FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST             September 13, 2020

ORDER OF SERVICE: LSB DS1 with Holy Communion, p. 151

THE HYMNS: 755, 501, 606, 496

THE SERMON TEXT: Romans 13:1-10

OPENING HYMN: “In the Very Midst of Life” (LSB 755)

In the very midst of life

Snares of death surround us;

Who shall help us in the strife

Lest the foe confound us?

Thou only, Lord, Thou only!

We mourn that we have greatly erred,

That our sins Thy wrath have stirred.

Holy and righteous God!

Holy and mighty God!

Holy and all merciful Savior!

Eternal Lord God!

Save us lest we perish

In the bitter pangs of death,

Have Mercy, O Lord!

In the midst of death’s dark vale

Pow’rs of hell o’er take us.

Who will help when they assail,

Who secure will make us?

Thou only, Lord, Thou only!

Thy heart is moved with tenderness,

Pities us in our distress.

Holy and righteous God!

Holy and mighty God!

Holy and all merciful Savior!

Eternal Lord God!

Save us from the terror

Of the fiery pit of hell

Have Mercy, O Lord!

In the midst of utter woe

When our sins oppress us,

Where shall we for refuge go,

Where for grace to bless us?

To Thee, Lord Jesus, only!

Thy precious blood was shed to win

Full atonement for our sin.

Holy and righteous God!

Holy and mighty God!

Holy and all merciful Savior!

Eternal Lord God!

Lord, preserve and keep us

In the peace that faith can give.

Have mercy, O Lord!

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: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

C: But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

[Silence for reflection on God’s Word and for self-examination.]

P: Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.

C: Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.

P: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all yours 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.

THE INTROIT (all): Psalm 92:1-4; Antiphon: Psalm 92:5

How great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep! It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. 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. How great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep!

KYRIE ~ Lord Have Mercy (Sung)

P: In peace let us pray to the Lord.

C: Lord, have mercy.

P: For the peace from above and for our salvation let us pray to the Lord.

C: Lord, have mercy.

P: For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all let us pray to the Lord.

C: Lord, have mercy.

P: For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship and praise let us pray to the Lord.

C: Lord, have mercy.

P: Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.

C: Amen.

HYMN OF PRAISE: This is the Feast (LSB 155)

This is the feast of victory for our God,

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain,

whose blood set us free to be people of God.

This is the feast of victory for our God,

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Power, riches, wisdom, and strength,

And honor, blessing, and glory are His.

This is the feast of victory for our God,

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Sing with all the people of God,

And join in the hymn of all creation:

Blessing, honor, glory, and might

be to God, and the Lamb forever. Amen.

This is the feast of victory for our God,

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

For the Lamb who was slain

Has begun His reign. Alleluia.

This is the feast of victory for our God.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

SALUTATION and COLLECT OF THE DAY

P: The Lord be with you.

C: And also with you.

P: Let us pray. O God, from whom all good proceeds, grant Your holy inspiration to us, Your humble servants, that we may set our minds on the things that are right and, by Your merciful guiding, accomplish them; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C:  Amen.

[Sit]

BOOK OF CONCORD: Large Catechism: The Eighth Commandment

You can learn from the daily government of the household. When the master of the house sees that the servant does not do what he ought, he admonishes him personally. But if he were so foolish as to let the servant sit at home and went on the streets to complain about him to his neighbors, he would no doubt be told, "You fool, how does that concern us? Why don't you tell it to the servant?" That would be brotherly, the evil would be stopped, and your neighbor would retain his honor. Christ says, "If he listens to you, you have gained your brother." For do you think it is a small matter to gain a brother?

Christ teaches, "But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses". So the person must always be dealt with personally, and must not be spoken of without his knowledge. But if that does not work, then bring it publicly before the community, whether before the civil or the Church court. For then you do not stand alone, but you have those witnesses with you by whom you can convict the guilty one. Relying on their testimony the judge can pronounce sentence and punish. This is the right course for reforming a wicked person. But if we gossip about another no one will be reformed. If you were acting for your neighbor's reformation or from love of the truth, you would not sneak about secretly.

OLD TESTAMENT READING: Ezekiel 33:7-9

⁷ “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. ⁸ If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. ⁹ But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.

P: This is the Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

EPISTLE: Romans 13:1-10

¹ Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, ⁴ for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ⁷ Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

⁸ Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

P: This is the Word of the Lord.

C. Thanks be to God.

[Stand]

ALLELUIA (Sung)

C: Alleluia. Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life.

Alleluia, alleluia.

P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the 18^th chapter

C: Glory to You, O Lord.

HOLY GOSPEL: Matthew 18:1-20

¹ At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³ and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

⁵ “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, ⁶ but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

⁷ “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! ⁸ And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹ And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. ¹² What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴ So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

¹⁵ “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹ Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C: Praise to You, O Christ.

[Sit]

HYMN OF THE DAY: “Come Down, O Love Divine” (LSB 501)

Come down, O Love Divine;

Seek Thou this soul of mine,

And visit it with Thine own ardor glowing;

O Comforter, draw near;

Within my heart appear,

And kindle it, Thy holy flame bestowing.

O let it freely burn,

Till worldly passions turn

To dust and ashes in its heat consuming;

And let Thy glorious light

Shine ever on my sight,

And clothe me round, the while my path illuming.

Let holy charity

Mine outward vesture be

And lowliness become mine inner clothing

True lowliness of heart,

Which takes the humbler part,

And o’er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

And so the yearning strong,

With which the soul will long,

Shall far outpass the pow’r of human telling;

No soul can guess His grace

Till it become the place

Wherein the Holy Spirit makes His dwelling.

SERMON

[Stand]

NICENE CREED

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.

THE SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT

PREFACE (Sung)

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 pow'r and might:

Heaven and earth are full of Your glory.

Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

P: Blessed are You, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have had mercy on those whom You created and sent Your only-begotten Son into our flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior. With repentant joy we receive the salvation accomplished for us by the all-availing sacrifice of His body and His blood on the cross.

Gathered in the name and the remembrance of Jesus, we beg You, O Lord, to forgive, renew, and strengthen us with Your Word and Spirit. Grant us faithfully to eat His body and drink His blood as He bids us do in His own testament. Gather us together, we pray, from the ends of the earth to celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end. Graciously receive our prayers; deliver and preserve us. To You alone, O Father, be all glory, honor, and worship, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: Amen.

LORD'S PRAYER

P:  Lord, remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:

C: 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 (Sung)

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

C: Amen.

AGNUS DEI (Sung)

Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; grant us peace.

[Sit]

THE DISTRIBUTION

DISTRIBUTION HYMN:  "I Lay My Sins on Jesus" (LSB 606)

I lay my sins on Jesus, The spotless Lamb of God;

He bears them all and frees us from the accursed load.

I bring my guilt to Jesus to wash my crimson stains

Clean in His blood most precious till not a spot remains.

I lay my wants on Jesus; All fullness dwells in Him;

He heals all my diseases; my soul He does redeem.

I lay my griefs on Jesus, my burdens and my cares;

He from them all releases; He all my sorrows shares.

I rest my soul on Jesus, this weary soul of mine;

His right hand me embraces; I on His breast recline.

I love the name of Jesus, Immanuel, Christ, the Lord;

Like fragrance on the breezes His name abroad is poured.

[Stand]

POST-COMMUNION CANTICLE: "Thank the Lord" (LSB 164)

Thank the Lord and sing His praise; tell ev'ryone what He has done.

Let all who seek the Lord rejoice and proudly bear His name.

He recalls His promises and leads His people forth in joy

with shouts of thanksgiving Alleluia, alleluia.

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 (Sung)

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: “Holy Spirit, Light Divine” (LSB 496)

Holy Spirit, light divine, shine upon this heart of mine;

Chase the shades of night away, turn the darkness into day.

Let me see my Savior’s face, let me all His beauties trace;

Show those glorious truths to me which are only known to Thee.

Holy Spirit, pow’r divine, cleanse this guilty heart of mine,

In Thy mercy pity me, from sin’s bondage set me free.

Holy Spirit joy divine, cheer this saddened heart of mine;

Yield a sacred, settled peace, let it grow and still increase.

Holy Spirit, all divine, dwell within this heart of mine;

Cast down ev’ry idol throne, reign supreme, and reign alone.