Welcome

Opening Litany[1]:
We gather here to remember God’s glorious deeds, recorded for all time by people whose lives were touched by divine grace.

As people of hope, they affirmed the great works of God, and the importance of keeping the commandments of God.

We are heirs of their faithfulness in witnessing to the greatness of God’s wondrous acts.

Let our witness be as convincing, so that generations to come will continue to honor God’s holy name.

Confession and Forgiveness[2]:
Blessed be the holy Trinity, + one God,
whose steadfast love is everlasting,
whose faithfulness endures from generation to generation.
Amen.

Sisters and brothers, let us not let sin control the way we live. Let us not give in to sinful desires. Rather, let us offer ourselves to God, whose mercy has brought us from death to life.

Silence is held 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 though, 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.

Friends, hear this:
Through the life, death and resurrection of + Jesus Christ, we have been set free from the power of sin! It no longer needs to control us. Be at peace: your sins are forgiven! Go out, and live in the light of Christ.
Thanks be to God!

Prayer of the Day[3]:
Let us pray.
O God, our companion and guide, we would be lost without your direction— wanderers in wildernesses of our own making.  We praise you for dealing so graciously with your people in the past, when you guided them to freedom and a promised new life. We are heirs of that promise fulfilled in Jesus, our Savior and Lord.  Establish for us a permanent direction for our lives and, as we dwell in him, bless our lives with your fruitfulness.
Amen.

Reading: Joshua 6:1-7:1
^6:1   Now Jericho was shut up inside and out because of the Israelites; no one came out and no one went in. ² The LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have handed Jericho over to you, along with its king and soldiers. ³ You shall march around the city, all the warriors circling the city once. Thus you shall do for six days, ⁴ with seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, the priests blowing the trumpets. ⁵ When they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and all the people shall charge straight ahead.” ⁶ So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark of the LORD.” ⁷ To the people he said, “Go forward and march around the city; have the armed men pass on before the ark of the LORD.”

⁸   As Joshua had commanded the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the LORD went forward, blowing the trumpets, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD following them. ⁹ And the armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets; the rear guard came after the ark, while the trumpets blew continually. ¹⁰ To the people Joshua gave this command: “You shall not shout or let your voice be heard, nor shall you utter a word, until the day I tell you to shout. Then you shall shout.” ¹¹ So the ark of the LORD went around the city, circling it once; and they came into the camp, and spent the night in the camp.

¹²   Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. ¹³ The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD passed on, blowing the trumpets continually. The armed men went before them, and the rear guard came after the ark of the LORD, while the trumpets blew continually. ¹⁴ On the second day they marched around the city once and then returned to the camp. They did this for six days.

¹⁵   On the seventh day they rose early, at dawn, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times. It was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. ¹⁶ And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city. ¹⁷ The city and all that is in it shall be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live because she hid the messengers we sent. ¹⁸ As for you, keep away from the things devoted to destruction, so as not to covet and take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel an object for destruction, bringing trouble upon it. ¹⁹ But all silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are sacred to the LORD; they shall go into the treasury of the LORD.” ²⁰ So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpets, they raised a great shout, and the wall fell down flat; so the people charged straight ahead into the city and captured it. ²¹ Then they devoted to destruction by the edge of the sword all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.

²²   Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house, and bring the woman out of it and all who belong to her, as you swore to her.” ²³ So the young men who had been spies went in and brought Rahab out, along with her father, her mother, her brothers, and all who belonged to her—they brought all her kindred out—and set them outside the camp of Israel. ²⁴ They burned down the city, and everything in it; only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. ²⁵ But Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, Joshua spared. Her family has lived in Israel ever since. For she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

²⁶          Joshua then pronounced this oath, saying,
“Cursed before the LORD be anyone who tries
to build this city—this Jericho!
At the cost of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation,
and at the cost of his youngest he shall set up its gates!”

²⁷   So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was in all the land.

^7:1   But the Israelites broke faith in regard to the devoted things: Achan son of Carmi son of Zabdi son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things; and the anger of the LORD burned against the Israelites.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

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:
Confident of your care and helped by the Holy Spirit, we pray for the church, the world, and all who are in need.

. . .  Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.

In the certain hope that nothing can separate us from your love, we offer these prayers to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Sharing of the Peace

Announcements

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

Sending Prayer[4]:
God of captives and pilgrims, you brought your people home from despair and delivered them to a land of freedom and plenty. Look with mercy on us your servants; deliver us from our prisons of selfishness and sin; and bring us home to justice and compassion, sharing the realm you promised all the world in Jesus Christ the Savior. Amen.

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[5]:
Go now, in the freedom of the gospel of Christ. Encourage one another to lead lives worthy of God and walk together in service and humility. Let your words and your lives be one in Christ.

And may the God of lasting love open the way before you;  May + Jesus the Messiah be your one instructor;  And may the Holy Spirit lead you on into the promised land of God’s kingdom and glory.
Amen

Dismissal:
Go in peace. Christ is with you!
Thanks be to God!

Prayer Requests:
Celia Warren, Frank Danowsky, Marie Tanner, Sonja Noll, Irene Stark, Peg Swinehart, Alice Snyder, Greg Seibert, Harold Snyder, family and friends of Bill Krause, Colette Richards, Pat Thomas, Gladys Guffey, Terry Funk, Darv Krouse, Rob Lockwood, Terry Smith, Rodney Heckert, Barbara Neilson, and Rebecca Otuszewski.

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] Moira Laidlaw, posted on her Liturgies Online website. Visit that site for other great lectionary-based resources.

[2] Adapted from https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2011/06/confession-assurance-romans-7.html.

[3] Copyright © Moira Laidlaw, posted on her Liturgies Online website.

[4] From Revised Common Lectionary Prayers copyright © 2002 Consultation on Common Texts admin. Augsburg Fortress.  Posted on Thematic, Intercessory and Scripture Prayers for the RCL, Vanderbilt Divinity Library.

[5] ©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net