Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
August 23, 2020
10:00 a.m.
Opening Ourselves to Worship
Welcome
Call to Worship (People’s response in bold.)
Leader: Listen! The Lord calls out to us, offering life!
People: Teach us, lead us, turn us to your ways, O God.
Leader: Walk in the paths of God’s commandments with delight.
People: Teach us, lead us, turn us to your ways, O God. With our whole heart, we will turn to you and live!
Opening Hymn: Where Charity and Love Prevail
Invitation to Confession
Our sins weigh us down, and we struggle to live in freedom and joy. When we turn and return to the God who loves us, God finds pleasure. We turn now, confessing our sins against God and neighbor.
Prayer of Confession
From evil, even when it masquerades as good, merciful God, deliver us. From selfishness and vain desires, merciful God, deliver us. From irresponsible behaviors, quarreling, and jealousy, merciful God, deliver us. From hurtful disagreements and irreconcilable differences, merciful God, deliver us. Turn us away from the death sin inflicts. Lead us into the abundant life Christ brings. Forgive us, we pray, and teach us to forgive, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Assurance of Forgiveness
Laying aside the works of darkness, we live in the light of Christ. Gathered in Christ’s name, surely he is among us, full of grace and truth. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven and lifted to new life! People: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven and lifted to new life! Glory to God! Amen.
Hearing God’s Word
Prayer for Illumination
From the beginning until now, loving God, we have turned away from you, following lesser ways, pursuing a lesser life than the life offered to us in Christ. Yet you will not abandon us. You call out, warning and wooing us to turn, to return to you. Even when we fall away from brothers and sisters in the church, you remain present with us. Open our hearts to the scriptures we read today. Help us to love as you love, wholeheartedly, until we are reconciled to you and to our neighbor. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
Epistle Lesson: Romans 13:8-14
The Children’s Time to Lead Us
Gospel Lesson: Matthew 18:15-20
Leader: This is the Word of God for the People of God. People: Thanks be to God.
Sermon: Rev. Lorrin Radzik
Affirmation of Faith: The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried; the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick 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.
Transforming Our Lives & the World
Prayers of the People
God of grace and steadfast love, we thank you for your commandments, which order our life together. We thank you for calling us to live honorably with one another and pray for your grace as we try to do all that you require of us. Increase in us, we pray, the capacity to love you and our neighbors without reserve and to love even those who harm us. Not halfheartedly, but with our whole hearts.
Today we bring before you the cares, the concerns, and the joys that occupy us.
We remember before you those who are at odds with one another:
in families, in neighborhoods or offices, and even in the church.
We pray for nations in the midst of internal or external struggles and conflict. Teach us, O God, to seek nonviolent ways toward resolution. Help us to speak the truth and to listen with understanding when perspectives are far apart. We pray for love to bring peace into every troubled heart and place.
We remember before you those who have physical needs today: People who are hungry and thirsty; people who are exhausted by the demands of work or caregiving; people who are sick, or undergoing surgery; and people who live with chronic pain. Bring relief and rest, we pray.
We remember those weighed down with needs of heart and soul. A worry that keeps us awake at night, grief that accompanies us everywhere we go, depression that clouds us, or an addiction that grips us. Lift all of these heavy burdens with the light and peace of your presence, we pray.
Sustain us over the long journey toward health and give us trust in you, ourselves, and those who love us.
We remember before you not only our cares, but also our joys: for birthdays celebrated, and anniversaries enjoyed; We lift prayers for new beginnings, for babies who have been born, and the beginning of new school years. We pray for teachers, staff, and students.
We pray for all those who have new jobs, and new relationships.
We thank you, O God, for the gift of laughter, for enduring friendships, and for cherished memories. We give thanks that with you there is always a new beginning, a way where this is no way, hope beyond hope, and life beyond death. Through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord, we pray. Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
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. Amen.
Invitation to Generosity
Offertory
Prayer of Dedication
God of our salvation, we know what time it is, time to wake from sleep and to turn from selfishness. We offer now our time, our talents, and our resources to be used for your good purposes and all for love’s sake. Through Jesus the Christ we pray. Amen.
Closing Hymn: O Master Let Me Walk With Thee
Benediction
Permission to print and podcast/stream the music (not in public domain) is obtained from CCLI with license #20417540