Created, saved and gifted by God, we seek, serve and share Jesus Christ.
Second Sunday after Pentecost
June 19, 2022, 10:30 AM
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
901 East Stroop Road Kettering, Ohio 45429
(937) 298-0136
INTRODUCTION
This Sunday’s texts paint startling pictures of the horrific nature of sin. The church’s repeated celebration of holy communion counters that tragic reality in a continued showing forth of the death of Jesus until he comes again. It is a dramatic declaration of “how much God has done for you.”
What is Your Name?
There is in Cairo an eerie, demonic site, terrifying to the human soul. Far into the chaos and noise of the city that never slumbers, there is another city—“the city of the dead.” A vast tangle of tombs and mausoleums that, through the windows of tour buses, remains grim, distant, and quiet is, at close encounter, not a place of repose at all. It is a wretched, loud, busy, suffering place lived in by Cairo’s least and lowliest.
But there is no need to travel to Egypt to see the grim scene. Cities of the dead are all around us, if we care to look—places where the condemned, dirtied, ridiculed, blamed, and broken spend their demonized days living as if dead in cells and wards, beneath plastic and cardboard, in rust and garbage, among decay and rot, forgotten and lonely. There, beyond our windows, so used to their own condemned life, the most they hope for is to be left alone. “I beg you, do not torment me” (Luke 8:28). “I beg you.” The gospel says “beg”!
He’d had enough—the man could endure no more judgment, no more religious platitudes, no more being the topic of conversation, no more shame, no more chains and shackles. It was—it is—bad enough to be plagued by demons in the cities of the dead, so please, no more torment! I beg you.
“What is your name?” (v. 30). Those four beautiful words stun the ugliness on the hillside. “What is your name?” In that question there thunders a spoken truth: the desire to know, not ignore; to approach, not pass by; to dare, not cower.
“And they were afraid” (v. 35). Those four riddling words confuse the swinish hillside. In that spoken truth there is exposed a question: Afraid of what? Of knowing the banished one? Of approaching the wild one? Of daring to welcome the troubled one home?
What is your name? Legion? No: Child of God.
GATHERING
WELCOME AND 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 – “Blessed Assurance”
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior, all the day long:
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior, all the day long:
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
Perfect submission, all is at rest;
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love.
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior, all the day long:
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
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
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 people 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
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
O Lord God,
we bring before you the cries of a sorrowing world. In your mercy set us free from the chains that bind us, and defend us from everything that is evil, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
WORD
God speaks to us in scripture reading, preaching, and song.
FIRST READING Isaiah 65:1-9
The prophet announces God’s impatience. The people’s self absorption is idolatry, and images from pagan worship fill this reading. Like a vintner who crushes the grape to release the wine, God will use Israel’s exile to establish a new community of the faithful.
A reading from the book of Isaiah.
I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that did not call on my name.
I held out my hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and offering incense on bricks; who sit inside tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat swine’s flesh, with broth of abominable things in their vessels; who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.” These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.
See, it is written before me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their laps their iniquities and their ancestors’ iniquities together, says the LORD; because they offered incense on the mountains and reviled me on the hills, I will measure into their laps full payment for their actions.
Thus says the LORD: As the wine is found in the cluster, and they say, “Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,” so I will do for my servants’ sake, and not destroy them all.
I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah inheritors of my mountains; my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall settle there.
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.
SECOND READING Galatians 3:23-29
For Paul, baptism is a powerful bond that unites people not only with God but with other believers. Those who call themselves children of God experience a transformation that removes prejudices of race, social class, or gender in favor of true unity in Christ.
A reading from Paul’s letter to the Galatians.
Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.
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 READING Luke 8:26-39
Jesus’ mission includes foreigners, and his authority extends to the casting out of demons. Some who witness Jesus’ work are seized with confusion and fear, but the man who was healed is commissioned to give testimony of God’s mercy and power.
The Holy Gospel according to Luke.
Glory to you, O Lord.
Then [Jesus and his disciples] arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me”—for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.
Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.
The gospel of the Lord
Praise to you, O Christ.
YOUTH MESSAGE
MESSAGE
HYMN OF THE DAY – “Jesus Son of God”
You came down from heaven’s throne
This earth you formed was not your home
A love like this the world had never known.
A crown of thorns to mock your name. Forgiveness fell upon your face.
A love like this the world had never known.
On the altar of our praise,
Let there be no higher name:
Jesus, Son of God.
You laid down your perfect life
You are the sacrifice,
Jesus, Son of God.
You are Jesus, Son of God.
You took our sin, you bore our shame,
You rose to life, you defeated the grave,
And a love like this the world has never known.
‘Cause you took our sin, you bore our shame,
You rose to life, you defeated the grave
A love like this the world has never known.
On the altar of our praise,
Let there be no higher name:
Jesus, Son of God.
You laid down your perfect life
You are the sacrifice,
Jesus, Son of God.
You are Jesus, Son of God.
Be lifted higher than
All you’ve overcome.
Your name be louder
Than any other song There is no power
That can come against your love.
The cross was enough,
The cross was enough,
The cross was enough
On the altar of our praise,
Let there be no higher name:
Jesus, Son of God.
You laid down your perfect life.
You are the sacrifice,
Jesus, Son of God.
On the altar of our praise,
Let there be no higher name:
Jesus, Son of God.
You laid down your perfect life.
You are the sacrifice,
Jesus, Son of God.
You are Jesus, Son of God.
Be lifted higher than
All you’ve overcome.
Your name be louder
Than any other song
There is no power
That can come against your love.
The cross was enough,
The cross was enough,
The cross was enough,
The cross was enough,
The cross was enough.
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 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
United in Christ and guided by the Spirit, we pray for the church, the creation, and all in need.
A brief silence.
Each intercession concludes:
God of grace,
hear our prayer.
God of every time and place, in Jesus’ name and filled with your Holy Spirit, we entrust these spoken prayers and those in our hearts into your holy keeping.
Amen.
MEAL
God feeds us with the presence of Jesus Christ.
DIALOGUE
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, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our Savior Jesus
Christ. Fulfilling the promise of the resurrection, you pour out the fire of your Spirit, uniting in one body people of every nation and tongue. And so, with Mary Magdalene and Peter and all the witnesses of the resurrection, with earth and sea and all their creatures, and with angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
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
In the night in which he was betrayed, 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 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.
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
In Christ’s presence there is fullness of joy.
Come to the banquet.
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 peace.
COMMUNION HYMN – “There Is a Balm in Gilead”
There is a balm in Gilead
to make the wounded whole;
there is a balm in Gilead
to heal the sin-sick soul.
Sometimes I feel discouraged
and think my work’s in vain,
but then the Holy Spirit
revives my soul again.
There is a balm in Gilead
to make the wounded whole;
there is a balm in Gilead
to heal the sin-sick soul.
If you cannot preach like Peter,
if you cannot pray like Paul,
you can tell the love of Jesus
and say, “He died for all.”
There is a balm in Gilead
to make the wounded whole;
there is a balm in Gilead
to heal the sin-sick soul.
Don’t ever be discouraged,
for Jesus is your friend;
and if you lack for knowledge
he’ll ne’er refuse to lend.
There is a balm in Gilead
to make the wounded whole;
there is a balm in Gilead
to heal the sin-sick soul.
TABLE BLESSING
The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and always keep you in God’s grace.
Amen.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Life-giving God, through this meal you have bandaged our wounds and fed us with your mercy. Now send us forth to live for others, both friend and stranger, that all may come to know your love. This we pray in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
SENDING
BLESSING
The God of peace, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you, comfort you, and show you the path of life this day and always.
Amen.
SENDING HYMN – “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High”
Lord, I lift your name on high;
Lord, I love to sing your praises.
I’m so glad you’re in my life;
I’m so glad you came to save us.
You came from heaven to earth to show the way,
From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay;
From the cross, to the grave, from the grave to the sky:
Lord, I lift your name on high.
Lord, I lift your name on high;
Lord, I love to sing your praises.
I’m so glad you’re in my life;
I’m so glad you came to save us.
You came from heaven to earth to show the way,
From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay;
From the cross, to the grave, from the grave to the sky:
Lord, I lift your name on high.
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Love your neighbor.
Created, saved and gifted by God, we seek, serve and share Jesus Christ. Hallelujah, thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE
“W + 2” = Worship Plus Two
Make a commitment not only to 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.
UPCOMING COMMEMORATIONS
Onesimos Nesib, translator, evangelist, died 1931
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Onesimos was born in Ethiopia. Captured, enslaved, and taken to Eritrea, he was there freed by Swedish missionaries. He translated the Bible into his native Oromo and returned to preach there.
John the Baptist
Friday, June 24, 2022
John said, “[Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease.” And so his birth is celebrated half a year before Jesus’, just as the daylight in the northern hemisphere begins to wane. Jesus honored John as being the greatest prophet.
Presentation of the Augsburg Confession, 1530
Saturday, June 25, 2022
On this day in 1530 the German and Latin editions of the Augsburg Confession were presented to the Emperor Charles of the Holy Roman Empire. The Augsburg Confession was written by Philipp Melanchthon and endorsed by Martin Luther, and consists of a brief summary of points in which the reformers saw their teaching as either agreeing with or differing from that of the Roman Catholic Church of the time.
Philipp Melanchthon, renewer of the church, died 1560
Saturday, June 25, 2022
Though he died on April 19, Philipp Melanchthon is commemorated today because of his connection with the Augsburg Confession. Colleague and co-reformer with Martin Luther, Melanchthon was a brilliant scholar, known as “the teacher of Germany.”
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.