Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

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

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
June 20, 2021 – 10:30 am

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

Introduction

Now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation! Now we are in the storm, the boat almost swamped; but Jesus is here now, and when we call him, he will calm the storm. Even the wind and waves listen to him as they would to their creator. We also listen to him and are called to believe in the power of God’s word in him, a power greater than all that we fear.

Just As We Are
Jesus spent a day beside the sea teaching, and then the disciples took him in a boat “just as he was” (Mark 4:36). These are easy words to skip past between the wisdom of parables and the stilling of the sea. After a day of teaching to the masses, Jesus was tired. Indeed, he fell asleep in the boat. Perhaps he was hungry. He was already being followed everywhere by an ever-growing crowd, given little time to himself for rest. It was Jesus, “just as he was,” who calmed the storm. This was not the transfigured Jesus or the resurrected Jesus, but the fully human (and fully divine) Jesus after a long day.
Psalm 139 reminds us that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (v. 14). Yet we often struggle to let people encounter us just as we are. Some of us have been conditioned to believe that “just as you are” is not good enough, smart enough, or worthy of attention, credit, or love. Others have been praised for perfection and must strive to maintain that image.
Most of us have some way of hiding bits of ourselves and our experiences. This may look like a wall of silence and a minimum of words, or a flood of information that reveals no more than the silence. We have all learned to live with a mixture of our own secrets, doubts, fears, and hopes. Our public selves reveal some, but not all, of who we are.
What if “just as we are” is exactly where we are most powerful and most able to bless others? What if “just as we are” is where we are most able to bring grace and peace to our families, friends, coworkers, and neighbors? Come to worship today just as you are, and know that is right where Jesus meets you and calls you into service.

GATHERING

The Holy Spirit calls us together as the people of God.

PRELUDE

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.

GATHERING HYMN – Eternal Father, Strong to Save

Eternal Father, strong to save,
whose arm has bound the restless wave,
who bade the mighty ocean deep
its own appointed limits keep:
oh, hear us when we cry to thee
for those in peril on the sea.

O Savior, whose almighty word
the winds and waves submissive heard,
who walked upon the foaming deep,
and calm amid the storm didst sleep:
oh, hear us when we cry to thee
for those in peril on the sea.

O Holy Spirit, who didst brood
upon the chaos dark and rude,
and bid its angry tumult cease,
and give, for wild confusion, peace:
oh, hear us when we cry to thee
for those in peril on the sea.

O Trinity of love and pow’r,
all trav’lers guard in danger’s hour
from rock and tempest, fire and foe,
protect them wheresoe’er they go;
thus evermore shall rise to thee
glad hymns and praise from land and sea.

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

Gathered in peace, gathered in peace, let us pray to the Lord. Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.

For peace from above, and for the saving power of God, let us pray. Christ have mercy.
Christ have mercy.

For peace in the world, for the Church, for the unity of all, let us pray. Lord have mercy.
Lord have mercy.

For this holy place, and for all who gather here for praise, let us pray. Christ have mercy.
Christ have mercy.

SONG OF PRAISE

This is the feast! Come and celebrate the victory of our God!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! This is the feast!

Worthy is Christ, the Lamb once slain,
whose blood was shed to give freedom for all.
Power and riches, wisdom and strength,
honor and blessing; come give glory to Christ!

Yes, This is the feast! Come and celebrate the victory of our God!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! This is the feast!

Sing out with joy, all the people of God!
Join in the song of creation!
Blessing and honor, glory and might
to God and the Lamb for evermore!

Yes, This is the feast! Come and celebrate the victory of our God!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! This is the feast!

This is the feast of praise and rejoicing,
for the Lamb, the one who was slain,
will come forth now and begin God’s reign!
Sing all you people, sing Alleluia!

Yes, This is the feast! Come and celebrate the victory of our God!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! This is the feast!

PRAYER OF THE DAY

O God of creation,
eternal majesty, you preside over land and sea, sunshine and storm. By your strength pilot us, by your power preserve us, by your wisdom instruct us, and by your hand protect us, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

WORD

God speaks to us in scripture reading, preaching, and song.

FIRST READING Job 38:1-11

At the end of the book of Job, after Job and his companions have argued about the cause of the great suffering Job endures, God finally speaks. These verses begin that speech, which is a grand vision of creation, describing God’s ordering of the cosmos and inviting Job to marvel at its beauty.

A reading from the book of Job.
The LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have un- derstanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? “Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb?— when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors, and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stopped’?”

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

SECOND READING 2 Corinthians 6:1-13

Paul and his fellow workers experience great hardships and even rejection while carrying out their missionary work. Nevertheless, Paul continuously proclaims that God has not rejected us but is graciously working for our salvation.

A reading from the book of 2 Corinthians.
As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says, “At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you.” See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything. We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you. There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours. In return—I speak as to children—open wide your hearts also.

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

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Alleluia.
Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!
Alleluia. Alleluia!

GOSPEL Mark 4:35-41

Jesus’ calming of the storm on the sea reveals his power over evil, since the sea repre- sents evil and chaos. The boat on the sea is a symbol of the church and invites us to trust God amid life’s turbulence.

The holy gospel according to Mark.
Glory to you, O Lord.
When evening had come, [Jesus said to the disciples,] “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

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

MESSAGE

HYMN OF THE DAY – I Lift My Hands

Be still; there is a healer.
His love is deeper than the sea.
His mercy is unfailing,
His arms: a fortress for the weak. Let faith arise.
Let faith arise.

I lift my hands to believe again.
You are my refuge, you are my strength;
As I pour out my heart, these things I remember.
You are faithful, God, forever.

Be still; there is a river
That flows from Calvary’s tree,
A fountain for the thirsty,
Your grace that washes over me.
Let faith arise.
Let faith arise.

I lift my hands to believe again.
You are my refuge, you are my strength;
As I pour out my heart, these things I remember.
You are faithful, God, forever.

I lift my hands to believe again.
You are my refuge, you are my strength;
As I pour out my heart, these things I remember.
You are faithful, God, forever.

Let faith arise, let faith arise.
Open my eyes, open my eyes.
Let faith arise, let faith arise.
Open my eyes, open my eyes.

I lift my hands to believe again.
You are my refuge, you are my strength;
As I pour out my heart, these things I remember.
You are faithful, God. You’re faithful, God, forever.

Let faith arise, let faith arise.

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.

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

Let us come before the triune God in prayer.

A brief silence.
Each intercession concludes:

Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

We lift our prayers to you, O God, trusting in your abiding grace.
Amen.

MEAL

THE GREAT THANKSGIVING

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.
It is right to give 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:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna, hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna, hosanna in the highest!

Blessed are you, Holy God, from the rising of the sun to its setting, we bless your holy name. You set creation’s table with the bounty of your goodness and satisfy the needs of every living thing. You gather the peoples of the earth to feast on your promise and your presence made known to us in your Son, Jesus.

In the night in which he was bretrayed, our Lord Jesus 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 to all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgviness of sin. Do this in remembrance of me.

As often as we share this meal, we proclaim his death unitl he comes:

Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come,
Christ will come again.

Pour out your Holy Spirit upon these gifts and this company, making us one in Christ Jesus. Through him all glory and honor is yours, gracious Father, with your Spirit, both now and forever.

Amen, amen, Alleluia!
Amen, amen!

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

Christ has set the table with more than enough for all. Come!

HOLY COMMUNION – Receiving the Lord’s tangible presence.

The body of Christ, given for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
Each person may respond: Amen.

Communion Statement ~ If you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is your Savior and Redeemer and would like to receive Holy Communion, then come forward to receive the elements. If you would just like to come forward and receive a blessing, then you may do that also.

NOTE: We invite everyone to come forward for Holy Communion. If you have a gluten allergy, gluten-free wafers are available upon request when receiving Communion. Also, if you prefer not to receive wine at Communion, apple juice is available upon request.

LAMB OF GOD

Lamb of god, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of god, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us.
Lamb of god, you take away the sin of the world: grant us your peace, grant us your peace.

COMMUNION HYMN – My Life Flows On in Endless Song

My life flows on in endless song;
above earth’s lamentation,
I catch the sweet, though far-off hymn
that hails a new creation.

No storm can shake my inmost calm
while to that Rock I’m clinging.
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
how can I keep from singing?

Through all the tumult and the strife,
I hear that music ringing.
It finds an echo in my soul.
How can I keep from singing?

No storm can shake my inmost calm
while to that Rock I’m clinging.
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
how can I keep from singing?

What though my joys and comforts die?
The Lord my Savior liveth.
What though the darkness gather round?
Songs in the night he giveth.

No storm can shake my inmost calm
while to that Rock I’m clinging.
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
how can I keep from singing?

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
a fountain ever springing!
All things are mine since I am his!
How can I keep from singing?

No storm can shake my inmost calm
while to that Rock I’m clinging.
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
how can I keep from singing?

REFLECTION DURING COMMUNION

As we prepare to receive the sacrament today, may we quietly take this time to center our- selves on Christ, and the amazing gifts of grace and forgiveness that we have been given. As we receive the body and the blood of our Lord, let us reflect upon His sacrifice. Finally, may we take this time to ask the Holy Spirit to enter our hearts, and then to work in us and through us in the coming days.

TABLE BLESSING

The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bless you and always keep you in God’s grace.
Amen.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Jesus, Bread of life,
we have received from your table more than we could ever ask. As you have nourished us in this meal, now strengthen us to love the world with your own life. In your name we pray. Amen.

SENDING

God blesses us and sends us in mission to the world.

BLESSING

The blessing of God, who provides for us, feeds us, and journeys with us, be upon you now and forever.
Amen.

SENDING HYMN – Step by Step

O God, you are my God, and I will ever praise you,
O God, you are my God, and I will ever praise you.
I will seek you in the morning, and I will learn to walk in your ways,
And step by step you’ll lead me, and I will follow you all of my days.

O God, you are my God, and I will ever praise you,
O God, you are my God, and I will ever praise you.
I will seek you in the morning, and I will learn to walk in your ways,
And step by step you’ll lead me, and I will follow you all of my days.

And I will follow you all of my days, and I will follow you all of my days,
And step by step, you’ll lead me, and I will follow you all of my days.

DISMISSAL

Go in peace. You are the body of Christ.
Thanks be to God.
Created, saved and gifted by God, we seek, serve and share Jesus Christ. Hallelujah, thanks be to God!

“W + 2” = Worship Plus Two
Make a commitment to not only worship each week
but also try to find a way to serve in the congregation
and seek out a way to serve our community.

YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE MISSION FIELD

From Sundays and Seasons.com.
Copyright 2014 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved.
Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #22920.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989,
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Curches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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