Sixteenth Sunday a. Pentecost 9/8
Pentecost 16 9.8.24. pdf Alt Set
SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
SEPTEMBER 8, 2024
IN THE NAME OF JESUS, WELCOME TO ST. PAUL’S!
✠ ✠ ✠
THE ENTRANCE RITE
PRELUDE Prelude in C Major, BWV 531 J.S. Bach
WELCOME
ENTRANCE HYMN Word of God, Come Down on Earth LSB 545
1 Word of God, come down on earth,
Living rain from heav’n descending;
Touch our hearts and bring to birth
Faith and hope and love unending.
Word almighty, we revere You;
Word made flesh, we long to hear You.
2 Word eternal, throned on high,
Word that brought to life creation,
Word that came from heav’n to die,
Crucified for our salvation,
Saving Word, the world restoring,
Speak to us, Your love outpouring.
3 Word that caused blind eyes to see,
Speak and heal our mortal blindness;
Deaf we are: our healer be;
Loose our tongues to tell Your kindness.
Be our Word in pity spoken,
Heal the world, by sin now broken.
4 Word that speaks God’s tender love,
One with God beyond all telling,
Word that sends us from above,
God the Spirit, with us dwelling,
Word of truth, to all truth lead us;
Word of life, with one bread feed us.
INVOCATION
In the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
God of all mercy and consolation, come to the aid of your people, turning us from our sin to live for you alone. Give us the power of your Holy Spirit that, attentive to your Word, we may confess our sins, receive your forgiveness, and grow into the fullness of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
Kneel. Silence is observed for reflection and self-examination.
Gracious God,
have mercy upon us. In your compassion, forgive us our sins, known and unknown, things done and left undone. Uphold us by your Spirit so that we may live and serve you in newness of life, to the honor and glory of your holy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life.
Amen.
KYRIE (Stand) LSB 944
For the peace from above and for our salvation; and for the peace of the whole world and the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord:
Kyrie Eleison; Christe Eleison; Kyrie Eleison.
For the well-being of the Church of God; and for all who offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord:
Kyrie Eleison; Christe Eleison; Kyrie Eleison.
Help, save, comfort and defend us, gracious Lord.
Kyrie Eleison; Christe Eleison; Kyrie Eleison.
GLORIA IN EXCELSIS Splendor and Honor LSB 950
1 Splendor and honor, majesty and power
Are Yours, O Lord God, fount of ev’ry blessing,
For by Your bidding was the whole creation
Called into being.
2 Praised be the true Lamb, slain for our redemption,
By whose self-off’ring we are made God’s people:
A priestly kingdom, from all tongues and nations,
Called to God’s service.
3 To the Almighty, throned in heav’nly splendor,
And to the Savior, Christ our Lamb and Shepherd,
Be adoration, praise, and glory given,
Now and forever.
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray. O Lord,
let Your merciful ears be open to the prayers of Your humble servants and grant
that what they ask may be in accord with Your gracious will; through Jesus Christ,
Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God,
now and forever. Amen.
✠ ✠ ✠
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
FIRST LESSON (Be seated) Isaiah 35:4-7a
Say to those who have an anxious heart,
“Be strong; fear not!
Behold, your God
will come with vengeance,
with the recompense of God.
He will come and save you.”
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.
For waters break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
(8:00) PSALM 146 (Sung responsively)
(10:30) ANTHEM Old Testament Canticle (LSB 261) Jubilation Choir
SECOND LESSON James 2:1-10, 14-18
My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. . . .
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
(10:30) CHILDREN’S SERMON
ALLELUIA VERSE (Stand) LSB 952
Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia!
GOSPEL Mark 7:31-37
The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the 7th chapter.
Glory to You, O Lord.
[Jesus] returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to You, O Christ.
SERMON (Be seated)
Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus. Amen. Dear friends in Christ:
What a wonderful thing Jesus did! The man who could not hear the birds sing, children giggle, or the sea roar… the man who could not express his thoughts and needs to his friends without great difficulty or help… this man, after being touched by Jesus, could now hear and speak and participate fully in the life around him. What a wonderful thing Jesus did!
This story causes us to rejoice at such a blessing. And yet, beyond making us rejoice, the story should also cause us to stop and think. Knowing that the stories of Jesus’ service have many layers, what else could this one be saying to us?
Certainly one further purpose of this story is to have us consider our own hearing and speech difficulties. We may think that we can listen and communicate just fine… even if it takes hearing aids or some speaking classes to help us. But when it comes to hearing God’s Word and speaking it to others, the fact is that we have quite a bit of trouble.
Regarding our troubles with hearing, is it not true that the problem is often our simple lack of focus? We come to the church with good intentions… but then we doze off. Perhaps our lack of sleep catches up with us or we get distracted by other voices. Often, it’s just our own thoughts which pull us in other directions. Let’s face it, we become bored if we’re not hearing something new or entertaining.
And I know… sometimes the way the Word is presented doesn’t help us. We preachers can be part of the problem. Our presentations are not always skillful or engaging.
The bottom line is that we could all do a better job of hearing and speaking God’s Word.
And we should do better. For Christ Jesus has given us the words of eternal life… words that build faith… words that are the sword of God’s Spirit.
In the opening prayer that we’ve been using in our liturgy recently, there is a line that asks God to give us his Spirit so that we might be “attentive to [his] word.” Certainly that prayer is given to us with the thought that our attention isn’t always so great.
Poor effort is one of our hearing problems. But we face other ones as well. One of these is “selective hearing” – a problem that I’ve been told plagues many husbands. Selective hearing is the problem of only hearing what we want to hear. And this can also happen to us with God’s Word.
In today’s second reading, James expresses concern with this kind of hearing when he shares how some Christians emphasize their salvation “by faith alone” so much that they think doing good works is unimportant. James knows that this is a selective hearing of God’s Word.
Selective hearing leads to problems. And so does impaired hearing – another issue we have. This is the trouble of hearing God’s Word because of some human frailty. Today’s Old Testament lesson mentions this when it records God saying: “Say to those with an anxious heart; be strong, fear not.” Anxious people need to be built up in their confidence and faith before they can hear the full measure of God’s Word. And really, this is true for all of us, not just some.
Unfocused hearing, selective hearing, impaired hearing – these are problems we all face. But according to the Bible, our true situation is even worse. For when it comes to God’s Word, our problem is actually more like total deafness.
Luther declares this truth in the catechism when he has us say: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him.” Here we confess that we are naturally put off by God’s Word and would ignore it completely were it not for God’s Holy Spirit working in our hearts.
This is a truth I’ll say more about later. But first let’s consider the other problem we have. Not only do we have a problem with hearing God’s Word, but we also have a problem with speaking it. Like the man in the story, we are not only deaf but also mute when it comes to God’s Word.
In thinking about this, I find it helpful to note how our Gospel lesson today speaks about the healed man. At first it says that he only had a speech impediment, not that he was mute. Later, rejoicing at what Jesus had done, the people quote words of scripture saying that he makes the mute speak – which implies that the man couldn’t speak at all.
We shouldn’t make too much out of this distinction between the words. There’s no need to be overly literal. And there are scenarios where both words can be applied. For instance, if the man had been born deaf, then he had probably learned, over the course of the years and to the best of his ability, to make certain sounds to communicate. But this speech would have been impeded by his lack of hearing and made him effectively mute in most situations.
Still, the distinction can remind us of the human condition in spiritual matters. Being born unable to comprehend God’s Word, people are effectively mute as to offering any spiritual speech on their own. This doesn’t mean that they can’t say anything at all, for they can still speak to the obvious conclusion that there must be a Maker and Sustainer of all things. But their speech is impeded regarding the specifics of these, and also the message of salvation.
As is the case with our hearing, our speaking about spiritual things is ineffective and inadequate until we have been healed by Jesus. Thankfully, Jesus will open our ears, our voices and our hearts when we come to him and seek his help. When he speaks his “ephphatha” to us – as he did at our Baptism – we can know his truth and be comforted by his message. This in turn will help us with our listening and our speaking.
That being said, we will still have troubles with both of these. And that’s because in our still-sinful condition, this side of heaven, we are weak – as evidenced by our lack of discipline and courage. Our healing is complete in that we are forgiven, but we still need to pray: “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening,” and “O Lord, open Thou my lips.”
Of the two – hearing and speaking – most of us have the greater problem with our speaking. We suffer from a confidence problem, thinking we’re not worthy of sharing our faith. And we fear being labeled by others or put down by the enemies of Christ. Sometimes we simply fear the time it may require us to spend with others.
God wants us to hear his Word and to share it too. He does not leave us deaf or mute. He heals us, for a reason, so that we might know of our salvation and share the life-changing Good News of Jesus with others.
When Jesus Christ gave hearing and clear speech to that man from the Decapolis some 2000 years ago, he not only helped an individual but also showed the kind of help he wishes to extend to all of us. Jesus opened the ears of the man who was deaf, and in the same way has opened our hearts to the path of salvation. He has allowed us to hear the sweet words of forgiveness that God extends through the death and resurrection of Jesus, and he has allowed us to believe this and to trust in his abiding and protecting presence.
The healing of the deaf man showed that Jesus was ushering in the age of the Messiah – the age prophesied by Isaiah and many others. This is the time in which God would reveal the fullness of his salvation and empower the Messiah’s followers to share his teachings with the whole world. It is the time we live in now.
In his prophecy, Isaiah mentioned the deaf having their ears opened and their tongues loosed, as well as the blind receiving their sight and the lame leaping for joy. And Jesus, by his healings, showed that these beautiful days had arrived. We who know this today can also hear and sing and dance as prophesied, because Jesus the Messiah has come to make our salvation sure.
Furthermore, Jesus will come again someday to usher in the fullness of the Messianic Age. And this will be the age characterized by the New Creation, where there will be no more deafness or anxiety or impediments of any kind.
God has opened our ears, eyes and hearts to his salvation. And he will also open our lips to speak and to sing his praises as we overcome our fears.
You may be wondering why, in our text, Jesus told the people not to share the story of the healing. It seems to contradict his curing of the man’s inability to speak.
Jesus’ instruction that day was meant to keep those people from focusing too much on his healings, since they did not yet know his full message. His full message and purpose would only
become clear after he had gone to the cross to pay for the world’s sins. That message of not sharing was only meant for the people of that time; it’s not a message for us today.
But notice, in the story, that the people spread the word about him anyway. They were so excited that they could not help but share what he had done. No doubt their response was included here to point to the days to come.
After Jesus rose from the dead, he told his disciples to go and take his message of salvation to all nations. The Messianic age is a missionary age. It is a time of opened ears and opened mouths, when all who hear of what God has done for them in Jesus Christ will be blessed.
Today in the church we are celebrating the unofficial festival of Rally Day. I call it unofficial because it’s not on the church year calendar. But it’s on our calendar, and many other churches as well. Rally Day is the day we rally back to Sunday School and Confirmation classes, Bible classes, choirs, and all the other opportunities we have to hear the Word of God and share it with others. It’s meant to be a day of encouragement. The theme of today’s readings – Jesus opening our ears and mouths – fits it well.
As we go forward from Rally Day, some of you will be leading these opportunities through your teaching. We thank you greatly for doing this. You are a great inspiration to us.
And all of us have the opportunity to inspire, too, through our participation. Our classes need students! We’d love for you to join in.
If you were here the past two Sundays, you heard me preach on the assigned psalm for the day. I received good comments on these sermons – mostly people sharing that they learned lots of new things.
On one of those Sundays, I spoke about why we sing the psalms. What I didn’t mention, but will now, is that there have been many churches over the centuries who will only sing psalms. In other words, if music is to be included in the worship service, then it must be a musical setting of a psalm.
As you might imagine, certain people in those churches found the policy to be rather restrictive. So one of the ways they would creatively expand their repertoire, without violating the rule, was to compose paraphrases of the psalms that could be set to different kinds of music – including metrical versions that were good for congregational singing.
One such paraphrase is the hymn we will sing in a few moments. “Praise the Almighty” is a hymn version of Psalm 146 – our appointed psalm for the day. The psalm was chosen to correspond with today’s Gospel reading because of its references to healing, and especially the verse: “The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.”
Psalms and hymns encourage us in our tasks of hearing and speaking God’s Word. Just as the deaf man’s friends in our text brought him to Jesus, so also our hymn-writers do this for us.
In conclusion: we busy 21st century people often have trouble hearing and speaking the Word of God, since we are distracted and made anxious by so many things. How important it is to remember Jesus’ willingness to open our hearts and mouths when we ask him. As the scriptures make clear, he is always ready to encourage and equip us in these ways.
May we then resolve to keep listening to the best of our ability. And may God give us the courage to speak boldly of his blessings.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
HYMN OF THE DAY (Stand) Praise the Almighty LSB 797
1 Praise the Almighty, my soul, adore Him!
Yes, I will laud Him until death;
With songs and anthems I come before Him
As long as He allows me breath.
From Him my life and all things came;
Bless, O my soul, His holy name.
Alleluia, alleluia!
2 Trust not in rulers; they are but mortal;
Earthborn they are and soon decay.
Vain are their counsels at life’s last portal,
When the dark grave engulfs its prey.
Since mortals can no help afford,
Place all your trust in Christ, our Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia!
3 Blessèd, oh, blessèd are they forever
Whose help is from the Lord Most High,
Whom from salvation can nothing sever,
And who in hope to Christ draw nigh.
To all who trust in Him, our Lord
Will aid and counsel now afford.
Alleluia, alleluia!
4 Penitent sinners, for mercy crying,
Pardon and peace from Him obtain;
Ever the wants of the poor supplying,
Their faithful God He will remain.
He helps His children in distress,
The widows and the fatherless.
Alleluia, alleluia!
5 Praise, all you people, the name so holy
Of Him who does such wondrous things!
All that has being, to praise Him solely,
With happy heart its amen sings.
Children of God, with angel host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
Alleluia, alleluia!
APOSTLES’ CREED LSB, Back cover
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His 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 into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life ✠ everlasting. Amen.
OFFERING
Offerings support the church’s mission work – both here and through our many partners. Offerings may be placed in the box at the sanctuary entrance or sent to the church through our website or the mail. Fellowship Cards help us welcome new people and track participation. Please fill one out and place it in the offering box following the service.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Heavenly Father, by Your Spirit open our deaf ears to hear Your Word, that our tongues would be released to proclaim with zeal how Your Son has done all things well. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Gracious God, You have commanded Your Church to take the Word of life to the ends of the earth. Strengthen and support all who travel to foreign lands on behalf of the Church’s mission. Give them wisdom and courage as they tell others about Christ. And bless their hearers with hearts that are receptive to Your gifts. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, help parents to raise up their children to know You as their help and hope, that they may not put their trust in princes in whom there is no salvation. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, we place our hope in You and ask Your blessing on all those who hold office in our land, that their plans would be ordered for the welfare of those they govern and that You would execute Your justice for all, especially the oppressed. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, graciously behold the sick and those in any need. Hear us especially on behalf of our brothers and sisters Geraine, Sophia, Dolly, Norma, Brooks, Trudy, Mary Ann, June, Peter, Wendy, James, Russell, Marvin, Yi, Eunice, Jeannie, and all those we name in our hearts at this time… Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, give us a humble and urgent faith that would beg even for crumbs from Your Son’s table, that as Your children we may receive the fullness of the feast He gives in His body and blood. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, create and sustain in us a lively faith in Christ Jesus, and lead us by Your Spirit to be active in all good works. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, Source of all life and the life that never ends, receive our prayers this day in the name of Your beloved Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
OFFERTORY Create in Me (LSB 956)
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Thy presence;
and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation;
and uphold me with Thy free spirit. Amen.
✠ ✠ ✠
SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT
PREFACE (Stand)
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give him thanks and praise.
It is truly good, right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to you, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ our Lord…
Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify your glorious name, evermore praising you and saying:
SANCTUS (LSB 961)
Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth;
heav’n and earth are full of Your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessèd, blessèd, blessèd is He
who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Blessed are you, Lord of heaven and earth. In mercy for our fallen world you gave your only Son, that all those who believe in him should not perish but have eternal life. We give thanks to you for the salvation you have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Send now your Holy Spirit into our hearts, that we may receive our Lord with a living faith as he comes to us in his holy supper.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
THE WORDS OF OUR LORD
THE LORD’S PRAYER
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.
The peace of the Lord be with you always.
Amen.
AGNUS DEI (LSB 962)
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 Your peace,
grant us Your peace,
grant us Your peace.
THE COMMUNION (Be seated)
Those wishing to commune at the foot of the steps should come forward first. Those wishing to commune at the altar rail should come forward after these, front rows first, from both sides of the aisle. After receiving, all should return to their seats. A common dismissal will be given at the end.
DISTRIBUTION HYMN How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds LSB 524
1 How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear!
It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds,
And drives away our fear.
2 It makes the wounded spirit whole
And calms the heart’s unrest;
’Tis manna to the hungry soul
And to the weary, rest.
3 Dear name! The rock on which I build,
My shield and hiding place;
My never-failing treasury filled
With boundless stores of grace.
4 O Jesus, shepherd, guardian, friend,
My Prophet, Priest, and King,
My Lord, my life, my way, my end,
Accept the praise I bring.
5 How weak the effort of my heart,
How cold my warmest thought!
But when I see Thee as Thou art,
I’ll praise Thee as I ought.
6 Till then I would Thy love proclaim
With ev’ry fleeting breath;
And may the music of Thy name
Refresh my soul in death!
NUNC DIMITTIS (LSB 937)
1 Lord, bid Your servant go in peace,
Your word is now fulfilled.
These eyes have seen salvation’s dawn,
This child so long foretold.
2 This is the Savior of the world,
The Gentiles’ promised light,
God’s glory dwelling in our midst,
The joy of Israel.
3 With saints of old, with saints to come,
To You we lift our voice;
To Father, Son, and Spirit blest
Be honor, love, and praise.
PRAYER (Stand)
BENEDICTION
SENDING HYMN Christ Be My Leader LSB 861
1 Christ be my Leader by night as by day;
Safe through the darkness, for He is the way.
Gladly I follow, my future His care,
Darkness is daylight when Jesus is there.
2 Christ be my Teacher in age as in youth,
Drifting or doubting, for He is the truth.
Grant me to trust Him; though shifting as sand,
Doubt cannot daunt me; in Jesus I stand.
3 Christ be my Savior in calm as in strife;
Death cannot hold me, for He is the life.
Nor darkness nor doubting nor sin and its stain
Can touch my salvation: with Jesus I reign.
ANNOUNCEMENTS (Be seated)
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE Fanfare for a New Day J. Wayne Kerr
FLOWERS: In celebration of the first wedding anniversary of Aaron and Holly Siebrass.
“In this union I have joined you Husband and wife, Now, My children, live together as heirs of life: Each the other’s gladness sharing, Each the other’s burdens bearing, Now, my children, live together as heirs of life.”
FELLOWSHIP CONTRIBUTORS: Board of Fellowship
Those serving:
Sunday, 8:00 a.m.:
Greeter: Bob Juenger
Comm. Assist.: Judy Koucky
Reader: Norm Williams
10:30 a.m.:
Greeter: SP Youth
Comm. assist: Dan Buuck/ SP Youth
Reader: SP Youth
Acolyte: William Dennis
AV Assistants: Hannes Buuck, Andreas Buuck
Acknowledgments
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2024 Concordia Publishing House. LSB Hymn License no. 110005326
545 Word of God, Come Down on Earth Text: James Quinn, 1919–2010 Tune: Johann Rudolph Ahle, 1625–73, alt. Text: © 1969 OCP Publications. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326 Tune: Public domain
797 Praise the Almighty Text: Johann Daniel Herrnschmidt, 1675–1723; tr. Alfred E. R. Brauer, 1866–1949, alt. Tune: New-vermehrte Christliche Seelenharpf, 1665, Ansbach Text and tune: Public domain
524 How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds Text: John Newton, 1725–1807, alt. Tune: Alexander R. Reinagle, 1799–1877 Text and tune: Public domain
861 Christ Be My Leader Text: Timothy Dudley-Smith, 1926–2024 Tune: Irish
Text: © 1964, renewed 1992 Hope Publishing Co. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326 Tune: Public domain
