15th Sunday After Trinity - 2023

 

Today's Service Leader Rev. Brett Cornelius, Pastor Holy Cross Lutheran Church

 

 

Today's liturgy is the Divine Service, Setting Three, LSB pages 184ff.

 

Opening Hymn~

 

601 All Who Believe and Are Baptized

Text: Thomas Hansen Kingo, 1634–1703; tr. George A. T. Rygh, 1860–1942, alt.
Tune: Etlich Cristlich lider, 1524, Wittenberg
Text and tune: Public domain

 

Please Stand

 

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

 

Invocation

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

C Amen.

 

Exhortation LSB 184

P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.

P Our help is in the name of the Lord,

C who made heaven and earth.

P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,

C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

 

 

Confession of Sins LSB 184

P O almighty God, merciful Father,

C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.

 

Absolution LSB 185

P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

 

 

Introit Psalm 86:4, 6, 15a, 16; antiphon: vv. 1a, 2b, 3

Incline your ear, O Lord, and | answer me,*
save your servant, who trusts in you—you | are my God.
Be gracious to me, | O Lord,*
for to you do I cry | all the day.
Gladden the soul of your | servant,*
for to you, O Lord, do I lift | up my soul.
Give ear, O Lord, | to my prayer;*
listen to my | plea for grace.
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and | gracious;*
turn to me and be gra- | cious to me;
give your strength to your | servant,*
and save the son of your maid- | servant.
Glory be to the Father and | to the Son*
and to the Holy | Spirit;
as it was in the be- | ginning,*
is now, and will be forever. | Amen.
Incline your ear, O Lord, and | answer me,*
save your servant, who trusts in you—you | are my God.
Be gracious to me, | O Lord,*
for to you do I cry | all the day.

 

 

Kyrie LSB 186

 

Gloria in Excelsis LSB 187

 

 

Salutation and Collect of the Day

P The Lord be with you.

C And with thy spirit.

P Almighty and everlasting God…one God, now and forever.

C Amen.

 

Please be Seated

 

 

Old Testament Reading 1 Kings 17:8–16

⁸Then the word of the Lord came to [Elijah], ⁹“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” ¹⁰So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” ¹¹And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” ¹²And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” ¹³And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴For thus says the Lord the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” ¹⁵And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

 

Psalm 146-see insert

¹Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
²I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

³Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
⁴When his breath departs he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.

⁵Blessèd is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
⁶who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
⁷who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;
⁸the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
⁹The Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

¹⁰The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!

 

Epistle Galatians 5:25—6:10

²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

¹Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. ²Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. ³For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. ⁴But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. ⁵For each will have to bear his own load.

⁶One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches. ⁷Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. ⁸For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. ⁹And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. ¹⁰So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

 

Please Stand

 

Alleluia LSB 190

 

 

Holy Gospel Matthew 6:24–34

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

²⁴[Jesus said:] “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

²⁵“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁸And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

³⁴“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

P This is the Gospel of the Lord.

 

Apostles’ Creed

C 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 T everlasting. Amen.

 

Please be Seated

 

 

Sermon Hymn~

 

760 What God Ordains Is Always Good

 

5 What God ordains is always good:
    Though I the cup am drinking
Which savors now of bitterness,
    I take it without shrinking.
        For after grief
        God gives relief,
My heart with comfort filling
And all my sorrow stilling.

 

6 What God ordains is always good:
    This truth remains unshaken.
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
    I shall not be forsaken.
        I fear no harm,
        For with His arm
He shall embrace and shield me;
So to my God I yield me.

Text: Samuel Rodigast, 1649–1708; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.
Tune: Severus Gastorius, 1646–82, alt.
Text and tune: Public domain

 

 

Sermon~Rev. Brett E. Cornelius, Pastor Holy Cross Lutheran Church

 

 

Please Stand

 

Offertory LSB 192

C 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.

 

Please be Seated

 

Offering is presented during last verse.

 

Offering Hymn ~ Choir ~ "Wake Us, O Lord, to Human Need.

 

Please Stand

 

Prayer of the Church

 

Preface LSB 194

P The Lord be with you.

C And with thy spirit.

P Lift up your hearts.

C We lift them up unto the Lord.

P Let us give thanks unto the Lord, our God.

C It is meet and right so to do.

 

Proper Preface

P It is truly meet, right, and salutary... 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 195

 

 

Lord’s Prayer LSB 162

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

C 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 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 T 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 T 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 LSB 197

P The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C Amen.

 

Agnus Dei LSB 198

 

Please be Seated

 

 

Distribution Hymns~

 

617 O Lord, We Praise Thee

Text: tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.; (st. 1): German, 14th cent.; (sts. 2–3): Martin Luther, 1483–1546
Tune: Geystliche gesangk Buchleyn, 1524, Wittenberg, ed. Johann Walter
Text: © 1941 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110001518
Tune: Public domain

 

633 At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing

 

5 Mighty Victim from the sky,
Hell’s fierce pow’rs beneath You lie;
You have conquered in the fight,
You have brought us life and light.
    Alleluia!

 

6 Now no more can death appall,
Now no more the grave enthrall;
You have opened paradise,
And Your saints in You shall rise.
    Alleluia!

 

7 Easter triumph, Easter joy!
This alone can sin destroy;
From sin’s pow’r, Lord, set us free,
Newborn souls in You to be.
    Alleluia!

 

D 8 Father, who the crown shall give,
Savior, by whose death we live,
Spirit, guide through all our days:
Three in One, Your name we praise.
    Alleluia!

Text: Latin, c. 5th–10th cent.; tr. Robert Campbell, 1814–68, alt.
Tune: Kirchengeseng, 1566, Ivancice
Text and tune: Public domain

 

560 Drawn to the Cross, Which Thou Hast Blessed

Text: Genevieve M. Irons, 1855–1928
Tune: Joseph Barnby, 1838–96
Text and tune: Public domain

 

Please Stand

 

Nunc Dimittis LSB 199

 

Thanksgiving LSB 200

A O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good,

C and His mercy endureth forever.

 

Post-Communion Collect

A Let us pray.

We give thanks to You, almighty God... one God, now and forever.

C Amen.

 

Salutation 201

P The Lord be with you.

C And with thy spirit.

 

Benedicamus LSB 202

A Bless we the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

 

Benediction LSB 202

P The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and T give you peace.

C Amen, amen, amen.

 

 

666 O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe

Text: Jacob Fabricius, 1593–1654; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Tune: German, 1534, Nürnberg
Text and tune: Public domain

 

 

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 © 2023 Concordia Publishing House.