FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST                    June 28, 2020

ORDER OF SERVICE: LSB DS4 with Holy Communion, p. 203

THE HYMNS: 688, 685, 621, 781

THE SERMON TEXT: Romans 7:1-13

OPENING HYMN: “‘Come, Follow Me,’ the Savior Spake” (LSB 688)

“Come, follow Me,” the Savior spake,

“All in My way abiding;

Deny yourselves, the world forsake,

Obey My call and guiding.

O bear the cross, whate’er betide,

Take My example for your guide.

“I am the light, I light the way,

A godly life displaying;

I bid you walk as in the day;

I keep your feet from straying.

I am the way, and well I show

How you must sojourn here below.

“My heart abounds in lowliness,

My soul with love is glowing;

And gracious words My lips express,

With meekness overflowing.

My heart, My mind, My strength, My all,

To God I yield, on Him I call.

“I teach you how to shun and flee

What harms your soul’s salvation,

Your heart from ev’ry guile to free,

From sin and its temptation.

I am the refuge of the soul

And lead you to your heav’nly goal.”

Then let us follow Christ, our Lord,

And take the cross appointed

And, firmly clinging to His Word,

In suff’ring be undaunted.

For those who bear the battle’s strain

The crown of heav’nly life obtain.

[Stand]

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

[The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.]

P: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen

P: Our help is in the name of the Lord

C: who made heaven and earth.

P: If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?

C: But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.

P: Since we are gathered to hear God’s Word, call upon Him in prayer and praise, and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fellowship of this altar, let us first consider our unworthiness and confess before God and one another that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, and that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition. Together as His people let us take refuge in the infinite mercy of God, our heavenly Father, seeking His grace for the sake of Christ, and saying: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

C: Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen.

P: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen.

[Stand]

THE INTROIT (all): Psalm 89:15-18; Antiphon: Psalm 89:1

I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face, who exult in your name all the day and in your righteousness are exalted. For you are the glory of their strength; by your favor our horn is exalted. For our shield belongs to the Lord, our king to the Holy One of Israel. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.

KYRIE ~ Lord Have Mercy (Sung) (LSB 204)

C: Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.

GLORIA IN EXCELSIS (Sung) ~ Glory to God in the Highest (LSB 204)

To God on high be glory and peace to all the earth;

Goodwill from God in heaven proclaimed at Jesus’ birth!

We praise and bless You, Father; Your holy name, we sing—

Our thanks for Your great glory, Lord God, our heav’nly King.

To You, O sole begotten, The Father’s Son, we pray;

O Lamb of God, our Savior, You take our sins away.

Have mercy on us, Jesus; Receive our heartfelt cry,

Where You in pow’r are seated at God’s right hand on high.

For You alone are holy; You only are the Lord,

Forever and forever, be worshiped and adored;

You with the Holy Spirit alone are Lord Most High,

In God the Father’s glory. “Amen!” our glad reply.

SALUTATION and COLLECT OF THE DAY

P: The Lord be with you.

C: And also with you.

P: Let us pray. Almighty God, by the working of Your Holy Spirit, grant that we may gladly hear Your Word proclaimed among us and follow its directing; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

C: Amen.

[Sit]

BOOK OF CONCORD: Large Catechism, Third Petition: Thy Will Be Done

If we would be Christians, therefore, we must surely expect and count on having the devil with all his angels and the world as our enemies. They will bring every possible misfortune and grief upon us. For where God's Word is preached, accepted, or believed and produces fruit, there the holy cross cannot be missing. And let no one think that he shall have peace [Matthew 10:34]. He must risk whatever he has upon earth—possessions, honor, house and estate, wife and children, body and life. Now, this hurts our flesh and the old Adam. The test is to be steadfast and to suffer with patience in whatever way we are assaulted, and to let go whatever is taken from us.

So there is just as great a need, as in all the other petitions, that we pray without ceasing, "Dear Father, Your will be done, not the devil's will or our enemies' or anything that would persecute and suppress Your holy Word or hinder Your kingdom. Grant that we may bear with patience and overcome whatever is to be endured because of Your Word and kingdom, so that our poor flesh may not yield or fall away because of weakness or sluggishness."

We pray that, even against their fury, His will be done without hindrance among us also. We pray that we may remain firm against all violence and persecution and submit to God's will.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: Jeremiah 28:5-9

⁵ Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, ⁶ and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. ⁷ Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. ⁸ The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. ⁹ As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”

P: This is the Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

EPISTLE: Romans 7:1-13

¹ Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? ² For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. ³ Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

⁴ Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. ⁵ For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. ⁶ But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

⁷ What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” ⁸ But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. ⁹ I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. ¹⁰ The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. ¹¹ For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. ¹² So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

¹³ Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.

P: This is the Word of the Lord.

C. Thanks be to God.

[Stand]

ALLELUIA (Sung)

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

These things are written that you may believe

that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL: Matthew 10:34-42

P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the tenth chapter

C: Glory to You, O Lord.

³⁴ [Jesus said:] “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶ And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. ³⁷ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

⁴⁰ “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. ⁴¹ The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. ⁴² And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C: Praise to You, O Christ.

[Sit]

HYMN OF THE DAY: “Let us Ever Walk with Jesus” (LSB 685)

Let us ever walk with Jesus, follow His example pure,

Through a world that would deceive us and to sin our spirits lure.

Onward in His footsteps treading, pilgrims here, our home above,

Full of faith and hope and love, let us do the Father’s bidding.

Faithful Lord, with me abide; I shall follow where You guide.

Let us suffer here with Jesus and with patience bear our cross,

Joy will follow all our sadness; where He is, there is no loss.

Though today we sow no laughter, We shall reap celestial joy;

All discomforts that annoy shall give way to mirth here after.

Jesus, here I share Your woe; help me there Your joy to know.

Let us gladly die with Jesus. Since by death He conquered death,

He will free us from destruction, give to us immortal breath.

Let us mortify all passion that would lead us into sin;

And the grave that shuts us in shall but prove the gate to heaven.

Jesus, here with You I die, there to live with You on high.

Let us also live with Jesus. He has risen from the dead

That to life we may awaken. Jesus, You are now our head.

We are Your own living members; where You live, there we shall be

In Your presence constantly, living there with You forever.

Jesus, let me faithful be, life eternal grant to me.

SERMON

[Stand]

Nicene Creed

C: I believe in one God,

            the Father Almighty,

            maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,

            the only-begotten Son of God,

            begotten of His Father before all worlds,

            God of God, Light of Light,

            very God of very God,

            begotten, not made,

            being of one substance with the Father,

            by whom all things were made;

            who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven

            and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary

            and was made man;

            and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate,

            He suffered and was buried,

            And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven

            and sits on the right hand of the Father.

            And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead,

            whose kingdom will have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit,

            the Lord and giver of life,

            who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

            who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,

            who spoke by the prophets.

            And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church,

            I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,

            and I look for the resurrection of the dead

            and the life of the world to come. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

After each petition:

P: Lord, in Your mercy,

C: Hear our prayer.

[Sit]

SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT

PREFACE

P: The Lord be with you.

C: And also with you.

P: Lift up your hearts.

C: We lift them to the Lord.

P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

C: It is right to give him thanks and praise.

P: It is truly good, right, and salutary…evermore praising You and saying:

SANCTUS (Sung)

Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth adored;

Heav’n and earth with full acclaim shout the glory of Your name.

Sing hosanna in the highest, sing hosanna to the Lord;

Truly blest is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

P: Blessed are You, O Lord our God, king of all creation, for You have had mercy on us and given Your only begotten-Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

In Your righteous judgment You condemned the sin of Adam and Eve, who ate the forbidden fruit, and You justly barred them and all their children from the tree of life. Yet, in Your great mercy, You promised salvation by a second Adam, Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and made His cross a life-giving tree for all who trust in Him.

We give You thanks for the redemption You have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may faithfully eat and drink of the fruits of His cross and receive the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation that come to us in His body and blood.

Here us as we pray in His name and as He has taught us:

LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven,

            hallowed by 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.

THE WORDS OF OUR LORD

P: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”

In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

PAX DOMINI

P: The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C: Amen.

AGNUS DEI (Sung)

O Jesus Christ, true Lamb of God, You take the sin of the world away;

O Jesus Christ, true Lamb of God, Have mercy on us, Lord, we pray.

O Jesus Christ, true Lamb of God, You take the sin of the world away;

Have mercy on us, Jesus Christ, And grant us peace, O Lord, we pray.

[Sit]

THE DISTRIBUTION

DISTRIBUTION HYMN: “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” (LSB 621)

Let all mortal flesh keep silence and with fear and trembling stand;

Ponder nothing earthly minded, for with blessing in His hand

Christ our God to earth descending comes our homage to demand.

King of kings yet born of Mary, as of old on earth He stood,

Lord of lords in human vesture, in the body and the blood,

He will give to all the faithful His own self for heav’nly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven spreads its vanguard on the way

As the Light of Light, descending from the realms of endless day,
Comes the pow’rs of hell to vanquish as the darkness clears away.

At His feet the six winged seraph, Cherubim with sleepless eye,

Veil their faces to the presence as with ceaseless voice they cry:

“Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia, Lord Most High!”

[Stand]

NUNC DIMITTIS (Sung)

O Lord, now let Your servant Depart in heav’nly peace,

For I have seen the glory of Your redeeming grace:

A light to lead the Gentiles unto Your holy hill,

The glory of Your people, Your chosen Israel.

All glory to the Father, All glory to the Son,

All glory to the Spirit, forever Three in One;

For as in the beginning, Is now, shall ever be,

God’s triune name resounding Through all eternity.

POST-COMMUNION COLLECT

P: Let us pray.

We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: Amen.

BENEDICTION

P: Let us bless the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

P: The Lord bless you and keep you.

 The Lord make His face shine on you

 and be gracious to you.

 The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.

C: Amen.

CLOSING HYMN: “We Give Thee But Thine Own” (LSB 781)

We give Thee but Thine own, Whate’er the gift may be;

All that we have is Thine alone, A trust, O Lord, from Thee.

May we Thy bounties thus as stewards true receive

And gladly, as Thou blessest us, To Thee our first fruits give!

Oh, hearts are bruised and dead, And homes are bare and cold,

And lambs for whom the Shepherd bled are straying from the fold.

To comfort and to bless, to find a balm for woe,

To tend the lone and fatherless is angels’ work below.

The captive to release, to God the lost to bring,

To teach the way of life and peace, it is a Christ-like thing.

And we believe Thy Word, though dim our faith may be:

Whate’er for Thine we do, O Lord, we do it unto Thee.