are just a’passin through” as is everybody else. The Harvest is coming: “At that time I will tell the harvesters, ‘first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’” Jesus went on to explain, “The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
This will really happen. The images of fire and the furnace are to remind us that there is a place of existence apart from God, where there is no forgiveness, just the pain of remorse and regret burning away eternally. “I should have known better, please forgive me,” won’t work there.
People of God in Christ Jesus, our present calling is to spread the Gospel while there is still time. We leave the results to God. All He asks of us is that we be His ambassadors and share the Good News that Jesus lived, died and rose again for all people.”
III.
One final footnote—the harvest has occurred and the separation is complete and Jesus explains, “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”
Heaven!!!!! Just think of it! John Newton penned in his most famous hymn, “Amazing Grace:” When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun.
On this side of heaven, we are cumbered with many weaknesses—“The good I should do, I don’t always get done, the evil I hate I sometimes do; oh what a wretched person I am.” Sometimes we even wonder if we are really Christians. But we struggle on in faith. As Newton also penned, Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come,’ twas grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
On this side of heaven, we may suffer reproaches and be put down by worldly people. Our faith and moral stance may be scoffed at, because the world makes the ethics of contextualism look so modern and right, making God’s moral absolutes to appear to be so out-of-date and behind the times. In heaven, the battle is over, and we shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father.
So, Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee;
Let the water and the blood, From thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure; Cleanse me from its guilt and pow’r.
Not the labors of my hands, Can fulfill thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to thy cross I cling.
Naked, come to thee for dress; Helpless, look to thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die.
While I draw this fleeting breath, When mine eyelids close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown, See thee on thy judgement throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee.
Thanks be to God who gives us the victory full and complete through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN. [Votum]
OFFERING PRAYER [One way to thank God is with a monetary gift.]
PRAYERS [We pray for all people according to their needs.]
Prayer of the Church - Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 11A) - 23 July 2023
Redeemer and Lord of hosts, the future is in Your hands. Remove all fear from us, and keep us mindful that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord of heaven and earth, we give thanks that Your Son, Jesus Christ, died to redeem the world and restore creation. Until new life supplants the groanings of this age, lead us to steward Your creation well, not in waste but in wise and diligent use with thanksgiving. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, pour out the blessing of Your Holy Spirit on the delegates who will assemble in convention this week. Give wisdom to those who propose, deliberate and decide for the work and welfare of our Synod. Guard all who speak and all who listen. Give us courage to do with integrity what we promise. Bless our plans and actions, and grant success. Only let our manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
We give You thanks for all who serve as instruments of Your compassion, those who care for the elderly at home, and those who work in retirement and nursing facilities. Grant that we also may serve as Your hands, feet and voices to give comfort and company to the lonely. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, You are slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Be patient with those who do not repent or believe. Send Your Holy Spirit to bring them into saving faith. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Guide the leaders of all nations, that they would work for peace and justice in the face of conflict and discord. By, or despite, their efforts, protect the weak and defenseless. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
We commend to You all who endure the bondage of decay through infirmity and weakness [especially _____________]. Deliver them according to Your will, and strengthen and preserve their faith, that they may rejoice that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Preserve us in hope for what we do not see. Grant that we would receive Your Holy Supper with hearts free from pride, presumption or any other sin that would profane His precious body and blood. May we rejoice in His bodily presence for our forgiveness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord God, You have called us according to Your purpose. You cause all things to work together for our good. Keep us safe until that day when You gather us with the saints into Your kingdom, which has no end; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
HYMN NO. 794, “The Lord, My God, Be Praised”
LORD’S PRAYERALL: 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.
BENEDICTION [We receive God’s blessing as we go our homeward way.]
L: The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to
you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.
C: AMEN. (spoken)
CLOSING HYMN no. 921, “On What Has Now Been Sown”
+ And God’s people said: AMEN! +
ANNOUNCEMENTS
POST-SERVICE MUSIC
REFRESHMENTS SERVED IN THE FELLOWSHIP ROOM
ADULT BIBLE CLASS AND CHILDREN’S STUDY
+ And God’s people said: AMEN! +
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost – July 23, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Note: We will not be celebrating Holy Communion today due to pastor being away. Lord willing, we look forward to celebrating The Lord’s Supper on July 30th. We thank the elders for filling in today.
WHAT DOES THE GREATEST COMMAND HINGE UPON?
Love. What will be the defining characteristic of followers of Jesus? Love. What will never pass away, even after faith and hope are gone? Love. Love is the mark of the disciple. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Not our Bible knowledge. Not our fasting. Not our stance on public issues. Those things are important indeed, but according to Jesus, the defining mark of Christian discipleship is love. It makes sense, then, that Christians should not only be marked by love, but that Christians should be growing in love.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski (absent today)
Elder Howard Holman
Lay Reader Pat Tavare
Acolyte Sue Hullen
Organist Coleen Tallman
Communion Preparation (No communion today)
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley,
Orville Harshbarger (honorary), Ted Smith
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here at the church.
A MEMORIAL SERVICE is scheduled for Cheriese Tallman on Saturday, Aug. 12th at 11 a.m., followed by a light luncheon.
CHECK IT OUT!—On the inside front cover of the hymnal, there are seven prayers that may be prayed while in God’s House. There are more prayers on pages 305-318 under seven different categories: 1) The Church and Her Mission; 2) At Worship; 3) Baptismal Life; 4) Civil Realm; 5) Home and Family; 6) In Times of Need; and 7) In Times of Joy.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT--
“The Christian faith is a unity and may not be subdivided into favored and disapproved doctrines. Luther calls the Christian teaching the punctum mathematicum, “the mathematical point.” This means that it is incapable of subdivision. Doctrine may not be subjected to more and less, better and worse, or tugging and pulling. That is love’s business, our business. We have no right to take the chain saw of our wisdom to the inviolate whole of God’s Word and chop out what we dislike. It would bring the death of the patient. God’s teaching is not ours to control. God controls it (John 3:8). We only teach it.” The Rev. Dr. Scott Murray, LCMS pastor in Texas and our church body’s southwest regional vice-president.
THE ORDER OF SUMMER SERVICE
The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
July 23, 2023
PRE-SERVICE MUSIC AND THE RINGING OF THE CHURCH BELL
OPENING HYMN no. 892, “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come”
INVOCATION [We acknowledge that we are in God’s presence.]
L: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: AMEN. (spoken)
CONFESSION & ABSOLUTION [We have sinned, but God forgives us.]
ALL: MOST MERCIFUL GOD, WE CONFESS THAT WE ARE BY NATURE
SINFUL AND UNCLEAN. WE HAVE SINNED AGAINST YOU AND
OUR NEIGHBORS IN THOUGHT, WORD, AND DEED. WE
DESERVE YOUR PRESENT AND ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. FOR
JESUS’ SAKE, HAVE MERCY ON US—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.
L: Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, has had mercy on us
and has given His only Son to die for us and for His sake
forgives us all our sins. To those who believe on His name
He gives power to become the children of God and has
promised them His Holy Spirit. He that believes and is
baptized shall be saved. Grant this Lord, unto us all.
C: AMEN. (spoken)
HYMN OF PRAISE “Oh, Come and Sing Unto the Lord”
Oh, come and sing unto the Lord, Salvation’s Rock we praise.
With thanks we come before Him now, With singing all our days.
The Lord is great above all gods, And Yahweh is our King.
The deeps He holds inside His hands, The peaks their tribute bring.
The sea is His, He made its waves; His hands the land congealed.
Oh, come bow down before the Lord, In worship let us kneel.
He is our God and we His flock, We live under His love. [cont.]
To Father, Son, and Spirit blest, All praise we lift above.
OLD TESTAMENT LESSON Isaiah 44:6-8
see back of bulletin or Bible under pew seat
A VERSE FROM THE PSALMS L: Your Word, O LORD, is eternal;
C: IT STANDS FIRM IN THE HEAVENS.
L: Your faithfulness continues through all generations;
C: YOU ESTABLISHED THE EARTH, AND IT ENDURES.
L: Your Word is a lamp to my feet
C: AND A LIGHT FOR MY PATH.
SECOND LESSON Romans 8:18-27
GOSPEL LESSON Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
THE APOSTLES’ CREED [We state what we believe in a short statement.] ALL: 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 CHRISTIAN CHURCH,
THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS,
THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY, AND THE LIFE (+)
EVERLASTING. AMEN.
SERMON HYMN no. 761, “Rock of Ages”
SERMON “The Harvest” Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
The Harvest - Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Have you ever wasted any time? Perhaps it was a few hours, or even a day. Can you imagine wasting a thousand years? Can you imagine letting a thousand years go by with almost nothing worthy of note happening? We usually think of the Middle Ages that way. And there is a reason why there was no progress for ten centuries. Consider the most famous story to come down from the Dark Ages:
Only the clergy could read at that time, and so one day a group of monks were gathered in the monastery library. Somehow the subject of a horse’s teeth came up, and one monk wondered out loud how many teeth a horse has. They ransacked their memories and their library all night for the answer, bringing up what Aristotle said, or the church fathers, or the great Roman orators, but they got nowhere. Well into the wee hours one brilliant fellow, the youngest in the group, said, “There’s a horse in the yard. Why don’t we just go and count his teeth?” The older monks looked at each other in shocked silence. Without a word, one of them opened the door and two others threw him out into the snow.
The Dark Ages were so dark because the educated people of that time thought all useful knowledge could be found only in books. But you know, that story isn’t so far out of date. When I tried to find out what Christ meant by the Parable of the Weeds, I found scholars today doing the same kind of thing. You can read this Parable in Matthew 13:24-30 and its explanation in verses 36-43. In trying to figure out what those weeds are, various scholars ransacked the 65 volumes of the Jewish Talmud which is the body of work which represents Jewish civil and religious law, and they quote more than two dozen separate works of literature in the Greek and Latin languages. Other scholars have led expeditions to the Holy Land, examining every sort of weed that looks like wheat when it is young. Most agree that the weeds of the parable are a particular kind of grass called the bearded darnel, which causes nausea, vomiting, and even death when eaten by people and animals. An amazing thing is that this is poisonous grass, the only known grass to be poisonous. To discover why, other scholars have taken it into the lab for microscopic and chemical analysis, and learned men have explained that the seeds of this plant carry a fungus that is harmful to man.
What was just said about the bearded darnel is true, but was this to be the point of Jesus’ parable? Did He mean for us to ransack our libraries, take journeys to Palestine, and go into the laboratory? Or did He mean for us to go into our own gardens or that of a friend’s that we know and look at the weeds?
There are two kinds of weeds—the kinds that definitely appear to be weeds and those that look like other bearing vines or plants. This parable concerns itself with the apparent look-a-likes. It is not about the open and obvious sinners, adulterers, murderers, blasphemers of God, and idolaters. The parable concerns itself with the weeds that look like good plants. You cannot tell them from the truly good plants or wheat just by outward appearance. All will be brought to light at the harvest, when Jesus comes again. But for the meantime, there is an intermingling of the two and we are told why—“because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them.”
A “counterfeit” could be someone who would be termed a hypocrite, a “don’t do as I do but as I say” type of person or they could be someone who is a faithful church-goer, living a decent upstanding life, but is wrong about who Jesus Christ is. They may only see Jesus as a way-shower or as one to imitate so that they too, by their own good deeds, may obtain eternal life. Or they may be of the mindset that everything about Christianity has to sound reasonable to them. So, they have already labeled as absurd the idea that infants should be baptized; they have deemed it ludicrous that Christ could be present in, with, and under the bread and wine of the Sacrament with His body and blood; so why should any other portion of Scripture be viewed as closed to re-interpretation when one’s own ability to reason it out is what is important. Such a mindset however can lead one to question if they even need a Savior and if that Savior is Jesus. Dr. Franz Pieper, one of our church body’s presidents in the early 20th century, and also long-time professor at our seminary in St. Louis stated in one of his books that it is only by a felicitous, appropriate inconsistency that reformed Christian churches who don’t baptize infants and only acknowledge Christ in the Sacrament symbolically haven’t also denied that Jesus Christ is the Savior. We have noted sadly that some mainline churches in our day are becoming what they believe to be more universal in
their beliefs and are espousing there are other ways to God than through Jesus Christ.
So, in lieu of the coming harvest, how are we to live? For one thing, we aren’t to smugly say that we are better than those who have written off certain Biblical truths or don’t know Jesus at all. Rather, we should daily hunger and thirst for righteousness from Him who gave His life on Calvary so there might be the good seed of the gospel which gives new life through His atoning death and resurrection. We are to be salt and light for a world which is perishing without a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as Savior. We need to remember our calling as His servants—that Jesus still sows the good seed wherever the gospel is proclaimed.
II.
And we always need to remind ourselves that “this earth is not our home, we are just a’passin through” as is everybody else. The Harvest is coming: “At that time I will tell the harvesters, ‘first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’” Jesus went on to explain, “The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
This will really happen. The images of fire and the furnace are to remind us that there is a place of existence apart from God, where there is no forgiveness, just the pain of remorse and regret burning away eternally. “I should have known better, please forgive me,” won’t work there.
People of God in Christ Jesus, our present calling is to spread the Gospel while there is still time. We leave the results to God. All He asks of us is that we be His ambassadors and share the Good News that Jesus lived, died and rose again for all people.”
III.
One final footnote—the harvest has occurred and the separation is complete and Jesus explains, “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”
Heaven!!!!! Just think of it! John Newton penned in his most famous hymn, “Amazing Grace:” When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun.
On this side of heaven, we are cumbered with many weaknesses—“The good I should do, I don’t always get done, the evil I hate I sometimes do; oh what a wretched person I am.” Sometimes we even wonder if we are really Christians. But we struggle on in faith. As Newton also penned, Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come,’ twas grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
On this side of heaven, we may suffer reproaches and be put down by worldly people. Our faith and moral stance may be scoffed at, because the world makes the ethics of contextualism look so modern and right, making God’s moral absolutes to appear to be so out-of-date and behind the times. In heaven, the battle is over, and we shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father.
So, Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee;
Let the water and the blood, From thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure; Cleanse me from its guilt and pow’r.
Not the labors of my hands, Can fulfill thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to thy cross I cling.
Naked, come to thee for dress; Helpless, look to thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die.
While I draw this fleeting breath, When mine eyelids close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown, See thee on thy judgement throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee.
Thanks be to God who gives us the victory full and complete through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN. [Votum]
OFFERING PRAYER [One way to thank God is with a monetary gift.]
PRAYERS [We pray for all people according to their needs.]
Prayer of the Church - Eighth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 11A) - 23 July 2023
Redeemer and Lord of hosts, the future is in Your hands. Remove all fear from us, and keep us mindful that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord of heaven and earth, we give thanks that Your Son, Jesus Christ, died to redeem the world and restore creation. Until new life supplants the groanings of this age, lead us to steward Your creation well, not in waste but in wise and diligent use with thanksgiving. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, pour out the blessing of Your Holy Spirit on the delegates who will assemble in convention this week. Give wisdom to those who propose, deliberate and decide for the work and welfare of our Synod. Guard all who speak and all who listen. Give us courage to do with integrity what we promise. Bless our plans and actions, and grant success. Only let our manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
We give You thanks for all who serve as instruments of Your compassion, those who care for the elderly at home, and those who work in retirement and nursing facilities. Grant that we also may serve as Your hands, feet and voices to give comfort and company to the lonely. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, You are slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Be patient with those who do not repent or believe. Send Your Holy Spirit to bring them into saving faith. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Guide the leaders of all nations, that they would work for peace and justice in the face of conflict and discord. By, or despite, their efforts, protect the weak and defenseless. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
We commend to You all who endure the bondage of decay through infirmity and weakness [especially _____________]. Deliver them according to Your will, and strengthen and preserve their faith, that they may rejoice that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Preserve us in hope for what we do not see. Grant that we would receive Your Holy Supper with hearts free from pride, presumption or any other sin that would profane His precious body and blood. May we rejoice in His bodily presence for our forgiveness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord God, You have called us according to Your purpose. You cause all things to work together for our good. Keep us safe until that day when You gather us with the saints into Your kingdom, which has no end; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
HYMN NO. 794, “The Lord, My God, Be Praised”
LORD’S PRAYERALL: 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.
BENEDICTION [We receive God’s blessing as we go our homeward way.]
L: The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious to
you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.
C: AMEN. (spoken)
CLOSING HYMN no. 921, “On What Has Now Been Sown”
+ And God’s people said: AMEN! +
ANNOUNCEMENTS
POST-SERVICE MUSIC
REFRESHMENTS SERVED IN THE FELLOWSHIP ROOM
ADULT BIBLE CLASS AND CHILDREN’S STUDY
+ And God’s people said: AMEN! +
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost – July 16, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Mark Klein
Lay Reader Marian Dunham
Acolyte Kathy McCarthy
Organist Allison Yee
Communion Preparation Pam Trocha
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley,
Orville Harshbarger (honorary), Ted Smith
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. here at the church.
THERE IS ALSO A WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday on Zoom
beginning at 10 a.m. Questions? Speak with Barb Whitley. Thanks.
A MEMORIAL SERVICE is scheduled for Cheriese Tallman on Saturday, August 12th at 11 a.m., followed by a light luncheon.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: As a citizen of this present age you have certain rights: You have the right to become a child of God. However, everything you have done or will do can and will be held against you. Because you cannot pay the penalty for your misdeeds, God has provided a Substitute, Jesus Christ, who took your sentence and punishment for you on the cross. However, you have the right to refuse God's free gift of forgiveness for your sins and receive instead eternal condemnation. Now, with these rights in mind, is there any good reason why you should not believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, as your personal Savior?
In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song, This Cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm;
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, When strivings cease,
My Comforter, My All in All, Here in the love of Christ I stand!
The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
July 16, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 584 “Faith and Truth and Life Bestowing”
1 Faith and truth and life bestowing,
Open now the Scriptures, Lord,
Seed to life eternal sowing,
Scattered on the wind abroad.
Let not hearts, Your Word receiving,
Like a barren field be found,
Choked with thorns and unbelieving,
Shallow earth or stony ground.
2 May the Spirit’s pow’r unceasing
Bring to life the hidden grain,
Daily in our hearts increasing,
Bearing fruit that shall remain.
So in Scripture, song, and story,
Savior, may Your voice be heard.
Till our eyes behold Your glory
Give us ears to hear Your Word.
Text: Timothy Dudley-Smith, 1926
Text: © 1997 Hope Publishing Co. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Please stand if able
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.
P If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
C But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.
P Since we are gathered to hear God’s Word, call upon Him in prayer and praise, and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fellowship of this altar, let us first consider our unworthiness and confess before God and one another that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, and that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition. Together as His people let us take refuge in the infinite mercy of God, our heavenly Father, seeking His grace for the sake of Christ, and saying:
C God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen.
P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 103:15–19
P The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments. The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
Kyrie
Gloria in Excelsis
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Let us pray.
Blessed Lord, since You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 55:10–13
10“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12“For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall make a name for the Lord,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung] Psalm 65:9–13
9You visit the earth and water it;
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of | water;*
you provide their grain,
for so you have pre- | pared it.
10You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its | ridges,*
softening it with showers,
and bless- | ing its growth.
11You crown the year with your | bounty;*
your wagon tracks overflow with a- | bundance.
12The pastures of the wilderness | overflow,*
the hills gird them- | selves with joy,
13the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck them- | selves with grain,*
they shout and sing together | for joy.
Epistle Romans 8:12–17
12So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia and Verse
Holy Gospel Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the thirteenth chapter.
C Glory to You, O Lord.
1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9He who has ears, let him hear. . . .
18“Hear then the parable of the sower: 19When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C Praise to You, O Christ.
Nicene Creed
C I believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth
and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of 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 for 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.
And 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.
And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church,
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,
and I look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life T of the world to come. Amen.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 577 “Almighty God, Your Word Is Cast”
1 Almighty God, Your Word is cast
Like seed into the ground;
Now let the dew of heav’n descend
And righteous fruits abound.
2 Let not the sly satanic foe
This holy seed remove,
But give it root in ev’ry heart
To bring forth fruits of love.
3 Let not the world’s deceitful cares
The rising plant destroy,
But let it yield a hundredfold
The fruits of peace and joy.
4 So when the precious seed is sown,
Life-giving grace bestow
That all whose souls the truth receive
Its saving pow’r may know.
Text: John Cawood, 1775–1852, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “Bearing Good Fruit” Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Bearing Good Fruit – Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Crop farmers have some amazing technology that is now available on farm equipment. In essence, a lot of the machinery can drive itself. Harvesting equipment can monitor the yield as it works its way through a field. In turn, other equipment can use that yield data to meter out fertilizer and other chemicals in precise amounts in order to produce the best yield in the next crop.
The whole point of this technology is for the farmer to do what all businesses want to do … get the best return on their investment. You want to invest in seed, equipment, fertilizers, and other chemicals so that you get the most cost-effective yield. On the other hand, you don’t want to waste any of your investment.
First century farmers in Israel didn’t have all the technology that we have today, but they still wanted to get the most they could from their investment. They would make sure that all the seed they sowed fell on good soil. They would avoid throwing seed on hard packed roads, rocky ground, or thorns. They wanted all the seed to produce a good crop.
This morning, we heard Jesus tell a parable about a different kind of sower. The people who heard Jesus tell the parable would say that the sower was very careless. Some seeds fell along the path, other seeds fell on rocky ground, and still other seeds fell among thorns. (Matthew 13:4–7) This sower is sowing the seed everywhere.
Later, Jesus took the disciples aside and explained the parable. The seed is hearing the Word of God. The careless sower indicates God’s generosity and His mercy. The proclamation of the Word of God is for all people in all places and times. “[God our Savior] desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4) The careless sower could be anyone who shares the Word of God. It could be an apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher, the head of a household, or even just one friend sharing God’s Word with another. In each case Jesus has promised that the Holy Spirit will be at work when the sower shares the Word of God. The teaching of the parable is that those who proclaim God’s Word are generous with it. They throw the Word of God everywhere.
Different people, though, respond differently when they hear the Word of God. That is the main illustration of the parable. Jesus broke the response into four different categories … the well-travelled path, the rocky ground, the thorny ground, and the good earth.
Jesus began with those who simply reject the Word. He said, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.” (Matthew 13:19) Although God wants to save everyone, there are those who reject the Word and resist the Holy Spirit. They remain in unbelief and under God’s judgment by their own fault. Eventually, God allows the devil to take the Word away from them. They have hardened their heart against the work of the Holy Spirit by simply refusing to believe.
The hardened soil of the path reminds us that there is a real battle going on for the lives of men, women, and children. Satan makes it his business to take the Word of the Kingdom away from us. This was his strategy at the beginning. We are told that the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1) The evil one’s first words to Eve replaced God’s Word with doubt. Already, the evil one was coming and snatching away the Word that was sown in Eve’s heart. The hardened soil and the birds represent the devil snatching the Word and taking it away from us.
Then there is the rocky soil. At first the effect of the Word on the rocky soil seems hopeful, but then tragedy strikes. Jesus said, “As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.” (Matthew 13:20–21) Here the seed produces results for a while. This type of person receives the word with joy. He joins a local congregation. He may even become quite active. Then something comes along to test the faith and he falls away.
The rocky soil really bothers me. Over the half century since I was confirmed, I have seen the church in North America and Europe promote the rocky soil. Very often the reason that many church-goers do not have deep roots in the Word is that the leaders of the church do not provide opportunities that grow those roots. Many, many congregations have grown by focusing on marketing … fun and entertainment. Now don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with fun and entertainment in their proper place. However, too many congregations have focused so hard on fun and entertainment that they forgot to proclaim the truth of the Word of God. At first, they grew like gangbusters, but then came a challenge and they fell apart. It is just as Jesus said. “[They endure] for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately [they fall] away.” The church in North America and Europe has a lot of repenting to do. I pray that they get back to proclaiming the Word so that their members can once again have roots that go deep into the Word of God.
The third scenario illustrates a similar tragedy. Jesus said, “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” (Matthew 13:22) Once again, the seed sprouts. Once again, this type of person joins a local congregation. The problem here is that the cares of this world are more important than the Word of the kingdom. A late party on Saturday night or even late-night television is more important than being rested up enough to receive God’s Divine Service. County fairs, Athletic contests, and other extra-curricular activities are more important than Bible class or family devotions. Basically, there are so many things to do in this world that God’s Word becomes an afterthought instead of a priority. The thorns represent the world enticing us away from the salvation proclaimed in the Word of the Kingdom.
The last type of soil illustrates the fruit that God’s Word can bear. Jesus said, “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (Matthew 13:23) This time, the roots of God’s Word run deep. It thrives and produces a harvest. In fact, the numbers that Jesus used are miraculous yields for that time and place.
Notice though, that even the good soil is dead until God’s Word takes root in it. The power comes from God and He uses His Word to distribute that power. God works in us as we read or hear the Word. He brings us into His family as that very same Word combines with the water of Holy Baptism to join us to Christ in His crucifixion. He sustains and strengthens our faith with the Word combined with bread and wine as He offers Himself to us in His body and blood. These are the Means of Grace whereby God works the power of His Word in us.
Jesus makes it very clear in this parable that it is the deep roots of the seed that produce the fruit. Then He tells us that the seed is the Word of the Kingdom and the roots are the understanding of that Word. Therefore, when Jesus talks about the depth of the roots, He is talking about the depth of our understanding of the Word of the Kingdom. He is also talking about the effect that the Holy Spirit has as He works through that Word.
When the roots of the Word of the Kingdom run deep in us, we see that all of Scripture points us to the salvation we have in Jesus Christ. The Word of the Kingdom reveals the Holy Life of the Savior – a life that He lived in our place because we cannot keep the law of God. The Word of the Kingdom reveals the Holy Death of the Savior – a death that satisfies God’s holy and righteous justice against our sin. The Word of the Kingdom reveals the Resurrection of the Savior – a resurrection that assures us that the Holy life and innocent death of the Savior were accepted as payment in full for all our sins.
The devil, the world, and our own sinful nature want to drive us away from our savior. Their first step in alienating us from God is the same now as it was in Eden: “Did God actually say?” They constantly strive to prevent the growth of the roots of the Word. They constantly make the case against regular church attendance and regular Bible study. When we think it is not important to be theologians of the Word of the Kingdom, we are playing right into the devil’s hand. That is exactly what he wants … humans who are weak because the Word of the Kingdom has not put deep roots into their hearts.
Jesus encourages us with the words, “He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:9) Hearing is how the Holy Spirit gives understanding to us … how He causes the Word of the Kingdom to grow deep into our hearts. Hearing is how the Holy Spirit reveals the salvation of Jesus Christ to us. It is as we heard in the Old Testament reading: “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10–11) May the Word of the Kingdom dwell and grow deep in your hearts. Amen
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church - Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 10A) - 16 July 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Father of mercy, our sins have merited thorns and briars and yield only trouble and strife. Forgive our transgressions and discipline us against temptation, that we may rejoice in Your name and the promise of everlasting life. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, You send forth Your Word as abundantly as rains upon the earth. Grant that we would never take Your generosity for granted, but would seek the help and refreshment of Your Word in every circumstance. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord of life, continue to sow Your Word through the fields of the earth. Bless pastors and missionaries as they proclaim Your truth. Prepare the hearts of all who hear to believe and yield abundant fruit. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, bless parents with faithfulness as they plant Your Word into their children, that they may grow steadfast among the cares and troubles of this world. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Creator of heaven and earth, by Your Word You send forth rain and snow to make the world bring forth and sprout. Give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. Provide us seasonable weather and bountiful harvest, that we may enjoy daily bread and praise Your name. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord God, look with mercy upon those who suffer from illness of body or mind. [Be especially with _____________.] Give them healing. Comfort them with Your presence. Grant them patience to endure suffering, and assure them at all times that they are Your dear children and that the glory of Christ awaits them. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of all grace, You have made us Your holy children and freed us from bondage to the flesh. Sustain us in repentance and faith, that we may receive Christ’s body and blood for life and salvation. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, Your Spirit calls us by the Gospel to the new life of faith. We praise You and acknowledge You as our Lord. Deliver us from the devil’s temptations, that we may live under You and serve You in righteousness, innocence and blessedness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the same Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Offering Prayer
Service of the Sacrament
Stand
Preface
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, for the countless blessings You so freely bestow on us and all creation. Above all, we give thanks for Your boundless love shown to us when You sent Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into our flesh and laid on Him our sin, giving Him into death that we might not die eternally. Because He is now risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity, all who believe in Him will overcome sin and death and will rise again to new life. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Prayer of Thanksgiving
P Blessed are You, O Lord our God, king of all creation, for You have had mercy on us and given Your only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
In Your righteous judgment You condemned the sin of Adam and Eve, who ate the forbidden fruit, and You justly barred them and all their children from the tree of life. Yet, in Your great mercy, You promised salvation by a second Adam, Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and made His cross a life-giving tree for all who trust in Him.
We give You thanks for the redemption You have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may faithfully eat and drink of the fruits of His cross and receive the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation that come to us in His body and blood.
Hear us as we pray in His name and as He has taught us:
Lord’s Prayer
C 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.
The Words of Our Lord
P Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My T body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”
In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My T blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
Pax Domini
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C Amen.
Agnus Dei
Text: Stephen P. Starke
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
639 “Wide Open Stand the Gates”
1 Wide open stand the gates adorned with pearl,
While round God’s golden throne
The choirs of saints in endless circles curl,
And joyous praise the Son!
They watch Him now descending
To visit waiting earth.
The Lord of Life unending
Brings dying hope new birth!
2 He speaks the Word the bread and wine to bless:
“This is My flesh and blood!”
He bids us eat and drink with thankfulness
This gift of holy food.
All human thought must falter--
Our God stoops low to heal,
Now present on the altar,
For us both host and meal!
3 The cherubim, their faces veiled from light,
While saints in wonder kneel,
Sing praise to Him whose face with glory bright
No earthly masks conceal.
This sacrament God gives us
Binds us in unity,
Joins earth with heav’n beyond us,
Time with eternity!
Text: J. K. Wilhelm Loehe, 1808–72; tr. Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr., 1923–2007
Text: © 2002 GIA Publications, Inc. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
633 “At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing”
1 At the Lamb’s high feast we sing
Praise to our victorious King,
Who has washed us in the tide
Flowing from His piercèd side.
Alleluia!
2 Praise we Him, whose love divine
Gives His sacred blood for wine,
Gives His body for the feast--
Christ the victim, Christ the priest.
Alleluia!
3 Where the paschal blood is poured,
Death’s dread angel sheathes the sword;
Israel’s hosts triumphant go
Through the wave that drowns the foe.
Alleluia!
4 Praise we Christ, whose blood was shed,
Paschal victim, paschal bread;
With sincerity and love
Eat we manna from above.
Alleluia!
5 Mighty Victim from the sky,
Hell’s fierce pow’rs beneath You lie;
You have conquered in the fight,
You have brought us life and light.
Alleluia!
6 Now no more can death appall,
Now no more the grave enthrall;
You have opened paradise,
And Your saints in You shall rise.
Alleluia!
7 Easter triumph, Easter joy!
This alone can sin destroy;
From sin’s pow’r, Lord, set us free,
Newborn souls in You to be.
Alleluia!
D 8 Father, who the crown shall give,
Savior, by whose death we live,
Spirit, guide through all our days:
Three in One, Your name we praise.
Alleluia!
Text: Latin, c. 5th–10th cent.; tr. Robert Campbell, 1814–68, alt.
Text: Public domain
Stand
Nunc Dimittis
Post-Communion Collect
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benedicamus
A Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Benediction
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and T give you peace.
C Amen.
Closing Hymn: 652 “Father, We Thank Thee”
1 Father, we thank Thee who hast planted
Thy holy name within our hearts.
Knowledge and faith and life immortal
Jesus, Thy Son, to us imparts.
Thou, Lord, didst make all for Thy pleasure,
Didst give us food for all our days,
Giving in Christ the Bread eternal;
Thine is the pow’r, be Thine the praise.
2 Watch o’er Thy Church, O Lord, in mercy,
Save it from evil, guard it still,
Perfect it in Thy love, unite it,
Cleansed and conformed unto Thy will.
As grain, once scattered on the hillsides,
Was in this broken bread made one,
So from all lands Thy Church be gathered
Into Thy kingdom by Thy Son.
Text: Didache, 2nd cent.; tr. F. Bland Tucker, 1895–1984
Text: © The Church Pension Fund. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing House.
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost – July 9, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Howard Holman
Acolyte Becca Potts
Organist Fred Weber
Communion Preparation Becca Potts
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley,
Orville Harshbarger (honorary), Ted Smith
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. at church.
WHAT IS FAITH?
“Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that the believer would stake his life on it a thousand times. This knowledge of and confidence in God’s grace makes men glad and bold and happy in dealing with God and with all creatures. And this is the work which the Holy Spirit performs in faith. Because of it, without compulsion, a person is ready and glad to do good to everyone, to serve everyone, to suffer everything, out of love and praise to God who has shown him this grace.” (Luther’s Works, vol. 35)
ON PRAYER--
“When you pray, do not be afraid that God won’t hear you because you don’t get the form of the prayer just right. Don’t avoid prayer because your sins trouble you. Remember that God hears our prayer for the sake of Jesus Christ, who died and rose for you. Jesus opens the door to the throne room of our Heavenly Father, by His perfect life and His sacrifice on Calvary. Baptized into His name, you receive credit for His good works and freedom from your sins. Pray boldly with your Lord. Pray for others before asking for yourself. Finally, and always, as the hymnwriter suggests, ‘Take it to the Lord in prayer.’” [from Lifelight Bible Study on John’s Gospel, p. 21]
Trust in the Lord; don’t lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
July 9, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Hymn of the Day: 966 “Before You, Lord, We Bow”
1 Before You, Lord, we bow,
Our God who reigns above
And rules the world below,
Boundless in pow’r and love.
Our thanks we bring
In joy and praise,
Our hearts we raise
To You, our King!
2 The nation You have blest
May well Your love declare,
From foes and fears at rest,
Protected by Your care.
For this bright day,
For this fair land--
Gifts of Your hand--
Our thanks we pay.
3 May ev’ry mountain height,
Each vale and forest green,
Shine in Your Word’s pure light,
And its rich fruits be seen!
May ev’ry tongue
Be tuned to praise
And join to raise
A grateful song.
4 Earth, hear your Maker’s voice;
Your great Redeemer own;
Believe, obey, rejoice,
And worship Him alone.
Cast down your pride,
Your sin deplore,
And bow before
The Crucified.
5 And when in pow’r He comes,
Oh, may our native land
From all its rending tombs
Send forth a glorious band,
A countless throng,
With joy to sing
To heav’n’s high King
Salvation’s song!
Text: Francis Scott Key, 1779–1843, alt.
Text: Public domain
Please stand if able
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
C But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
P Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.
C Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. 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.
P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 91:1-2, 9–10
P He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—the Most High, who is my refuge—no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.
Kyrie
This Is the Feast [sung] LSB 155
C This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain, whose blood set us free to be people of God.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Power, riches, wisdom, and strength, and honor, blessing, and glory are His.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Sing with all the people of God, and join in the hymn of all creation:
Blessing, honor, glory, and might be to God and the Lamb forever. Amen.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
For the Lamb who was slain has begun His reign. Alleluia.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P Let us pray.
Gracious God, our heavenly Father, Your mercy attends us all our days. Be our strength and support amid the wearisome changes of this world, and at life’s end grant us Your promised rest and the full joys of Your salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Zechariah 9:9–12
9Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
11As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
today I declare that I will restore to you double.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung] Psalm 145:1–8
1I will extol you, my | God and King,*
and bless your name forever and | ever.
2Every day I will | bless you*
and praise your name forever and | ever.
3Great is the Lord, and greatly | to be praised,*
and his greatness is un- | searchable.
4One generation shall commend your works to an- | other,*
and shall declare your | mighty acts.
5On the glorious splendor of your | majesty,*
and on your wondrous works, I will | meditate.
6They shall speak of the might of your | awesome deeds,*
and I will declare your | greatness.
7They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant | goodness*
and shall sing aloud of your | righteousness.
8The Lord is gracious and | merciful,*
slow to anger and abounding in | steadfast love.
Epistle Romans 7:14–25a
14We know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia and Verse
Holy Gospel Matthew 11:25–30
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the eleventh chapter.
25At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 699 “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say”
1 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down
Thy head upon My breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
So weary, worn, and sad;
I found in Him a resting place,
And He has made me glad.
2 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one,
Stoop down and drink and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
And now I live in Him.
3 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s light.
Look unto Me; thy morn shall rise
And all thy day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found
In Him my star, my sun;
And in that light of life I’ll walk
Till trav’ling days are done.
Text: Horatius Bonar, 1808–89, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “‘Come to Me,’ Says Jesus” Matthew 11:25-30
“Come to Me,” Says Jesus – Matthew 11:25-30
One of the things that we talk about in catechism class is how the triune God makes Himself known. We talk about the way that God makes Himself known in the world around us, within our thoughts, and by His revelation in the Bible. The Apostle Paul also speaks of these three ways of knowing about God.
The Apostle Paul has this to say about what human beings can learn about God from the world around us: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19–20) In other words, the complexity and size of the universe points to a design, and a design points to a designer.
What can we learn about the designer when we look at creation? We can look at the motion of the objects in the sky. We can examine the complex language of the DNA that we find within the cells that make up our bodies. We can look at all the things that must be just right in order for life to thrive on this planet. We can look at these and thousands of other facts. As we contemplate these things, we must conclude that the intelligence behind all this is way, way, way, bigger than we are. The attention to detail and the massive scale of the universe are staggering. The beauty and grandeur of creation are inspiring.
At the same time, creation is very dangerous. Natural disasters come in all shapes and sizes: earthquakes, volcanoes, tidal waves, hurricanes, tornadoes, diseases, predators that want to eat us, and so forth. If we rely only on what we see in the world around us, then we must wonder why did this intelligent designer make such a wonderful, beautiful world that is also so deadly?
Then there is the evidence for God that lies within us. When God created Adam and Eve, they knew everything that they needed to know about Him. But Adam and Eve corrupted that knowledge when they ate of the forbidden fruit. Never the less, even the leftover broken pieces of that knowledge are still with us. Again, the Apostle Paul said, “When Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.” (Romans 2:14–15) These words teach us that the law is still there in what we call the conscience. The existence of this law within us points to a law giver.
The human being with a conscience observes the danger in the world and must come to one conclusion. The intelligent being who designed and created all this must be angry with me. Why else would the creator make something that is so wonderful and deadly at the same time? Even though the original knowledge that Adam and Eve had at creation is now corrupt, there is still enough to trigger guilt. This combination of a beautiful, but dangerous creation and a guilty conscience is at the heart of the religions that spring from mankind’s imagination. Somehow, mankind must keep the gods satisfied so that they will bless us and not bring disaster upon us.
The works that mankind must do to keep the gods happy can be very brutal. When Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal, they abused themselves to get Baal’s attention. “They cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them.” (1 Kings 18:28) Others even sacrificed their own children. “They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.” (Psalm 106:37–38) The point is that when you must earn your own way into the favor of the gods, it is a very heavy and onerous burden. False religions demand a heavy price.
Physical sacrifice is not the only example of sacrifice given to false religions. Some religions require their members to make copies of all their tax forms and give them to the church. The church then compares the giving record of the member to the income reported to the IRS and will kick the member out if they do not give a certain percentage of that income. Some false religions do not allow their followers to celebrate birthdays or Christmas or any other holiday. Some religions do not allow blood transfusions. The list goes on and on.
What do all these acts of sacrifice and torture tell us about humanity? It tells us that it is natural for humanity to believe that there is something or someone out there that is way bigger than we are, AND that someone or something is very powerful and very angry. We need to do something to satisfy that someone or something so that he, she, or it is not angry with us, but is favorably disposed toward us instead. This is the hard labor of all false religions.
The nasty truth about this hard labor is that it is never good enough. No matter how hard you work, things still go wrong. Tragedies still happen. The crops still fail. Plagues still strike. People get sick. People get injured. People die. Nothing is ever good enough. Nevertheless, the followers of false religions redouble their efforts when tragedy strikes. They try harder. Their labors are never over. Either that, or they just give up in despair and hopelessness.
There is, however, a third way that we can know about God. The Apostle Paul describes this way with these words, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17) This way is the best because it is God Himself teaching us what we need to know about Him. The other two ways depend on us … what we observe in the universe, and what we feel within. Since God transcends this universe, those two ways are never enough. But when God Himself teaches us about Him, it is everything we need.
When we hear to the words of God, we hear something completely different than what we learn on our own. Jesus declared, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30) This is unlike any other religion in the world. Here is a religion where God tells us to lay down our burden of self-justification. Here is God telling us to rest. Here is Jesus telling us that He will take the heavy burden. He will take the hard labor. He will take our hard yoke and make it easy. He will take our heavy burden and make it light.
The reason that Jesus can say this is that He is the Son of God who entered history in order to save us from our own sin. While we can do nothing to please God, everything that Jesus does is pleasing to God. While we cannot endure the punishment that will satisfies God’s justice, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross totally satisfied God’s justice for you. Jesus is the one who takes our hard yoke on Himself and gives us the easy yoke of forgiveness in its place. He is the one who took up our heavy burden of sin and replaced it with the light burden of His righteousness. He has taken the labor and burden of false belief and replaced it with the rest of true faith.
Jesus has done all the work that makes us right with God. The blessings of that work become available to us when the Holy Spirit works faith in us. The Holy Spirit establishes the faith that receives the gifts of God – forgiveness, life, salvation. At the same time, the Holy Spirit creates a new being in us – a holy child of God. We now have the easy yoke of Christ’s forgiveness and the light burden of His righteousness.
The forces of evil hate Christ’s easy yoke and light burden. They will try to entrap and enslave us to a life that struggles to earn God’s favor. Our old sinful nature is still around. Christ has earned our forgiveness and the Holy Spirit applies that forgiveness to us through His gift of faith. The Holy Spirit has made us holy, but our old sinful nature constantly trys to turn us back to the broad road that leads to spiritual destruction. We become battle fields and the temptation is for us to try to do the fighting.
Nevertheless, Jesus continuously invites us, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) He says, “I am your champion. I have already won the war. The holy, sinless life that Jesus led … His innocent suffering and death … His resurrection and the ascension … all these, Jesus did for you. Through His holy life and sinless death, He won forgiveness for you. With that forgiveness come life and salvation. He has taken all our sin … all our guilt to the cross, including those sins we commit even after we are a child of God.
As God’s children, we mourn the fact that we daily sin much. At the same time, we rejoice in the free, abundant and overwhelming forgiveness that we have in Jesus Christ.
The life of the Christian is a battle, but we have the champion who has defeated all our foes, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Amen
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church - Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 9A) - 9 July 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Almighty God, You ensure that the birds are fed and the lilies clothed in splendor. Deliver us from worry with the consolation that You know what we need, and that, for Jesus’ sake, we are of much more value than they. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Kindle in us, Holy Father, the gifts of Your Spirit, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, fill our homes with Your Word and grace. Be the companion of those who are alone. Strengthen husbands and wives. Bless parents as they catechize their children. Let them all find refuge in You and so preserve them from every plague and evil. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Ruler of the nations, until You at last cut off the war horse and the chariot forever, give our nation’s leaders wisdom and integrity to preserve peace, promote what is good, and defend against violence and wickedness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of mercy, You set free those imprisoned on account of their sin to bear their sentence as a joyful custody of hope. Remember the incarcerated. Preserve them from greater evil, and foster in them repentance and trust in Your grace. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord God, be with all who are weary and heavy-laden with the tribulations of this life. Give comfort to [_____________ and] all who suffer illness. Console them with the knowledge that Your yoke is easy and Your burden light, and that in You they will find rest for their souls. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord God of Israel, You release Your people from the waterless pit by the blood of Your covenant. Bless all who receive Christ’s body and blood with penitent hearts, trusting in Your promises and a common confession of faith. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
We give thanks to You, O Lord, for all the saints who, by Your grace, sought Your kingdom and righteousness above all other treasures. We pray that You would preserve us also in repentance and Christ’s righteousness until we stand before You in glory. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
All these things and whatever else You know that we need, grant us, Father, for the sake of Him who died and rose again and now lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Offering Prayer
Stand
Offertory
Service of the Sacrament
Preface
P It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who on this day overcame death and the grave and by His glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Prayer of Thanksgiving
P Blessed are You, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have had mercy on those whom You created and sent Your only-begotten Son into our flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior. With repentant joy we receive the salvation accomplished for us by the all-availing sacrifice of His body and His blood on the cross.
Gathered in the name and the remembrance of Jesus, we beg You, O Lord, to forgive, renew, and strengthen us with Your Word and Spirit. Grant us faithfully to eat His body and drink His blood as He bids us do in His own testament. Gather us together, we pray, from the ends of the earth to celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end. Graciously receive our prayers; deliver and preserve us. To You alone, O Father, be all glory, honor, and worship, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
The Words of Our Lord
P Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My T body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”
In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My T blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
P As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
C Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
P O Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, in giving us Your body and blood to eat and to drink, You lead us to remember and confess Your holy cross and passion, Your blessed death, Your rest in the tomb, Your resurrection from the dead, Your ascension into heaven, and Your coming for the final judgment. So remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:
Lord’s Prayer
C 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 LSB 163
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C Amen.
Agnus Dei LSB 163
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
684 “Come unto Me, Ye Weary”
1 “Come unto Me, ye weary,
And I will give you rest.”
O blessèd voice of Jesus,
Which comes to hearts oppressed!
It tells of benediction,
Of pardon, grace, and peace,
Of joy that hath no ending,
Of love that cannot cease.
2 “Come unto Me, ye wand’rers,
And I will give you light.”
O loving voice of Jesus,
Which comes to cheer the night!
Our hearts were filled with sadness,
And we had lost our way;
But Thou hast brought us gladness
And songs at break of day.
3 “Come unto Me, ye fainting,
And I will give you life.”
O cheering voice of Jesus,
Which comes to aid our strife!
The foe is stern and eager,
The fight is fierce and long;
But Thou hast made us mighty
And stronger than the strong.
4 “And whosoever cometh,
I will not cast him out.”
O patient love of Jesus,
Which drives away our doubt,
Which, though we be unworthy
Of love so great and free,
Invites us very sinners
To come, dear Lord, to Thee!
Text: William C. Dix, 1837–98, alt.
Text: Public domain
606 “I Lay My Sins on Jesus”
1 I lay my sins on Jesus,
The spotless Lamb of God;
He bears them all and frees us
From the accursèd load.
I bring my guilt to Jesus
To wash my crimson stains
Clean in His blood most precious
Till not a spot remains.
2 I lay my wants on Jesus;
All fullness dwells in Him;
He heals all my diseases;
My soul He does redeem.
I lay my griefs on Jesus,
My burdens and my cares;
He from them all releases;
He all my sorrows shares.
3 I rest my soul on Jesus,
This weary soul of mine;
His right hand me embraces;
I on His breast recline.
I love the name of Jesus,
Immanuel, Christ, the Lord;
Like fragrance on the breezes
His name abroad is poured.
Text: Horatius Bonar, 1808–89
Text: Public domain
Stand
Post-Communion Canticle: “Thank the Lord”
Post-Communion Collect
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Benediction
Closing Hymn: 854 “Forth in Thy Name, O Lord, I Go”
Sung to a different melody
1 Forth in Thy name, O Lord, I go,
My daily labor to pursue,
Thee, only Thee, resolved to know
In all I think or speak or do.
2 The task Thy wisdom has assigned,
O let me cheerfully fulfill;
In all my works Thy presence find,
And prove Thy good and perfect will.
3 Thee may I set at my right hand,
Whose eyes my inmost substance see,
And labor on at Thy command,
And offer all my works to Thee.
4 Give me to bear Thine easy yoke,
And ev’ry moment watch and pray,
And still to things eternal look,
And hasten to Thy glorious day.
5 For Thee delightfully employ
Whate’er Thy bounteous grace has giv’n,
And run my course with even joy,
And closely walk with Thee to heav’n.
Text: Charles Wesley, 1707–88, alt.
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting One 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing House.
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost – July 9, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
The LORD your God is in your midst.
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Howard Holman
Acolyte Becca Potts
Organist Fred Weber
Communion Preparation Becca Potts
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley,
Orville Harshbarger (honorary), Ted Smith
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m. at church.
WHAT IS FAITH?
“Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that the believer would stake his life on it a thousand times. This knowledge of and confidence in God’s grace makes men glad and bold and happy in dealing with God and with all creatures. And this is the work which the Holy Spirit performs in faith. Because of it, without compulsion, a person is ready and glad to do good to everyone, to serve everyone, to suffer everything, out of love and praise to God who has shown him this grace.” (Luther’s Works, vol. 35)
ON PRAYER--
“When you pray, do not be afraid that God won’t hear you because you don’t get the form of the prayer just right. Don’t avoid prayer because your sins trouble you. Remember that God hears our prayer for the sake of Jesus Christ, who died and rose for you. Jesus opens the door to the throne room of our Heavenly Father, by His perfect life and His sacrifice on Calvary. Baptized into His name, you receive credit for His good works and freedom from your sins. Pray boldly with your Lord. Pray for others before asking for yourself. Finally, and always, as the hymnwriter suggests, ‘Take it to the Lord in prayer.’” [from Lifelight Bible Study on John’s Gospel, p. 21]
Trust in the Lord; don’t lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
July 9, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Hymn of the Day: 966 “Before You, Lord, We Bow”
1 Before You, Lord, we bow,
Our God who reigns above
And rules the world below,
Boundless in pow’r and love.
Our thanks we bring
In joy and praise,
Our hearts we raise
To You, our King!
2 The nation You have blest
May well Your love declare,
From foes and fears at rest,
Protected by Your care.
For this bright day,
For this fair land--
Gifts of Your hand--
Our thanks we pay.
3 May ev’ry mountain height,
Each vale and forest green,
Shine in Your Word’s pure light,
And its rich fruits be seen!
May ev’ry tongue
Be tuned to praise
And join to raise
A grateful song.
4 Earth, hear your Maker’s voice;
Your great Redeemer own;
Believe, obey, rejoice,
And worship Him alone.
Cast down your pride,
Your sin deplore,
And bow before
The Crucified.
5 And when in pow’r He comes,
Oh, may our native land
From all its rending tombs
Send forth a glorious band,
A countless throng,
With joy to sing
To heav’n’s high King
Salvation’s song!
Text: Francis Scott Key, 1779–1843, alt.
Text: Public domain
Please stand if able
Confession and Absolution
The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
C But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
P Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.
C Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. 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.
P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Service of the Word
Introit Psalm 91:1-2, 9–10
P He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—the Most High, who is my refuge—no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.
Kyrie
This Is the Feast [sung] LSB 155
C This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain, whose blood set us free to be people of God.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Power, riches, wisdom, and strength, and honor, blessing, and glory are His.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Sing with all the people of God, and join in the hymn of all creation:
Blessing, honor, glory, and might be to God and the Lamb forever. Amen.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
For the Lamb who was slain has begun His reign. Alleluia.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P Let us pray.
Gracious God, our heavenly Father, Your mercy attends us all our days. Be our strength and support amid the wearisome changes of this world, and at life’s end grant us Your promised rest and the full joys of Your salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Sit
Old Testament Reading Zechariah 9:9–12
9Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
11As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
today I declare that I will restore to you double.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm [sung] Psalm 145:1–8
1I will extol you, my | God and King,*
and bless your name forever and | ever.
2Every day I will | bless you*
and praise your name forever and | ever.
3Great is the Lord, and greatly | to be praised,*
and his greatness is un- | searchable.
4One generation shall commend your works to an- | other,*
and shall declare your | mighty acts.
5On the glorious splendor of your | majesty,*
and on your wondrous works, I will | meditate.
6They shall speak of the might of your | awesome deeds,*
and I will declare your | greatness.
7They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant | goodness*
and shall sing aloud of your | righteousness.
8The Lord is gracious and | merciful,*
slow to anger and abounding in | steadfast love.
Epistle Romans 7:14–25a
14We know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Alleluia and Verse
Holy Gospel Matthew 11:25–30
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the eleventh chapter.
25At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 699 “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say”
1 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down
Thy head upon My breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
So weary, worn, and sad;
I found in Him a resting place,
And He has made me glad.
2 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one,
Stoop down and drink and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
And now I live in Him.
3 I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s light.
Look unto Me; thy morn shall rise
And all thy day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found
In Him my star, my sun;
And in that light of life I’ll walk
Till trav’ling days are done.
Text: Horatius Bonar, 1808–89, alt.
Text: Public domain
Sermon “‘Come to Me,’ Says Jesus” Matthew 11:25-30
“Come to Me,” Says Jesus – Matthew 11:25-30
One of the things that we talk about in catechism class is how the triune God makes Himself known. We talk about the way that God makes Himself known in the world around us, within our thoughts, and by His revelation in the Bible. The Apostle Paul also speaks of these three ways of knowing about God.
The Apostle Paul has this to say about what human beings can learn about God from the world around us: “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19–20) In other words, the complexity and size of the universe points to a design, and a design points to a designer.
What can we learn about the designer when we look at creation? We can look at the motion of the objects in the sky. We can examine the complex language of the DNA that we find within the cells that make up our bodies. We can look at all the things that must be just right in order for life to thrive on this planet. We can look at these and thousands of other facts. As we contemplate these things, we must conclude that the intelligence behind all this is way, way, way, bigger than we are. The attention to detail and the massive scale of the universe are staggering. The beauty and grandeur of creation are inspiring.
At the same time, creation is very dangerous. Natural disasters come in all shapes and sizes: earthquakes, volcanoes, tidal waves, hurricanes, tornadoes, diseases, predators that want to eat us, and so forth. If we rely only on what we see in the world around us, then we must wonder why did this intelligent designer make such a wonderful, beautiful world that is also so deadly?
Then there is the evidence for God that lies within us. When God created Adam and Eve, they knew everything that they needed to know about Him. But Adam and Eve corrupted that knowledge when they ate of the forbidden fruit. Never the less, even the leftover broken pieces of that knowledge are still with us. Again, the Apostle Paul said, “When Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.” (Romans 2:14–15) These words teach us that the law is still there in what we call the conscience. The existence of this law within us points to a law giver.
The human being with a conscience observes the danger in the world and must come to one conclusion. The intelligent being who designed and created all this must be angry with me. Why else would the creator make something that is so wonderful and deadly at the same time? Even though the original knowledge that Adam and Eve had at creation is now corrupt, there is still enough to trigger guilt. This combination of a beautiful, but dangerous creation and a guilty conscience is at the heart of the religions that spring from mankind’s imagination. Somehow, mankind must keep the gods satisfied so that they will bless us and not bring disaster upon us.
The works that mankind must do to keep the gods happy can be very brutal. When Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal, they abused themselves to get Baal’s attention. “They cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them.” (1 Kings 18:28) Others even sacrificed their own children. “They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.” (Psalm 106:37–38) The point is that when you must earn your own way into the favor of the gods, it is a very heavy and onerous burden. False religions demand a heavy price.
Physical sacrifice is not the only example of sacrifice given to false religions. Some religions require their members to make copies of all their tax forms and give them to the church. The church then compares the giving record of the member to the income reported to the IRS and will kick the member out if they do not give a certain percentage of that income. Some false religions do not allow their followers to celebrate birthdays or Christmas or any other holiday. Some religions do not allow blood transfusions. The list goes on and on.
What do all these acts of sacrifice and torture tell us about humanity? It tells us that it is natural for humanity to believe that there is something or someone out there that is way bigger than we are, AND that someone or something is very powerful and very angry. We need to do something to satisfy that someone or something so that he, she, or it is not angry with us, but is favorably disposed toward us instead. This is the hard labor of all false religions.
The nasty truth about this hard labor is that it is never good enough. No matter how hard you work, things still go wrong. Tragedies still happen. The crops still fail. Plagues still strike. People get sick. People get injured. People die. Nothing is ever good enough. Nevertheless, the followers of false religions redouble their efforts when tragedy strikes. They try harder. Their labors are never over. Either that, or they just give up in despair and hopelessness.
There is, however, a third way that we can know about God. The Apostle Paul describes this way with these words, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17) This way is the best because it is God Himself teaching us what we need to know about Him. The other two ways depend on us … what we observe in the universe, and what we feel within. Since God transcends this universe, those two ways are never enough. But when God Himself teaches us about Him, it is everything we need.
When we hear to the words of God, we hear something completely different than what we learn on our own. Jesus declared, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30) This is unlike any other religion in the world. Here is a religion where God tells us to lay down our burden of self-justification. Here is God telling us to rest. Here is Jesus telling us that He will take the heavy burden. He will take the hard labor. He will take our hard yoke and make it easy. He will take our heavy burden and make it light.
The reason that Jesus can say this is that He is the Son of God who entered history in order to save us from our own sin. While we can do nothing to please God, everything that Jesus does is pleasing to God. While we cannot endure the punishment that will satisfies God’s justice, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross totally satisfied God’s justice for you. Jesus is the one who takes our hard yoke on Himself and gives us the easy yoke of forgiveness in its place. He is the one who took up our heavy burden of sin and replaced it with the light burden of His righteousness. He has taken the labor and burden of false belief and replaced it with the rest of true faith.
Jesus has done all the work that makes us right with God. The blessings of that work become available to us when the Holy Spirit works faith in us. The Holy Spirit establishes the faith that receives the gifts of God – forgiveness, life, salvation. At the same time, the Holy Spirit creates a new being in us – a holy child of God. We now have the easy yoke of Christ’s forgiveness and the light burden of His righteousness.
The forces of evil hate Christ’s easy yoke and light burden. They will try to entrap and enslave us to a life that struggles to earn God’s favor. Our old sinful nature is still around. Christ has earned our forgiveness and the Holy Spirit applies that forgiveness to us through His gift of faith. The Holy Spirit has made us holy, but our old sinful nature constantly trys to turn us back to the broad road that leads to spiritual destruction. We become battle fields and the temptation is for us to try to do the fighting.
Nevertheless, Jesus continuously invites us, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) He says, “I am your champion. I have already won the war. The holy, sinless life that Jesus led … His innocent suffering and death … His resurrection and the ascension … all these, Jesus did for you. Through His holy life and sinless death, He won forgiveness for you. With that forgiveness come life and salvation. He has taken all our sin … all our guilt to the cross, including those sins we commit even after we are a child of God.
As God’s children, we mourn the fact that we daily sin much. At the same time, we rejoice in the free, abundant and overwhelming forgiveness that we have in Jesus Christ.
The life of the Christian is a battle, but we have the champion who has defeated all our foes, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Amen
Apostles’ Creed
C 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 Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life T everlasting. Amen.
Prayer of the Church
Prayer of the Church - Sixth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 9A) - 9 July 2023
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Almighty God, You ensure that the birds are fed and the lilies clothed in splendor. Deliver us from worry with the consolation that You know what we need, and that, for Jesus’ sake, we are of much more value than they. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Kindle in us, Holy Father, the gifts of Your Spirit, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, fill our homes with Your Word and grace. Be the companion of those who are alone. Strengthen husbands and wives. Bless parents as they catechize their children. Let them all find refuge in You and so preserve them from every plague and evil. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Ruler of the nations, until You at last cut off the war horse and the chariot forever, give our nation’s leaders wisdom and integrity to preserve peace, promote what is good, and defend against violence and wickedness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of mercy, You set free those imprisoned on account of their sin to bear their sentence as a joyful custody of hope. Remember the incarcerated. Preserve them from greater evil, and foster in them repentance and trust in Your grace. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord God, be with all who are weary and heavy-laden with the tribulations of this life. Give comfort to [_____________ and] all who suffer illness. Console them with the knowledge that Your yoke is easy and Your burden light, and that in You they will find rest for their souls. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord God of Israel, You release Your people from the waterless pit by the blood of Your covenant. Bless all who receive Christ’s body and blood with penitent hearts, trusting in Your promises and a common confession of faith. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
We give thanks to You, O Lord, for all the saints who, by Your grace, sought Your kingdom and righteousness above all other treasures. We pray that You would preserve us also in repentance and Christ’s righteousness until we stand before You in glory. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
All these things and whatever else You know that we need, grant us, Father, for the sake of Him who died and rose again and now lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever. And God’s people said: Amen.
Offering Prayer
Stand
Offertory
Service of the Sacrament
Preface
P It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who on this day overcame death and the grave and by His glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus
Prayer of Thanksgiving
P Blessed are You, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have had mercy on those whom You created and sent Your only-begotten Son into our flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior. With repentant joy we receive the salvation accomplished for us by the all-availing sacrifice of His body and His blood on the cross.
Gathered in the name and the remembrance of Jesus, we beg You, O Lord, to forgive, renew, and strengthen us with Your Word and Spirit. Grant us faithfully to eat His body and drink His blood as He bids us do in His own testament. Gather us together, we pray, from the ends of the earth to celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end. Graciously receive our prayers; deliver and preserve us. To You alone, O Father, be all glory, honor, and worship, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
The Words of Our Lord
P Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My T body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”
In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My T blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
P As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
C Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
P O Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, in giving us Your body and blood to eat and to drink, You lead us to remember and confess Your holy cross and passion, Your blessed death, Your rest in the tomb, Your resurrection from the dead, Your ascension into heaven, and Your coming for the final judgment. So remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:
Lord’s Prayer
C 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 LSB 163
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C Amen.
Agnus Dei LSB 163
Sit
Distribution and Hymns:
684 “Come unto Me, Ye Weary”
1 “Come unto Me, ye weary,
And I will give you rest.”
O blessèd voice of Jesus,
Which comes to hearts oppressed!
It tells of benediction,
Of pardon, grace, and peace,
Of joy that hath no ending,
Of love that cannot cease.
2 “Come unto Me, ye wand’rers,
And I will give you light.”
O loving voice of Jesus,
Which comes to cheer the night!
Our hearts were filled with sadness,
And we had lost our way;
But Thou hast brought us gladness
And songs at break of day.
3 “Come unto Me, ye fainting,
And I will give you life.”
O cheering voice of Jesus,
Which comes to aid our strife!
The foe is stern and eager,
The fight is fierce and long;
But Thou hast made us mighty
And stronger than the strong.
4 “And whosoever cometh,
I will not cast him out.”
O patient love of Jesus,
Which drives away our doubt,
Which, though we be unworthy
Of love so great and free,
Invites us very sinners
To come, dear Lord, to Thee!
Text: William C. Dix, 1837–98, alt.
Text: Public domain
606 “I Lay My Sins on Jesus”
1 I lay my sins on Jesus,
The spotless Lamb of God;
He bears them all and frees us
From the accursèd load.
I bring my guilt to Jesus
To wash my crimson stains
Clean in His blood most precious
Till not a spot remains.
2 I lay my wants on Jesus;
All fullness dwells in Him;
He heals all my diseases;
My soul He does redeem.
I lay my griefs on Jesus,
My burdens and my cares;
He from them all releases;
He all my sorrows shares.
3 I rest my soul on Jesus,
This weary soul of mine;
His right hand me embraces;
I on His breast recline.
I love the name of Jesus,
Immanuel, Christ, the Lord;
Like fragrance on the breezes
His name abroad is poured.
Text: Horatius Bonar, 1808–89
Text: Public domain
Stand
Post-Communion Canticle: “Thank the Lord”
Post-Communion Collect
A Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Benediction
Closing Hymn: 854 “Forth in Thy Name, O Lord, I Go”
Sung to a different melody
1 Forth in Thy name, O Lord, I go,
My daily labor to pursue,
Thee, only Thee, resolved to know
In all I think or speak or do.
2 The task Thy wisdom has assigned,
O let me cheerfully fulfill;
In all my works Thy presence find,
And prove Thy good and perfect will.
3 Thee may I set at my right hand,
Whose eyes my inmost substance see,
And labor on at Thy command,
And offer all my works to Thee.
4 Give me to bear Thine easy yoke,
And ev’ry moment watch and pray,
And still to things eternal look,
And hasten to Thy glorious day.
5 For Thee delightfully employ
Whate’er Thy bounteous grace has giv’n,
And run my course with even joy,
And closely walk with Thee to heav’n.
Text: Charles Wesley, 1707–88, alt.
Text: Public domain
+Soli Deo Gloria+
Announcements
Postlude
Refreshments, Adult Bible Class and Children’s Study
Acknowledgments
Divine Service, Setting One 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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing House.
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost – July 2, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
"The LORD your God is in your midst.”
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Gil McMillan
Acolyte Becca Potts
Organist Fred Weber
Communion Preparation Kathy McCarthy
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley, Orville
Harshbarger (honorary)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m.
Looking Back on Life –Martin Luther
A person may plan his own journey, but the Lord directs his steps. Prov. 16:9
No one sees the hand of God working in his life more clearly than when he reflects back on the years of his life. Augustine said that if a person had a choice of either dying or reliving his life over again, he would certainly choose death because of all the danger and evil he so narrowly escaped. In one sense, this statement is certainly true.
Looking back, a person can see how much he has accomplished and suffered without trying or thinking about it, even against his wishes and will. He gave such little thought to what he was doing before it occurred or when it was happening. Now, after everything has been carried out, he is amazed and says, "Why did these things happen to me when I never thought about them or thought something completely different would happen. So Proverbs 16:9 is true, "A person may plan his own journey, but the Lord directs his steps," even against his plan and will. So we must agree that our own cleverness and foresight don't guide our life and actions. Instead, God's wonderful power, wisdom, and goodness guide us. Only when we look back do we fully recognize how often God was with us when we neither saw his hand nor felt his presence at the time it was happening. Accordingly, Peter said, "He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).
Even if there were no books or sermons to tell us about God, simply looking back on our own lives would prove that he tenderly carries us in his arms. When we look back on how God had led and brought us through so much evil, adversity, and danger, we can clearly see the ever-present goodness of God, which is far above our thoughts, mind, and perceptions.
The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
July 2, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 906 “O Day of Rest and Gladness”
1 O day of rest and gladness,
O day of joy and light,
O balm of care and sadness,
Most beautiful, most bright;
This day the high and lowly,
Through ages joined to bless,
Sing, “Holy, holy, holy,”
The triune God confess.
2 This day at earth’s creation
The light first had its birth;
This day for our salvation
Christ rose from depths of earth;
This day our Lord victorious
The Spirit sent from heav’n,
And thus this day most glorious
A threefold light was giv’n.
3 This day, God’s people meeting,
His Holy Scripture hear;
His living presence greeting,
Through bread and wine made near.
We journey on, believing,
Renewed with heav’nly might,
From grace more grace receiving,
On this blest day of light.
D 4 That light our hope sustaining,
We walk the pilgrim way,
At length our rest attaining,
Our endless Sabbath day.
We sing to Thee our praises,
O Father, Spirit, Son;
The Church her voice upraises
To Thee, blest Three in One.
Text (sts. 1–2): Christopher Wordsworth, 1807–85, alt.; (st. 3): Charles P. Price, 1920–99; (st. 4): The Hymnal 1982
Text (sts. 1–2): Public domain
Text (st. 3): © 1982 Charles P. Price; (st. 4): © 1985 The Church Pension Fund. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
L O Lord, open my lips,
C and my mouth will declare Your praise.
L Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
C make haste to help me, O Lord.
C Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Praise to You, O Christ. Alleluia.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C [spoken] O come, let us worship Him.
Venite [sung] LSB 220
C O come, let us sing to the Lord,
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving,
let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise.
For the Lord is a great God
and a great king above all gods.
The deep places of the earth are in His hand;
the strength of the hills is His also.
The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hand formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our maker.
For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C [spoken] O come, let us worship Him.
Sit
Reading Jeremiah 28:5–9
L A reading from Jeremiah, chapter 28.
5Then 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, 6and 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. 7Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Reading Romans 7:1–13
L A reading from Romans, chapter 7.
1Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2Thus a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. 3Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.
4Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.
7What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
13Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Reading Matthew 10:34–42
L A reading from Matthew, chapter 10.
34[Jesus said:] “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
40“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Responsory
L Forever, O Lord, Your Word is firmly set in the heavens.
C [spoken] Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.
C [spoken] Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
C [spoken] Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 685 “Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus”
1 Let us ever walk with Jesus,
Follow His example pure,
Through a world that would deceive us
And to sin our spirits lure.
Onward in His footsteps treading,
Pilgrims here, our home above,
Full of faith and hope and love,
Let us do the Father’s bidding.
Faithful Lord, with me abide;
I shall follow where You guide.
2 Let us suffer here with Jesus
And with patience bear our cross.
Joy will follow all our sadness;
Where He is, there is no loss.
Though today we sow no laughter,
We shall reap celestial joy;
All discomforts that annoy
Shall give way to mirth hereafter.
Jesus, here I share Your woe;
Help me there Your joy to know.
3 Let us gladly die with Jesus.
Since by death He conquered death,
He will free us from destruction,
Give to us immortal breath.
Let us mortify all passion
That would lead us into sin;
And the grave that shuts us in
Shall but prove the gate to heaven.
Jesus, here with You I die,
There to live with You on high.
4 Let us also live with Jesus.
He has risen from the dead
That to life we may awaken.
Jesus, You are now our head.
We are Your own living members;
Where You live, there we shall be
In Your presence constantly,
Living there with You forever.
Jesus, let me faithful be,
Life eternal grant to me.
Text: Sigismund von Birken, 1626–81; tr. Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978, alt.
Text: © 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Sermon “The Honor of Our Lord’s Sword” Matthew 10:34-42
"The Honor of our Lord's Sword" – Matthew 10:34-42
This is not a sit back and relax message. This "difficult-to- hear" teaching of Jesus reflects something we know but often prefer not to think about. Jesus divides people. When we hear the truth about Him in the Gospel, we are either for Him or against Him. The Bible makes it clear that we cannot pick and choose certain doctrines concerning Jesus. He did not come to offer us a new set of laws or a new philosophy of life from which we can select parts that we accept and reject others. He confronts us with Himself as God in the flesh. We must by God's grace either believe or reject that claim of His, and if we believe it, the line is forever drawn in our lives over against everyone who doesn't believe in Him as God, Lord, Savior, completely and totally.
You see, when we are confronted by the reality of the Word made flesh, life's basic issues are at stake. Saved by His grace, once dead in our sins but now alive in Christ, we are forever changed. The unconditional sacrificial love of Jesus compels us in return to obey His command to take up our cross and follow Him. He reminds us that we must die to live, lose ourselves to find ourselves in Him. He divides rote religion from right relationship, the secular from the sacred, the temporal from the eternal, this world from the next, the saved from the unsaved, the lost from the found, darkness from light. He is Himself the divide between heaven and hell. Though He is the Prince of Peace, by the very nature of who He is, our Lord Jesus also brings with Him a Spiritual Sword which divides people, even those in our own households.
A sword is a weapon of honor. A cruise missile is very effective, but it does not have the honor to it that a sword does. With a cruise missile, you push a button over here, and hundreds of miles away over there, you blow up whatever you have targeted. You don't see your victims, you don't hear or feel their pain, and you really don't experience what you've done at all. You don't even know if you've accomplished your mission until you see the video of it later.
A sword, however, is different. There is honor to a sword because you stand toe-to-toe with your opponent. He is looking into your eyes as you look into his. You sense his fear as you yourself are afraid because you are both so vulnerable. You hear and feel the clash of the steel as he defends himself and then attacks and you in turn must defend yourself. And if you win and you strike a wound, you experience the pain of your victim, and you hurt with him and for him because you are right there with him.
When it comes to living as loved ones of Jesus Christ, commissioned by Him to go and make disciples of all nations, most Christians seem to prefer the cruise missile approach. Send some money over there, way over there for missions to foreign nations and let us know in a newsletter how it all turns out later. Very effective and necessary to win the world for Christ, but it is not the only way we are called to share the Gospel … and it's not just the pastor's job. "Pastor, I'll pray for you while you spread God's Word of salvation. The district and Synod will send missionaries overseas and even into growing neighborhoods around our area. I think it's great that you have been trained to defend the truth of God's Word. I'll give the offerings, you spread the Good News." That's cruise missile evangelism. You don't feel it, hear it, or experience it at all; it's very safe and easy when you send someone else to fight the good fight of faith. Yet Jesus clearly states the difficult truth that sometimes a Christian’s enemies will be members of his own household.
What does He mean by that? Jesus gets very personal here. He is saying that the love of God for you, and your love of your family, compels you under certain conditions to draw your sword and do spiritual battle within your own family. (Man against his father, daughter against her mother). From our Lord's perspective there can be no real true Godly peace within a family until all are His people, saved by grace through faith in Him alone. Though Jesus is the Prince of Peace, He knows that if you are truly following Him according to your new nature given to you in your baptism, then you will sometimes have to pay the price of conflict even with those you love the most, and that's not easy.
Most of us seek peace at all costs in our home and relationships. We have had to compromise many things to live together in peace. Some of us, therefore, have remained safe yet sorry for years that family members and old friends remain lost and headed to an eternity without God … because we don't want to upset whatever delicate relationships we live within. Jesus teaches against that attitude in the Gospel today. Better that there be conflict so that at least some would be saved. We cannot live in peace with Satan or sin or even indifference. We must not just sing, "Lift High the Cross" in the safety of our sanctuaries, but we must lift that wonderful cross high in the dangerous, real world of a thousand different opinions on that subject – in our businesses, schools, and social gatherings; and yes, especially in our homes.
Jesus forces the question upon us – who do we love the most? And how do we love the best? Jesus is reminding His disciples that you really can't love anyone else in the right way until you love Him first and most. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life for everyone, and if you truly love your family and friends, you will take the risk to direct them to Him because no one comes to the Father but through Jesus, no matter what that may cost.
The cost often involves pain. You stand toe-to-toe with people who are known to you and who know you, warts and all. You see fear in their eyes as you yourself are afraid because you are both so vulnerable. If there is rejection or a challenge to the authority of God's Word, you hear and feel the clash of the Sword of the Spirit as you and the one you are seeking to love into God's K
A Congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
275 Nation Drive, Auburn, CA 95603
The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost – July 2, 2023
Worship at 9 a.m. Adult Bible Class at 10:30 a.m.
Watch us on Facebook live or archived on our website!
Church Office Phone: (530) 885-5378 Website: stpaulauburn.org
Pastor’s cell phone: (916) 591-3816 Email: stpaulaubca@gmail.com
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
In grateful response to God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we dedicate ourselves to share the Good News of how Jesus lived, died, and rose again for all people.
Welcome to our service this morning! We especially welcome you, our visitors, in the name of Jesus Christ. If you would like the pastor to contact you regarding membership or any questions you may have, please speak to him today, or get in touch with him using the phone numbers or email above. Thanks!
Our service today will be a Communion Service. We practice what is called “Close Communion,” meaning that our communion is ordinarily only for those who are members of a congregation of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod or one of the churches we are in altar and pulpit fellowship with around the world. We believe that in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion, the very Body and Blood of Jesus are present in a supernatural way. If you are a visitor and wish to commune, please speak with the pastor prior to the start of the service. Thanks!
*****For our distribution today*****the elder will distribute the host in your hand, the pastor will follow with the individual cups (this due to the fact that we will not be using the common cup quite yet), and the cups can be placed in the receptacle upon leaving the communion rail.
"The LORD your God is in your midst.”
Zephaniah 3:1
Those Serving Us in Worship Today
Pastor The Rev. Dr. David F. Poganski
Elder Gil McMillan
Acolyte Becca Potts
Organist Fred Weber
Communion Preparation Kathy McCarthy
Ushers Kermitt Dickey, Doak Whitley, Orville
Harshbarger (honorary)
REFRESHMENTS will be offered following today’s worship service, as well as Adult Bible Class and a Children’s Study.
THERE IS A MEN’S BIBLE STUDY Thursday at 9 a.m.
Looking Back on Life –Martin Luther
A person may plan his own journey, but the Lord directs his steps. Prov. 16:9
No one sees the hand of God working in his life more clearly than when he reflects back on the years of his life. Augustine said that if a person had a choice of either dying or reliving his life over again, he would certainly choose death because of all the danger and evil he so narrowly escaped. In one sense, this statement is certainly true.
Looking back, a person can see how much he has accomplished and suffered without trying or thinking about it, even against his wishes and will. He gave such little thought to what he was doing before it occurred or when it was happening. Now, after everything has been carried out, he is amazed and says, "Why did these things happen to me when I never thought about them or thought something completely different would happen. So Proverbs 16:9 is true, "A person may plan his own journey, but the Lord directs his steps," even against his plan and will. So we must agree that our own cleverness and foresight don't guide our life and actions. Instead, God's wonderful power, wisdom, and goodness guide us. Only when we look back do we fully recognize how often God was with us when we neither saw his hand nor felt his presence at the time it was happening. Accordingly, Peter said, "He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).
Even if there were no books or sermons to tell us about God, simply looking back on our own lives would prove that he tenderly carries us in his arms. When we look back on how God had led and brought us through so much evil, adversity, and danger, we can clearly see the ever-present goodness of God, which is far above our thoughts, mind, and perceptions.
The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
July 2, 2023
Pre-Service Music and the Ringing of the Outside Church Bell
Opening Hymn: 906 “O Day of Rest and Gladness”
1 O day of rest and gladness,
O day of joy and light,
O balm of care and sadness,
Most beautiful, most bright;
This day the high and lowly,
Through ages joined to bless,
Sing, “Holy, holy, holy,”
The triune God confess.
2 This day at earth’s creation
The light first had its birth;
This day for our salvation
Christ rose from depths of earth;
This day our Lord victorious
The Spirit sent from heav’n,
And thus this day most glorious
A threefold light was giv’n.
3 This day, God’s people meeting,
His Holy Scripture hear;
His living presence greeting,
Through bread and wine made near.
We journey on, believing,
Renewed with heav’nly might,
From grace more grace receiving,
On this blest day of light.
D 4 That light our hope sustaining,
We walk the pilgrim way,
At length our rest attaining,
Our endless Sabbath day.
We sing to Thee our praises,
O Father, Spirit, Son;
The Church her voice upraises
To Thee, blest Three in One.
Text (sts. 1–2): Christopher Wordsworth, 1807–85, alt.; (st. 3): Charles P. Price, 1920–99; (st. 4): The Hymnal 1982
Text (sts. 1–2): Public domain
Text (st. 3): © 1982 Charles P. Price; (st. 4): © 1985 The Church Pension Fund. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
L O Lord, open my lips,
C and my mouth will declare Your praise.
L Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
C make haste to help me, O Lord.
C Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Praise to You, O Christ. Alleluia.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C [spoken] O come, let us worship Him.
Venite [sung] LSB 220
C O come, let us sing to the Lord,
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving,
let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise.
For the Lord is a great God
and a great king above all gods.
The deep places of the earth are in His hand;
the strength of the hills is His also.
The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hand formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our maker.
For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
L Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
C [spoken] O come, let us worship Him.
Sit
Reading Jeremiah 28:5–9
L A reading from Jeremiah, chapter 28.
5Then 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, 6and 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. 7Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Reading Romans 7:1–13
L A reading from Romans, chapter 7.
1Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2Thus a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. 3Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.
4Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.
7What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
13Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Stand
Reading Matthew 10:34–42
L A reading from Matthew, chapter 10.
34[Jesus said:] “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
40“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. 41The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
Responsory
L Forever, O Lord, Your Word is firmly set in the heavens.
C [spoken] Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.
C [spoken] Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
C [spoken] Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
Sit
Hymn of the Day: 685 “Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus”
1 Let us ever walk with Jesus,
Follow His example pure,
Through a world that would deceive us
And to sin our spirits lure.
Onward in His footsteps treading,
Pilgrims here, our home above,
Full of faith and hope and love,
Let us do the Father’s bidding.
Faithful Lord, with me abide;
I shall follow where You guide.
2 Let us suffer here with Jesus
And with patience bear our cross.
Joy will follow all our sadness;
Where He is, there is no loss.
Though today we sow no laughter,
We shall reap celestial joy;
All discomforts that annoy
Shall give way to mirth hereafter.
Jesus, here I share Your woe;
Help me there Your joy to know.
3 Let us gladly die with Jesus.
Since by death He conquered death,
He will free us from destruction,
Give to us immortal breath.
Let us mortify all passion
That would lead us into sin;
And the grave that shuts us in
Shall but prove the gate to heaven.
Jesus, here with You I die,
There to live with You on high.
4 Let us also live with Jesus.
He has risen from the dead
That to life we may awaken.
Jesus, You are now our head.
We are Your own living members;
Where You live, there we shall be
In Your presence constantly,
Living there with You forever.
Jesus, let me faithful be,
Life eternal grant to me.
Text: Sigismund von Birken, 1626–81; tr. Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978, alt.
Text: © 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110000283
Sermon “The Honor of Our Lord’s Sword” Matthew 10:34-42
"The Honor of our Lord's Sword" – Matthew 10:34-42
This is not a sit back and relax message. This "difficult-to- hear" teaching of Jesus reflects something we know but often prefer not to think about. Jesus divides people. When we hear the truth about Him in the Gospel, we are either for Him or against Him. The Bible makes it clear that we cannot pick and choose certain doctrines concerning Jesus. He did not come to offer us a new set of laws or a new philosophy of life from which we can select parts that we accept and reject others. He confronts us with Himself as God in the flesh. We must by God's grace either believe or reject that claim of His, and if we believe it, the line is forever drawn in our lives over against everyone who doesn't believe in Him as God, Lord, Savior, completely and totally.
You see, when we are confronted by the reality of the Word made flesh, life's basic issues are at stake. Saved by His grace, once dead in our sins but now alive in Christ, we are forever changed. The unconditional sacrificial love of Jesus compels us in return to obey His command to take up our cross and follow Him. He reminds us that we must die to live, lose ourselves to find ourselves in Him. He divides rote religion from right relationship, the secular from the sacred, the temporal from the eternal, this world from the next, the saved from the unsaved, the lost from the found, darkness from light. He is Himself the divide between heaven and hell. Though He is the Prince of Peace, by the very nature of who He is, our Lord Jesus also brings with Him a Spiritual Sword which divides people, even those in our own households.
A sword is a weapon of honor. A cruise missile is very effective, but it does not have the honor to it that a sword does. With a cruise missile, you push a button over here, and hundreds of miles away over there, you blow up whatever you have targeted. You don't see your victims, you don't hear or feel their pain, and you really don't experience what you've done at all. You don't even know if you've accomplished your mission until you see the video of it later.
A sword, however, is different. There is honor to a sword because you stand toe-to-toe with your opponent. He is looking into your eyes as you look into his. You sense his fear as you yourself are afraid because you are both so vulnerable. You hear and feel the clash of the steel as he defends himself and then attacks and you in turn must defend yourself. And if you win and you strike a wound, you experience the pain of your victim, and you hurt with him and for him because you are right there with him.
When it comes to living as loved ones of Jesus Christ, commissioned by Him to go and make disciples of all nations, most Christians seem to prefer the cruise missile approach. Send some money over there, way over there for missions to foreign nations and let us know in a newsletter how it all turns out later. Very effective and necessary to win the world for Christ, but it is not the only way we are called to share the Gospel … and it's not just the pastor's job. "Pastor, I'll pray for you while you spread God's Word of salvation. The district and Synod will send missionaries overseas and even into growing neighborhoods around our area. I think it's great that you have been trained to defend the truth of God's Word. I'll give the offerings, you spread the Good News." That's cruise missile evangelism. You don't feel it, hear it, or experience it at all; it's very safe and easy when you send someone else to fight the good fight of faith. Yet Jesus clearly states the difficult truth that sometimes a Christian’s enemies will be members of his own household.
What does He mean by that? Jesus gets very personal here. He is saying that the love of God for you, and your love of your family, compels you under certain conditions to draw your sword and do spiritual battle within your own family. (Man against his father, daughter against her mother). From our Lord's perspective there can be no real true Godly peace within a family until all are His people, saved by grace through faith in Him alone. Though Jesus is the Prince of Peace, He knows that if you are truly following Him according to your new nature given to you in your baptism, then you will sometimes have to pay the price of conflict even with those you love the most, and that's not easy.
Most of us seek peace at all costs in our home and relationships. We have had to compromise many things to live together in peace. Some of us, therefore, have remained safe yet sorry for years that family members and old friends remain lost and headed to an eternity without God … because we don't want to upset whatever delicate relationships we live within. Jesus teaches against that attitude in the Gospel today. Better that there be conflict so that at least some would be saved. We cannot live in peace with Satan or sin or even indifference. We must not just sing, "Lift High the Cross" in the safety of our sanctuaries, but we must lift that wonderful cross high in the dangerous, real world of a thousand different opinions on that subject – in our businesses, schools, and social gatherings; and yes, especially in our homes.
Jesus forces the question upon us – who do we love the most? And how do we love the best? Jesus is reminding His disciples that you really can't love anyone else in the right way until you love Him first and most. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life for everyone, and if you truly love your family and friends, you will take the risk to direct them to Him because no one comes to the Father but through Jesus, no matter what that may cost.
The cost often involves pain. You stand toe-to-toe with people who are known to you and who know you, warts and all. You see fear in their eyes as you yourself are afraid because you are both so vulnerable. If there is rejection or a challenge to the authority of God's Word, you hear and feel the clash of the Sword of the Spirit as you and the one you are seeking to love into God's K