Welcome

Opening Litany^[1]:
Come to hear the Word.
Come to do the Word.

Come to experience Comfort.
Come to experience Challenge.

Come to find Cost.
Come to find Joy.

Come to find Humanity.
Come to find Community.

Come to find Church.
Come to find God.

Come, let us worship.

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.
Almighty and eternal God, you show perpetual lovingkindness to us your servants. Because we cannot rely on our own abilities, grant us your merciful judgment, and train us to embody the generosity of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.

First Reading: Philippians 2:1-13
¹    If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, ² make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. ⁵ Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

⁶      who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
⁷      but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
⁸                he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.

⁹       Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
¹⁰      so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹      and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

¹²   Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; ¹³ for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Gospel: Matthew 21:23-32
²³   When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” ²⁴ Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. ²⁵ Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” ²⁷ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

²⁸   “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ ²⁹ He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. ³¹ Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. ³² For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

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

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 Litany[2]:
We have heard Jesus’ disturbing statement
that notorious sinners may be ahead of us
in entering the kingdom of God.

Let these hard words wake us up
from our smug self-contentment
and make us aware that our life too
is a mixture of Yes and No,
of an honest seeking to do what is right
together with moments of cowardice.

May God give us this insight and the blessing to discern its truth within our lives.
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[3]:
Go now to will and to work for God’s purposes.
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
Be filled with the same love
and look to the interests of others.
With reverence for God, work out your salvation.

And may God quench your thirst with love and consolation;
May Christ Jesus strengthen you and encourage you;
And may the Holy Spirit lead you on and make your joy complete.
Amen.

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

 

Prayer Requests:
Marilyn Gresh, Bob Keifer, Celia Warren, Frank Danowsky, Marie Tanner, Irene Stark, Peg Swinehart, Alice Snyder, Brock Baker, the family and friends of Joe Moyer, Greg Seibert, Harold Snyder, Colette Richards, Pat Thomas, Gladys Guffey, Terry Funk, Darv Krouse, Terry Smith, Rodney Heckert, 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] Adapted from Katherine Hawker, 2002.  Written for the Evangelical United Church of Christ, 1997 and posted on Walker’s Outside the Box website.

[2] Adapted from Liturgy Alive, Models of Celebration.

[3] ©2002 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net