Prelude
Announcements
Call to Worship and Confession and Forgiveness
Come with confidence before our God.
People of God: For nothing can separate us from the love of God
Can hunger?
People of God: No!
Can suffering?
People of God: No!
Can those who are against us?
People of God: No!
Can death?
People of God: No!
Can anything in all creation?
People of God: No! Nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Then let us worship this God overflowing with love.
People of God: Amen.
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, by whose hand we are given new birth, by whose speaking we are given new life. People of God: Amen
Joined to Christ in the waters of baptism, we are welcomed, restored, and supported as citizens of the new creation.
Let us give thanks for the gift of baptism. Holy God, holy and merciful, holy and mighty, you are the river of life, you are the everlasting wellspring. In mercy and might you have freed us from death and raised us with Jesus, the firstborn of the dead. In baptismal waters our old life is washed away, and in them we are born anew..
Glory to you for oceans and lakes, for rivers and streams. Honor to you for waters that wash us clean, quench our thirst, and nurture both crops and creatures. Praise to you for the life-giving water of baptism, the outpouring of the Spirit of the new creation.
People of God: Wash away our sin and all that separates us from you. Empower our witness to your resurrection. Strengthen our resolve in seeking justice for all.
Satisfy the world’s need through this living water. Where drought dries the earth, bring refreshment. Where despair prevails, grant hope. Where chaos reigns, bring peace. We ask this through Christ, who with you and the Spirit reigns forever. People of God: Amen
Gathering Hymn
ELW #819 Come, All You People
Prayer of the Day
Assisting Minister: Let us pray. Great Spirit, you have lit upon each of us a flame to serve you in all that we do. Ignite your flame, and help us to burn brightly for you. We pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. People of God: Amen
Readings
Acts 2:1-4
Assisting Minister: When the day of Pentecost had come, [the disciples] were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Romans 8:14-17, 26-27, 35-39
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than victorious through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. The word of the Lord. People of God: Thanks be to God
Sermon Rev. Sarah Wilson
Hymn
ELW #396 Spirit of Gentleness
Prayers of the People
Assisting Minister: Empowering God, you gave the church the abiding presence of your Holy Spirit. Look upon your church today and hear our petitions.
A brief silence.
Assisting Minister: Send your Spirit upon the church and its leaders, O God, and fill us with hope and confidence in the victory of Christ over sin and death. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: Send your Spirit upon the earth and its creatures, O God, and renew creation with your vibrant and sustaining life. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: Send your Spirit upon our leaders and systems, O God, and instill in them a fervent desire for peace and justice. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: Send your Spirit upon those suffering in spirit and in body, O God. Grant them healing, hope, and wholeness, and wrap them in your loving and caring embrace. We pray especially for the Seredick family Terri, Tricia, Susan, Grace, Alice, Gus, Faith, Denise, Leslie, Norma, Brian, Scott, Jessica, Alicia, Jeanne, Barb, Cecil, Stan, Marlene, Ryleigh, Dylan, Sandy, Hopie, the Bredemus family, Allen, Bunny, the Vogt family, Patricia, Michael, Nicholas and his family, Beth, Betty, Tom, Kara (car-a), and those we name silently or aloud . Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: Send your Spirit upon this assembly, O God, and send us out into the world to boldly proclaim your love and grace to all. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Please offer your own prayers of joy or concern, ending with “Lord, in your mercy,”
We respond with “hear our prayer.”
Assisting Minister: Almighty God, you are our strength and our shield. We give you thanks for the members of our armed forces past and present, and especially for those who have died while serving. May their sacrifices serve the cause of peace, and may our nation be ever grateful for their service. With your wisdom and strength guide our military’s leaders and give to all people a desire for justice and peace. Lord, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Grant that, gathered and directed by your Spirit, we may confess Christ as Lord and combine our diverse gifts with a singular passion to continue his mission in this world until we join in your eternal praise. People of God: Amen
Children’s Sermon Rev Sarah Wilson
The Peace (Please share peace by waving or showing the peace sign.)
The peace of Christ be with you always. People of God: And also with you.
Offering
Let us pray. Generous God, in this meal you offer your very self. We give thanks for these gifts of the earth. In the breaking of this bread, reveal to us the Risen One. In the pouring of this wine, pour us out in service to the world; through Christ our Lord. People of God: Amen
Communion
The Lord be with you.
People of God: And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
People of God: We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People of God: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread and gave thanks; he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me. Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.
And now let us pray with confidence in the words that Jesus taught us:
People of God: 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
Invitation to Communion
Assisting Minister: Come and know Christ, broken and poured out for you.
For our at-home worshippers, you may take communion using these words:
The body of Christ, given for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
Communion Songs
ELW #622 Neither Death Nor Life
The song leader sings the verses and the congregation sings the refrain.
ELW #800 Spirit of God, Descend upon my Heart
ELW #412 Come Join the Dance of Trinity
ELW #781 Children of the Heavenly Father
Table Blessing
And now may the body and blood of our ☩ Lord, Jesus Christ, strengthen you and keep you in his grace. People of God: Amen
Prayer after Communion
Assisting Minister: Let us pray. Gracious God, in you we live and move and have our being. With your word and this meal of grace, you have nourished our life together. Strengthen us to show your love and serve the world in Jesus’ name. People of God: Amen
Blessing
The God of all, who raised ☩ Jesus from the dead, bless you by the power of the Holy Spirit to live in the new creation. People of God: Amen
Sending Hymn
ELW#807 Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Dismissal
Assisting Minister: Go in peace knowing that nothing can separate us from God’s love.
People of God: Thanks be to God.
Thank you to those serving us today
Pastor: Rev. Sarah Wilson
Worship Assistant: Andy Taylor
Acolyte: Adam Vogt
Music: Gloria Peetz ~ Song Leader: Sean Rochford
Altar Guild: Karen Barkley
Usher/Greeter: Adeline Zimmer & Bob Eccker
Sound Board: Nancy Rochford
Producer: Mark Gates ~ Graphics: Dawna Gates
Counters: Jeanne Soberg & Nancy Rochford
Altar Flowers: Jeremy and Laura Rasmussen
From sundaysandseasons.com. Copyright © 2023 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved
Call to Worship based on this, found at https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/5164/worship-elements-july-26-2020