Prelude
Announcements
Call to Worship based on Psalms 92 and 95
Come, let us sing to God;
People of God: Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into God’s presence with thanksgiving;
People of God: Let us make a joyful noise to God with songs of praise!
It is good to give you thanks, O God;
People of God: To sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
People of God: and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and harp,
People of God: to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O God, have made us glad by your work;
People of God: At the works of your hands, we sing for joy.
Confession and Forgiveness based on Psalm 51
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit, a broken heart filled with regret and remorse. This heart God will not despise. We are a broken people. Trusting in God’s mending ways, let us confess our sins before God and one another:
Silence for reflection
Let us pray. Have mercy on us, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy, blot out our transgressions.
People of God: Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity and cleanse us from our sin. For we know our transgressions, and our sin is ever before us.
Against you, you alone, have we sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.
People of God: Indeed, we were born guilty, sinners when our mothers conceived us. You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach us wisdom in our secret hearts.
Purge us with hyssop, and we shall be clean; wash us, and we shall be whiter than snow. Let us hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from our sins, and blot out all our iniquities.
People of God: Create in us a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within us. Do not cast us away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of your salvation, and sustain in us a willing spirit.
O Lord, open our lips, and our mouths will declare your praise. The Lord creates in us clean hearts; God puts new and right spirits within us. We are not cast away from the presence of the Holy One, and the Holy Spirit is not taken from us. In Christ, we are restored to the joy of God’s salvation; and by God’s grace, our spirits are remade to follow God’s will.
People of God: Thanks be to God!
Gathering Hymn
ELW #836 Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Prayer of the Day
Assisting Minister: Let us pray. O God our shepherd, you know your sheep by name and lead us to safety through the valleys of death. Guide us by your voice, that we may walk in certainty and security to the joyous feast prepared in your house, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People of God: Amen.
Reading
Psalm 23
Assisting Minister: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff— they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.
The word of the Lord. People of God: Thanks be to God
Sermon Rev. Sarah Wilson
Hymn
ELW #502 The King of Love My Shepherd Is
Prayers of the People
Assisting Minister: Confident that God receives our joys and concerns, let us offer our prayers for the church, those in need, and all of creation.
A brief silence.
Assisting Minister: God of the covenant, you call ministers to proclaim your gospel of grace throughout the world. Inspire pastors, deacons, church musicians, and all ministers of your word as they carry out your work. Hear us, O God. People of God: Your mercy is great.
Assisting Minister: God of all creation, you reveal your goodness through all you have made: rivers and seas, plants and animals, and endangered species. Prosper the work of conservation organizations, botanical gardens, zoos, and wildlife sanctuaries. Hear us, O God. People of God: Your mercy is great.
Assisting Minister: God of the nations, you desire that all the peoples of the world live in peace. Guide government leaders of all nations and at all levels—national and local—to work for justice, mercy, and reconciliation. Hear us, O God. People of God: Your mercy is great.
Assisting Minister: God of compassion, you bring healing to those who are sick, consolation to those who are grieving, and well-being to those who are distraught. Send skilled caregivers and comfort to all in need, especially Marsha, the Knight family, Frank, Peggy, Rori, Susan, Grace, Alice, Gus, Faith, Denise, Leslie, Brian, Scott, Jessica, Jeanne, Barb, Cecil (See-sil), Stan, Ryleigh, Dylan, Sandy, Hopie (Hope-y), Allen, Bunny, Patricia, Michael, Beth, Betty, Tom, and those we name silently or aloud <pause>. Make your presence known among all who suffer. Hear us, O God. People of God: Your mercy is great.
Assisting Minister: God of rejoicing, you have brought us together this day to worship around word and sacrament. Encourage children in their learning and growing, and watch over those who are absent today. Lead us all to places of renewal and refreshment. Hear us, O God. People of God: Your mercy is great.
Please offer your own prayers of joy or concern, ending with “Hear us, O God,”
We respond with “Your mercy is great.”
Assisting Minister: God of all faithfulness, we lift to you those who will be serving in Milwaukee with the mission trip this week. Strengthen and guide Sam, Josh, Sydney, Jonah, Kaylee, Pastor Zach, and Pastor Sarah. Give them safety, patience, and a deep love for those they’ll meet and serve. May their experiences inspire their churches when they return, and may their experiences follow them throughout their lives. Hear us, O God. People of God: Your mercy is great.
Into your hands, O God, we commend all for whom we pray, in the name of the one who reconciled all creation to himself, Jesus Christ our Savior. 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. God of field and forest, sea and sky, you are the giver of all good things. Sustain us with these gifts of your creation, and multiply your graciousness in us, that the world may be fed with your love, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and 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: All people are called to Christ’s table. Come, eat what is good.
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 #689 Praise and Thanksgiving
ELW #487 What Feast of Love
ELW #484 You Satisfy the Hungry Heart
ELW #471 Let Us Break Bread Together
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. We thank you, generous God, for the refreshment we have received at your banquet table. Send us now to spread your generosity into all the world, through the one who is our dearest treasure, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. People of God: Amen
Blessing
The God who calls across the cosmos and shepherds us with great love ☩ bless, keep, and sustain you now and to the end of the age. People of God: Amen
Sending Hymn
ELW#768 Lead Me, Guide Me
Use the hymnal
Dismissal
Assisting Minister: Go in peace knowing that goodness and mercy pursue us always. People of God: Thanks be to God.
Thank you to those serving us today
Pastor: Rev. Sarah Wilson
Worship Assistant: Hannah Brescia
Acolyte: Daniel Whyte
Music: Gloria Peetz ~ Song Leader: Elizabeth Jahaske
Altar Guild: Karen Barkley
Usher/Greeter: Andy Taylor & Bob Kubas
Sound Board: Nancy Rochford
Producer: Mark Gates ~ Graphics: Dawna Gates
Counters: Denise Ulaszek & Sally Skalany
From sundaysandseasons.com. Copyright © 2023 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved
Confession and Forgiveness based on the work of Amy Loving, posted on The Worship Closet
Call to Worship Based on Psalms 92 and 95 based on work by Pastor Joanna Harader