Sunday Worship Service, 6 September 2020

Order of Worship for September 6, 2020

Prelude: “Praise Him, Praise Him, All Ye Little Children.” Amaya Lee, pianist.  Amaya and Abbigail Lee, vocalists.

Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, who creates, redeems, and sustains us and all of creation. Amen.

Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.

Silence is kept for reflection.

Faithful God, have mercy on us.

We confess that we are captive to sin

and cannot free ourselves.

We turn from your loving embrace

and go our own ways.

We pass judgment on one another

before examining ourselves.

We place our own needs before those of our neighbors.

We keep your gift of salvation to ourselves.

Make us humble, cast away our transgressions,

and turn us again to life in you

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

God hears the cries of all who call out in need,

and through his death and resurrection,

Christ has made us his own.

Hear the truth that God proclaims:

Your sins are forgiven in the name of ☩ Jesus Christ.

Led by the Holy Spirit, live in freedom and newness

to do God’s work in the world.

Amen.

Opening Hymn: ELW 864- “Praise, My Soul, the God of Heaven.”

Prayer of the Day

O Lord God, enliven and preserve your church with your perpetual mercy. Without your help, we mortals will fail; remove far from us everything that is harmful, and lead us toward all that gives life and salvation, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

First Reading: Ezekiel 33:7-11

God appointed Ezekiel as a sentinel for the house of Israel. Ezekiel must faithfully convey God’s warnings to the people. Remarkably, God—who is about to attack Jerusalem—gives a warning with the hope that repentance will make the attack unnecessary.

7So you, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 8If I say to the wicked, “O wicked ones, you shall surely die,” and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at your hand. 9But if you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, and they do not turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life.

  10Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have said: “Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?” 11Say to them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?

Psalm: Psalm 119:33-40

I desire the path of your commandments. (Ps. 119:35)

33Teach me, O Lord, the way | of your statutes,
  and I shall keep it | to the end.
34Give me understanding, and I shall | keep your teaching;
  I shall keep it with | all my heart.
35Lead me in the path of | your commandments,
  for that is | my desire.
36Incline my heart to | your decrees
  and not to | unjust gain. 
37Turn my eyes from be- | holding falsehood;
  give me life | in your way.
38Fulfill your promise | to your servant,
  which is for | those who fear you.
39Turn away the reproach | that I dread,
  because your judg- | ments are good.
40Behold, I long for | your commandments;
  by your righteousness en- | liven me. 

Second Reading: Romans 13:8-14

The obligation of Christians is to love one another and so fulfill the heart and goal of the law. Clothes make the person as we “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” and live today in light of the future God has in store for us.

8Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

  11Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; 13let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20

Jesus offers practical advice to his disciples on how individuals—and the church as a whole—should go about restoring relationships when one member has sinned against another.

[Jesus said to the disciples:] 15“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. 16But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

Hymn of the Day: ELW 716- “Lord of All Nations, Grant Me Grace.”

Communion Hymn: ELW 797- “Blessed Be the Name” (Heri ni jina) and ELW 639- “When We Are Living.” (Pues si vivimos)

Sending Hymn: ELW 836- “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee.” Brittany and Miriam Anderson, vocalists. Pam Edwards, pianist.

Postlude: ELW 470- “Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether.” Pam Edwards, pianist.

Worship for today, Sept 6.Have a great and safe Labor day, everyone!

Posted by First Lutheran Church – Rock Island, IL on Sunday, September 6, 2020

Image credits: Two or Three, Etsy.com and photo of the First Evangelical Lutheran Church grounds, Therese Guise.

Music credits:

“Praise Him, Praise Him, All Ye Little Children.” Public domain.

“Praise, My Soul, the God of Heaven.” Text: Henry F. Lyte, 1793 – 1847; alt. Walter R. Bouman, 1927 – 2005. Music: John Goss, 1800 – 1880. Public domain.

“Lord of All Nations, Grant Me Grace.” Text: Olive Wise Spannaus, b. 1916, alt. Music: Samotulsky Kancional, 1561. Text copyright 1969 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Permission to print and podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-704843.

“Blessed Be the Name” (Heri ni jina). Text: East African traditional, as taught by Deogratias Mahamba. Music: East African traditional; arr. hymnal version. Text and arr. copyright 2003 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Permission to print and podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-704843.

“When We Are Living.” (Pues si vivimos). Text: st. 1, based on Romans 14:8; tr. Elise S. Eslinger, b. 1942; st. 2 – 3, Roberto Escamilla, b. 1931; tr. George Lockwood, b. 1946. Music: Spanish traditional. Spanish text, sts. 2 -3 copyright 1983 Abingdon Press and tr. copyright 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House, admin. The Copyright Company. All rights reserved. Permission to print and podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-704843.

“Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee.” Text: Henry van Dyke, 1852 – 1933. Music: Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770 – 1827, adapt. All rights reserved. Permission to print and podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-704843.

“Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether.” Text: Percy Dearmer, 1867 – 1936, alt. Music: Harold Friedell, 1905 – 1958. Text copyright Oxford University Press. Music copyright 1957, 1985 H.W. Gray, admin. CPP/Belwin. All rights reserved. Permission to print and podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-704843.

Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2020 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Reprinted/ streamed with permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SAS006904. Duplication in any form is prohibited without permission or valid license from the copyright administrator.