Created, saved and gifted by God, we seek, serve and share Jesus Christ.

The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
July 4, 2020 – 4:00 PM

Unfailing Light
an evening setting of Holy Communion

GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH 901 E. Stroop Road
Kettering, Ohio 45429
(937) 298-0136

PRELUDE  – This Is My Song 
text by Lloyd Stone and Georgina Harkness;
music based on the hymntune FINLANDIA by Jean Sibelius

GATHERING

The disciples urge Jesus strongly, saying:
“Stay with us, because it is almost evening, and the day is almost over.” So he went to stay with them.

WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS

All may make the sign of the cross, the sign that is marked at baptism, as the presiding minister begins.

Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
whose steadfast love is everlasting,
whose faithfulness endures from generation to generation.
Amen.
Trusting in the mercy of God, let us confess our sin.

Silence is kept for reflection.

Reconciling God,
we confess that we do not trust your abundance, and we deny your presence in our lives.
We place our hope in ourselves
and rely on our own efforts.
We fail to believe that you provide enough for all. We abuse your good creation for our own benefit. We fear difference and do not welcome others
as you have welcomed us.
We sin in thought, word, and deed. By your grace, forgive us;
through your love, renew us;
and in your Spirit, lead us;
so that we may live and serve you in newness of life.
Amen.

Beloved of God,
by the radical abundance of divine mercy
we have peace with God through ☩ Christ Jesus, through whom we have obtained grace upon grace. Our sins are forgiven.
Let us live now in hope.
For hope does not disappoint,
because God’s love has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

OPENING DIALOGUE
(We are not licensed to publish this music.)

EVENING HYMN
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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.

PRAYER OF THE DAY
You are great, O God, and greatly to be praised.
You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. Grant that we may believe in you, call upon you, know you, and serve you, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

WORD

FIRST READING – Zechariah 9:9-12
The coming messianic king will inaugurate an era of disarmament and prosperity. Because of God’s covenant with Israel, the people are designated as “prisoners of hope.”
A reading from Zechariah:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war-horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall command peace to the nations;
his dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.

SECOND READING – Romans 7:15-25a
Life captive to sin is a catch-22 existence in which we know good but do not do it and do things we know to be wrong. Through Jesus Christ, God has set us free from such a futile existence.
A reading from Romans:
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
(We are not licensed to publish this music.)

GOSPEL – Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
Jesus chides people who find fault with both his ministry and that of John the Baptist. He thanks God that wisdom and intelligence are not needed to receive what God has to offer.
A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew.
Glory to you, O Lord.
Jesus spoke to the crowd saying: “To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”
At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All 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.
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.

MESSAGE – Pastor Jamie Vannoy

SPECIAL MUSIC – Come, Follow Me, the Savior Spake
text by Johann Scheffler, tr. Charles W. Shaeffer;
music by Bartholomäus Gesius, adapt. Johann Herman Schein

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 power of the Holy Spirit, Born of the virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, died, and was buried;
He descended into hell.
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.

MEAL

When Jesus was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him.

GREAT THANKSGIVING
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right and good
that we should everywhere and always
offer thanks and praise to you,
holy God, mighty and immortal,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who on this day broke the bonds of death, opening to us the way of everlasting life
and giving us a foretaste of the feast to come.
And so with the Church on earth and hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

(We are not licensed to publish this music.)

Holy, God you alone are holy. You alone are God. The universe declares your praise beyond the stars, beneath the sea, within each cell, with every breath.
Generations bless your faithfulness: through the waters, across the wilderness, by night and day, out of exile, into the future.

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We give you thanks for your Son: at the heart of human life, near to those who suffer, beside the sinner, among the poor, with us now.

WORDS OF INSTITUTION
On the night of celebration and betrayal, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread, and gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
“Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying:
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.”
Remembering his love for us on the way, at the table, and to the end, we proclaim the mystery of faith:
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We pray for the gift of your spirit: in our gathering, upon this bread, within this cup, among your people, throughout the world.
Blessing, praise, and thanks to you, Holy God, for your mercy, through Christ Jesus, in your Spirit, by your church, without end.
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LORD’S PRAYER
Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us.
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
Friends of Jesus, come to the table.
Receive nourishment for your journey.
Amen.

LAMB OF GOD
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TABLE BLESSING
The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bless you and keep you in God’s grace. Amen.

HYMN AFTER COMMUNION
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PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
God of the welcome table,
in this meal we have feasted on your goodness and have been united by your presence among us. Empower us to go forth sustained by these gifts so that we may share your neighborly love with all, through Jesus Christ, the giver of abundant life. Amen.

BLESSING
Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers,
nor things present, nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
God, the creator, ☩ Jesus, the Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the comforter, bless you and keep you in eternal love.
Amen.

SPECIAL MUSIC – Let the Whole Creation Cry
text by Stopford A. Brooke;
music based on the hymntune SALZBURG by Jakob Hintze, arr. Johann Sebastian Bach

DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Christ is with you.
Created, saved and gifted by God we seek, serve and share Jesus Christ. Hallelujah, thanks be to God!

POSTLUDE