Thank you for joining us for worship! Wherever you are, we invite you to create space for worship, both in your physical space and in your heart — perhaps light a candle or fill a bowl with water to remember your baptism, or grab a bible or hymnal, or do whatever helps you most to feel worshipful.
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Sunday, June 11, 2023 • 2nd Sunday after Pentecost
Ministers: the people
Pastor: Day Hefner
Organist: Betty Herde
Lector: Karen Henry
Usher: Karen Henry
Communion assistant:
Bulletin slideshow: Tracey Kracl
Click here to see announcements and the prayer list.
GATHERING
The Holy Spirit calls us together as the people of God.
GATHERING JOYS, CONCERNS, OTHER PRAYERS
All are invited to share joys and concerns for the assembly to lift up in prayer together. Later in the service, Pastor Day will lead us in gathering these things in prayer.
As Christians, our prayers are meant to reflect the wideness of God’s mercy for the world. In addition to your own joys and concerns, consider lifting up prayer for the broader world:
- for the church universal, its ministry, and the mission of the gospel
- for the well-being of creation
- for peace and justice in the world, the nations and those in authority, the community
- for the poor, oppressed, sick, bereaved, lonely
- for all who suffer in body, mind, or spirit
- for the congregation, and for special concerns
- thanksgiving for the faithful saints who have gone before us – those commemorated by the church as well as those we know, who died recently or the anniversary of whose death is near
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
Blessed be the holy Trinity,☩ one God, who greets us in this and every season, whose word never fails, whose promise is sure.
Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of our neighbors.
Merciful God, we confess that we have sinned. We have hurt our community. We have squandered your blessings. We have hoarded your bounty. In the name of Jesus, forgive us and grant us your mercy.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Righteous God, we confess that we have sinned. We have failed to be honest. We have lacked the courage to speak. We have spoken falsely. In the name of Jesus, forgive us and grant us your mercy.
Silence is kept for reflection.
God is a cup of cold water when we thirst. God offers boundless grace when we fail. Claim the gift of God’s mercy: you are freed and forgiven in the name of ☩ Jesus Christ. Amen.
GATHERING SONG (ELW 556) Morning Has Broken
Morning has broken like the first morning; black-bird has spoken like the first bird. Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning! Praise for them, springing fresh from the Word! Sweet the rain’s new fall, sunlit from heaven, like the first dew fall on the grass. Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden, sprung in completeness where God’s feet pass. Mine is the sunlight! Mine is the morning, born of the one light Eden saw play! Praise with elation, praise every morning, God’s recreation of the new day!
GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
KYRIE (pg. 138)
In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the church of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
Amen.
CANTICLE OF PRAISE (pg. 140)
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.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
O God, you are the source of life and the ground of our being. By the power of your Spirit bring healing to this wounded world, and raise us to the new life of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
WORD
God speaks to us in scripture reading, preaching, and song.
FIRST READING: Hosea 5:15–6:6
15I will return again to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face. In their distress they will beg my favor:
6:1“Come, let us return to the Lord; for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck down, and he will bind us up. 2After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. 3Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth.” 4What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early. 5Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. 6For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Word of God, word of life. / The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
PSALM: Psalm 50:7-15
7“Listen, my people, and I will speak: Israel, I will bear witness against you; for I am God, your God.
8I do not accuse you because of your sacrifices; your burnt offerings are always before me.
9I will not accept a calf from your stalls, nor goats from your pens;
10for all the wild animals of the forest are mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.
11I know every bird of the mountains, and the creatures of the fields are mine.
12If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the whole world is mine and all that is in it.
13Do you think I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
14Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and make good your vows to the Most High.
15Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall honor me.
SECOND READING: Romans 4:13-25
13The promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.
16For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. 18Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” 19He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 23Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone, 24but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.
Word of God, word of life. / The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Alleluia. Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia. Alleluia.
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
GOSPEL: Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
The holy gospel according to Matthew.
Glory to you, O Lord.
9As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.
10And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
18While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples. 20Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, 21for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” 22Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. 23When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26And the report of this spread throughout that district.
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON
HYMN OF THE DAY (ELW 588) There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea; there’s a kindness in God’s justice which is more than liberty. There is no place where earth’s sorrows are more felt than up in heav’n. There is no place where earth’s failings have such kindly judgment giv’n. There is welcome for the sinner, and a promised grace made good; there is mercy with the Savior; there is healing in his blood. There is grace enough for thousands of new worlds as great as this; there is room for fresh creations in that upper home of bliss. For the love of God is borader than the measures of our mind; and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind. But we make this love too narrow by false limits of our own; and we magnify its strictness with a zeal God will not own. ‘Tis not all we owe to Jesus; it is something more than all: greater good because of evil, larger mercy through the fall. Make our love, O God, more faithful; let us take you at your word, and our lives will be thanksgiving for the goodness of the Lord.
APOSTLES CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s 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 to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Let us pray.
All that the assembly has shared is lifted in prayer, along with the silent prayers we lift in our hearts – God lovingly receives them all.
Amen.
PEACE
The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.
MEAL
God feeds us with the presence of Jesus Christ.
OFFERING
There are many ways to make your offering:
- Checks may be mailed or dropped off at the church
- Ask your bank about setting up automatic giving
- Make a secure offering online by clicking on the button below (opens up our Tithe.ly giving page in a new window)
OFFERING PRAYER
Let us pray.
God of field and forest, sea and sky, you are the giver of all good things. Sustain us with these gifts of your creation, and multiply your graciousness in us, that the world may be fed with your love, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
GREAT THANKSGIVING
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Give thanks to the Lord.
It is right to give our thanks and praise
PREFACE
It is indeed right, our duty and our joy… we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
HOLY HOLY HOLY (p144)
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of pow’r and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
THANKSGIVING AT THE TABLE
You are indeed holy, almighty and merciful God.…
For as often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
To you, O God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory in your holy church, now and forever.
Amen, amen, amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
INVITATION TO COMMUNION
COMMUNION
All are welcome at the Lord’s table, whether Lutheran or not. Ushers will invite you forward by pew. Wine and juice are available. To receive a blessing, please come forward with arms crossed across your chest.
POST-COMMUNION BLESSING
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Let us pray.
We thank you, generous God, for the refreshment we have received at your banquet table. Send us now to spread your generosity into all the world, through the one who is our dearest treasure, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
SENDING
God blesses us and sends us in mission to the world.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
SENDING SONG (ELW 879) For the Beauty of the Earth
For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies, for the love which from our birth, over and around us lies: Christ, our God, to thee we raise this our sacrifice of praise. For the wonder of each hour of the day and of the night, hill and vale and tree and flower, sun and moon and stars of light: Christ, our God, to thee we raise this our sacrifice of praise. For the joy of ear and eye, for the heart and mind’s delight, for the mystic harmony linking sense to sound and sight: Christ, our God, to thee we raise this our sacrifice of praise. For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child, friends on earth and friends above; for all gentle thoughts and mild: Christ, our God, to thee we raise this our sacrifice of praise. For each perfect gift of thine, peace on earth and joy in heaven for thyself, best gift divine, to our world so freely given: Christ, our God, to thee we raise this our sacrifice of praise.
BLESSING
The God who calls across the cosmos and speaks in the smallest seed bless, keep, and sustain you now and to the end of the age.
Amen.
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Share the harvest.
Thanks be to God.
St. John's Lutheran Church 