Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
9 August, 2020
The end is in the beginning and lies far ahead.
Ralph Ellison
Call to Worship
"Psalm 95"
words: Evan Wilson (based on Psalm 95)
music: Evan Wilson
Come, let us sing for joy unto the Lord
Let us shout to the rock of our salvation
Oh, let us sing to him with thankful hearts
Shout for joy with music and song
Oh, come
chorus:
For the Lord is a great God (2x)
In his hands are the earth the seas (2x)
For the Lord is the great king (2x)
The seas are his, he has made them
Come, O come, let’s bow down in worship
Let us kneel before the Lord our maker
Oh, for he, he is our God
We are his, we are his children, his children
chorus
Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always.
Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,
his chosen ones, the children of Jacob. (Psalm 105:1-6)
Hymn
"Alleluia"
words: Tom Wuest
music: Tom Wuest
Stay close, my child, through this dark night
Rest in the shadow of these wings
Hope in the Lord, whose day will come
The dawn of making all things new
chorus:
Alleluia, alleluia...
All wars will cease, suffering end
Justice will roll, the kingdom come
Love will arise, grace will uphold
Mercy will heal where the Lamb reigns
chorus
Brothers rejoice, sisters rejoice
Children of God, we are all coming home
Scripture Reading
Romans 10:5-15 (niv)
5 Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
Confession
Confession both acknowledges our need for mercy and celebrates its abundance in Christ. Come now to Jesus bringing your needs, weakness, and regret to his throne of grace. Words of the Lord, spoken through the Prophet Jeremiah, lead in prayer:
“My people have been lost sheep;
their shepherds have led them astray
and caused them to roam on the mountains.
They wandered over mountain and hill
and forgot their own resting place. (Jeremiah 50:6)
Almighty and most merciful Father,
we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep.
We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Confession
Take a moment now to acknowledge these things silently before the Lord, knowing forgiveness and rest are freely available in Jesus.
Receiving of Grace
God, being rich in mercy,
because of the great love with which he loved us
raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
so that in the coming ages he might show
the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith.
And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (from Ephesians 2:4-10)
God’s grace abounds for us even in our weakness.
Let us remember the promise of the gospel: In Christ, we are forgiven.
During the reflection time, children are invited to engage in a special time of reading and song so they can learn and discover the gospel in a language and style more suitable to them. Click here for the video.
Reflection
Andy Pelander
Matthew 9:35-10:8, 16-22 (niv)
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
10:1 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Hymn
"By the Waters of Babylon"
words: Psalm 137:1 (Stanza 1) and Isaac Wardell (Stanza 2)
music: BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON (arr. Isaac Wardell)
By the waters, the waters of Babylon
We laid down and wept, and wept for thee, Zion
We remember thee, remember thee
Remember thee, Zion
By his wounds, his wounds have we been healed
And, for our transgressions, his passion
Has made us well
Let us come again and feast on him
Our Lord, Emmanuel
Giving
Freely you have received; freely give.
(Matthew 10:8)
All we have is given to us by God. Our offerings express this joyful dependence as well as our commitment to join God in his work of renewal. He who met our most dire need through Christ will continue to provide for every need we have— so, whether we have much or little, God calls us to treasure and trust Him above all.
All gifts go toward ministry initiatives of All Souls and relief of those in need.
Benediction
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. (2 Corinthians 13:14)
Let us go forth and serve our world as those who love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Thanks be to God!
Connect during Covid
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Theology in Color
A free online course to study the history and theological insights of our Black, Latin American, and Asian brothers and sisters. There's an opportunity for backyard discussion in August. Learn more.
