WELCOME

OPENING LITANY^[1]:
There is a richness here – a richness that greets and grows and holds and challenges and keeps.

There is a richness here – a richness that surrounds and brings and delivers and gives.

The richness holds us in our weakness, fills us in our hunger, finds us when we’re lost.

So here, richly blessed, we have come, and we have been found.

Let this time together inspire us in richness and grace.

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS:
Blessed be the holy Trinity, + one God, who creates, redeems, and sustains us and all creation.
Amen.

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

Silence is held 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 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.

PRAYER OF THE DAY:
Let us pray.
Righteous God, our merciful master, you own the earth and all its peoples, and you give us all that we have.  Inspire us to serve you with justice and wisdom, and prepare us for the joy of the day of your coming, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.

FIRST READING: ZEPHANIAH 1:7, 12-18
⁷Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is at hand; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, he has consecrated his guests.

¹²At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the people who rest complacently on their dregs, those who say in their hearts, “The LORD will not do good, nor will he do harm.” ¹³Their wealth shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them.

¹⁴The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter, the warrior cries aloud there. ¹⁵That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, ¹⁶a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements.

¹⁷I will bring such distress upon people that they shall walk like the blind; because they have sinned against the LORD, their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.

¹⁸Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the LORD’S wrath; in the fire of his passion the whole earth shall be consumed; for a full, a terrible end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL: MATTHEW 25:14-30
This is the Holy Gospel according to Matthew, the 25^th chapter.
Glory to you, O Lord.

¹⁴“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; ¹⁵to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. ¹⁷In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. ¹⁸But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ ²¹His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ ²²And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ ²³His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ ²⁴Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; ²⁵so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ ²⁶But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? ²⁷Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. ²⁹For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. ³⁰As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.

CHILDREN’S SERMON

SERMON 

HYMN OF THE DAY

APOSTLE’S 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 to the dead.*
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:
http://www.pilgrimpaths.co.uk/Finger%20Labyrinth%20and%20Prayer%20Guide%20Leaflet.pdf

http://www.pilgrimpaths.co.uk/Finger%20Labyrinth%20and%20Prayer%20Guide%20Leaflet.pdf

Longing for Christ’s reign to come among us, we pray for the outpouring of God’s power on the church, the world, and all in need.

. . .  Hear us, O God.
Your mercy is great.

Receive our prayers in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior, until that day comes when you gather all creation around your throne where you will reign forever and ever.
Amen.

SHARING OF THE PEACE

ANNOUNCEMENTS

OFFERING
https://tithe.ly/give_new/www/#/tithely/give-one-time/468062

Sending Litany[2]:
O God, it is your nature. You give us yourself.

In freedom we have received your Spirit.

Help us to freely give it away, then receive it back.

We want to say with the servant, “You gave me two talents. I have made two more!”

Let us take part in your Spirit, and to share in your eternal joy.

LORD’S PRAYER:
Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us saying:
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.

Benediction:
As you go from here, remember to love.

For love is what God asks of us; it is the very heart and soul of what it means to follow Jesus Christ. So go from here to love and serve God by loving and serving those you meet.

May Almighty God, Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you and lead you into the way of truth and life.
Amen

Dismissal:
Go in peace. Remember the poor.
Thanks be to God!

 

Prayer Requests:
Family and friends of Wayne Kratzer Jr., Fred and Pat Blyler, Rachel Peters, Helen Barsh, Kathy Guffey, Rick Guffey, Family and Friends of Joe Moyer, Jamie, Matt Koch, Melody Erb, Thomas Burns, Cindee Long, Paisley Marie, Bob Keifer, Peg Swinehart.

 

Portions reprinted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, copyright 2006.  Used by permission of Augsburg Fortress, license #SBL09796L.  Music reprinted from the ELW, by permission of OneLicense, license #A712349.  Scripture quotations are from the 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.

 

[1] From The Time of Richness: Service Prayers for the Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost written by the Rev. Kaji R. Spellman, and posted on the United Church of Christ website.

[2] From A. Osdieck. Copyright © 2011, The Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University.