Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Date
August 29, 2021
Author
Don Bennett
Category
Bulletins

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

Chicago Folk Service
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 29, 2021 – 10:30 am

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
901 East Stroop Road
Kettering, OH 45429-4688
(937) 298-0136

Introduction

Jesus protests against human customs being given the weight of divine law, while the essence of God’s law is ignored. True uncleanness comes not from external things, but from the intentions of the human heart. Last week Jesus told us “the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” Now James says God has given us birth by the word of truth. We, having been washed in the word when we were born in the font, return to it every Sunday to ask God to create in us clean hearts.
Hearts in Need
In today’s gospel, the Pharisees ask Jesus why his disciples do not wash their hands prior to eating. This ques-tion might sound strange to those of us accustomed to antibacterial soap! The question, though, is not one of hygiene, but of religious practice. As Jesus points out in his response, practices around handwashing are more about ritual and tradition than they are about cleanliness. Make no mistake: the traditions and rituals that de-veloped over generations were derived from and were attempts to follow the laws God had given the Jewish people in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. But by quoting the prophet Isaiah (Mark 7:6-8), Jesus bluntly tells the Pharisees that if their hearts remain far from God, then all the handwashing and tradition- following in the world is worthless.
It isn’t wrong to practice ritual and tradition. In fact, it is good and right to seek to obey God’s word, such as the directives we find in the Ten Commandments. But thinking we can be true to God’s will through our own willpower will never succeed because, as Jesus tells us, going through the motions of ritual will not cleanse our hearts from sin. We cannot fix our own hearts. We cannot stop sinning of our own accord. Only God makes it possible for us to obey God’s will. Jesus’ message to the Pharisees is his message to us: our hearts are unclean and in need of his grace and forgiveness. The good news is that he comes to do exactly that. In the waters of baptism, in the words of absolution, in the bread and wine become body and blood, your heart is made clean and brought back to God. You, beloved child of God, are free and undefiled.

PRELUDE – “Rejoice, the Lord Is King!”

words by Charles Wesley
music by John Darwalll;
arr. Larry Shackley
Chancel Choir

WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS

GREETING

The Lord be with you.
And with you too.

ACT OF RECONCILIATION

Dear members of God’s family, branded in baptism and united in Christ, let us come together honestly to tell God that we have not lived as we could and ask him to forgive us:

Our Father, we have not fulfilled the hope in which you created us. We repent and ask your mercy that our sin be forgiven and our guilt removed. Help us to learn from scripture and from one another your will for our lives, so that with your help we can claim the inheritance of unlimited freedom which you have willed to us through your Son. You came to our world in Jesus. Come now to us.

God our Father does care about us. He sent his son Jesus Christ to us, and for us Jesus gave his life. Anyone who is in Christ is a new creature. Old things have passed away and all things are new. And all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and who has entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation.

Let us pray.
(A silence is kept for individual prayer.)

PRAYER FOR THE DAY

O God our strength,
without you we are weak and wayward creatures. Protect us from all dangers that attack us from the outside, and cleanse us from all evil that arises from within ourselves, that we may be preserved through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

ENTRANCE SONG – Blessed be Your Name (ELW 797)

Blessed be your name in the land that is plentiful,
Where your streams of abundance flow,
Blessed be your name.

Blessed be your name when I’m found in the desert place,
Though I walk through the wilderness,
Blessed be your name.

Every blessing you pour out I’ll turn back to praise.
When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say:
Blessed be the name of the Lord;
Blessed be your name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord;
Blessed be your glorious name.

Blessed be your name when the sun’s shining down on me,
When the world’s all as it should be,
Blessed be your name.

Blessed be your name on the road marked with suffering,
Though there’s pain in the offering,
Blessed be your name.

You give and take away,
You give and take away.
My heart will choose to say,
“Lord, blessed be your name.”

Blessed be the name of the Lord;
Blessed be your name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord;
Blessed be your glorious name.

DEACON’S PRAYER

In peace let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For the peace that is from above and for our resurrection, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the people of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
For this holy place and for those who in faith, devotion, and fear of God offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord have mercy.
Help, save, strengthen and defend us, O God, by your grace.
Amen, amen.

SONG OF PRAISE

Glory be to God on high,
praise to you most Holy!
O Lord God, Heav’nly King
God the Father Almighty!

O Lord God, Lamb of God,
Only Son of the Father:
Christ who takes away our sin,
have mercy upon us.

For you only Lord, O Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
are most high in the glory
of God the Father.

Glory be to God on high! Amen.

FIRST READING FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9

A reading from Deuteronomy.
So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you.
You have seen for yourselves what the Lord did with regard to the Baal of Peor—how the Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, while those of you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today. See, just as the Lord my God has charged me, I now teach you statutes and ordinances for you to observe in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!” For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?
But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children.

Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.

SECOND READING FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT James 1:17-27

A reading from the book of James.
Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.
If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.

AL-LE-LU-LE, ALLELUIA

Refrain:
Sing praise to the Lord, all the earth!
Allelule, Aleluia!
Play music tp praise his name!
Allelule, Alleluia!

Our passover lamb is Christ, who banished the Angel of Death. (Congregation sing refrain.)
Our God made the earth for good, and one day we all will rejoice. (Congregation sing refrain.)
We sing to the glory of the Lord, who set us free from our sins. (Congregation sing refrain.)
To Christ our heavenly king, give thanks for everything. (Congregation sing refrain.)
He came to show us how to live in the here and now. (Congregation sing refrain.)
He suffered and died for us, and one day he shall return. (Congregation sing refrain.)

A READING FROM THE HOLY GOSPEL Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

The holy gospel according to Mark.
Glory to you, O Lord.

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around [Jesus], they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.” Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”
For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.

YOUTH MESSAGE

SERMON

CREED

We all believe in one true God,
Maker of earth and heaven,
the Father who to us in love,
hath the name of children given.
He in soul and body feeds us.
All we need his hand provides us,
through all snares and perils leads us,
sees no harm betides us.

He cares for us by day and night,
all things are governed by his might.

And we believe in Jesus Christ,
his Son our Lord and savior,
who with the Father equal might,
hath pow’r and glory forever.
Born of Mary, virgin MOther,
by the working of the Spirit,
he became our elder brother,
that heav’n we might inherit.

Was crucified by sinners all,
and raised by God to life again.

And we in the Holy Ghost believe,
who Grace and comfort giveth,
and with the Father and the Son
in eternal glory liveth.
Who all Christian people even
keeps in unity of Spirit,
Sins are truly forgiven through the
Blest Redeemer’s merit.

All flesh shall rise again and
we shall live with God eternally.

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

Made children and heirs of God’s promise, we pray for the church, the world, and all in need.

A brief silence.
Each intercession concludes:
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

Receive these prayers, O God, and those in our hearts known only to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

CREATE IN ME

Creare in me a clean heart, O, God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with your spirit free.
Creare in me a clean heart, O, God,
and renew a right spirit within me.

OFFERING PRAYER

Jesus, Bread of life,
you have set this table with your very self, and called us to the feast of plenty. Gather what has been sown among us, and strengthen us in this meal. Make us to be what we receive here, your body for the life of the world. Amen.

THANKSGIVING

The Lord be with you.
And with you too.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to God.
Give thanks to the Lord.
It is good and right to do.
It is truly right and proper at all times and places to give our thanks to you, Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Ever living God. Therefore, with angels and archangels and all the company of heav’n, we laud and magnify your glorious name evermore praising you and saying:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Hosts.
Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.
Glory be to you, O Lord most high.
Blest is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
blest is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosannah in the highest!

WORDS OF INSTITUTION

Father, you are holy indeed: all your actions show your mercy and love. You made us in your image and set us over your creation. Even when we had fallen under the spell of sin, you did not abandon us but offered a covenant of blessing for all people. You rescued your chosen people, Israel, as a sign of the great deliverance to come. You sent prophets to prepare the way.
And when the time had come, you sent your Son; born of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. In word and wonder he proclaimed your kingdom and was obedient to your will, even to giving his life. For us he was lifted up on the cross that we might know the power of his resurrection.
And that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him, he promised his Holy Spirit to those who believe to comfort and guide us and make us children of you, his Father.
Father, through him and in his name we ask you, fill us with his Holy Spirit so that, until he comes again, we may remember him as he commanded us:
At supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took some bread in his hands, and after giving thanks to you he broke it and gave it to his disciples and said, “Take this and eat. This is my body which is given for you.”
When the meal was ended, he took a cup of wine, and after giving thanks he gave it
to them and said, “Take this, all of you, and drink from it. This is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for all people so that sins might be forgiven. Do this to remember me, for I will not drink the fruit of the vine again until the day I drink the new wine in the Kingdom of God.”

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done,
Hallowed be thy Name.

On Earth as it is in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Give us this day our daily bread,
Hallowed be thy Name.

And forgive us our trespasses,
Hallowed be thy Name.
As we forgive those who trespass against us,
Hallowed be thy Name.

Lead us not into temptation,
Hallowed be thy Name.
But deliver us from evil,
Hallowed be thy Name.

For thine is the kingdom and the power,
Hallowed be thy Name.
And the glory forever and ever,
Hallowed be thy Name.

Amen, amen, it shall be so,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Amen, amen, it shall be so,
Hallowed be thy Name.

When we eat this bread we share the body of Christ. (breaking the bread)
When we drink this cup we share the blood of Christ. (lifting the cup)

SHARING THE MEAL

LAMB OF GOD

Christ, O Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.
Christ, O Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.
Christ, O Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, give us your peace.

COMMUNION HYMN One Bread, One Body (ELW 496)

One bread, one body, one Lord of all;
one cup of blessing which we bless,
and we, though many throughout the earth,
we are one body in this one Lord.

Gentile or Jew, servant or free,
woman or man, no more.

One bread, one body, one Lord of all;
one cup of blessing which we bless,
and we, though many throughout the earth,
we are one body in this one Lord.

Many the gifts, many the works,
one in the Lord of all.

One bread, one body, one Lord of all;
one cup of blessing which we bless,
and we, though many throughout the earth,
we are one body in this one Lord.

Grain for the fields, scattered and grown,
gathered to one for all.

One bread, one body, one Lord of all;
one cup of blessing which we bless,
and we, though many throughout the earth,
we are one body in this one Lord.

(after all have received bread and wine)
The Lord Jesus Christ strengthen and keep us in his Grace.
Amen.

SEND US FORTH IN PEACE

Lord, we have your peace.
Lord, we have your peace.
Lord, we have your peace.
Just as you said we have heard it,
Just as you lived we have felt it.
Lord we have your peace.

Sustain us in your peace, O Lord,
as go to our se’rate worlds.
Keep this peace with us as we try
to love in our troubled worlds.

Send us forth in peace.
Send us forth in peace to be a light
to show your beauty forever.

BLESSING

The Lord be with you.
And with you too.
Bless we the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face to shine upon you,
And be gracious unto you.
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you.
And give you peace,
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

DISMISSAL SONG I Danced in the Morning

I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from Heaven and I danced on the earth;
At Bethlehem I had my birth.