07/13/25

As We Gather

 Today’s Old Testament Reading is full of what God demands that someone should or should not do; it sounds almost scary. But it is only His putting us in our place and telling us how He wants to work through us and share His love, already poured out on us: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). The man who fell among thieves in the parable of the Good Samaritan did nothing, but he was helped, nonetheless. That’s how our Lord, our own Good Samaritan, wants to treat us. The commands in the Old Testament Reading are how to pass on His love to all whom we meet. Our worship today is time to remember to do nothing except live the life God has so graciously bestowed on us.

Activity Bags We value children in our worship services. If needed, there is a family room available for families with children. The family room has a diaper changing table, toys and books for children. The family room is located across from the kitchen in the long hallway, the first door on the right, just past the bathrooms. There are “King’s Kids” bags with activities for children to help them worship. They are near the usher’s station on a small rack. Please return the bag to the rack after the service.

Holy Communion The Scripture teaches the Lord’s Supper is a precious gift of God in which Christ gives us His true body and blood (in a miraculous way), together with the bread and wine, for the forgiveness of our sins and the strengthening of our faith. Because the Bible teaches that this Sacrament may also be spiritually harmful if misused (1 Cor: 11:27), and that participation in the Lord’s Supper is an act of confession of faith, we ordinarily commune those who have been instructed in the teachings of our church and who have confessed their faith in these teachings. If you have a question, please speak to Pastor Ralph before the service. For those who prefer a non-alcoholic alternative, there is grape juice at the center of each tray. Those not receiving the Sacrament, including children, are invited to come to the altar, cross their arms over their chest, and receive a special blessing.
Faith Sanctifies All Works For the Service of God “To serve God simply means to do what God commands and not to do what God has forbidden. And if only we would accustom ourselves properly to this view, the entire world would be full of service to God, not only in the church and world, but also the home, the kitchen, the cellar, the workshop, and the field of the townsfolk and farmers. For it is certain that God would not only have the church and world order, but also the house order established and upheld. All, therefore, who serve the latter purpose – mother and father first, then children- then finally the servants and neighbors – are jointly serving God; for so He wills and commands.” What Luther Says # 1699 Pt. 1

Pentecost 

July 13, 2025

Welcome 

Opening Hymn              The Law of God Is Good and Wise                         LSB 579

Invocation, Confession and Absolution     (Psalm 136:1, 23–26)

P:   We gather in the name and at the invitation of our great and gracious triune God:

C:   In the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

P:   Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,

C:   for His steadfast love endures forever.

P:   It is He who remembered us in our low estate,

C:   for His steadfast love endures forever;

P:   and rescued us from our foes,

C:   for His steadfast love endures forever;

P:   He who gives food to all flesh,

C:   for His steadfast love endures forever.

P:   Give thanks to the God of heaven,

C:   for His steadfast love endures forever.

P:   We confess, Lord our God,

C:   that we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We do not reflect Your love, heavenly Father, in the way we treat others. Forgive us.

P:   We confess, gracious Lord Jesus,

C:   that we do not always give You the due honor and glory for all that You have done for us in Your life, death, and resurrection. Forgive us.

P:   We confess, O Holy Spirit,

C:   that we forget that even our faulty attempts at loving as You have loved us are covered by Your overarching grace and mercy.

P:   Our gracious God has done all that was needed for us to be His friends, followers, and family. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit,

C:   Amen.

Hymn of Praise                 Beautiful Savior                                       LSB 537

Prayer of the Day

All:   Gracious God, we give thanks that Your Son has done all that is needed for us to live in Your presence. Strengthen our faith that we may receive Your gifts each day and seek ways to thank You with all that we are and have; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

O T Lesson       (God tells Moses to explain what it means to love one’s.)     Lev. 19:9–18  

“ ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. ¹⁰   Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God. ¹¹ “ ‘Do not steal. “ ‘Do not lie. “ ‘Do not deceive one another. ¹² “ ‘Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. ¹³ “ ‘Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. “ ‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight. ¹⁴ “ ‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord. ¹⁵ “ ‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. ¹⁶ “ ‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people. “ ‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord. ¹⁷ “ ‘Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt. ¹⁸ “ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. 

N T Lesson                         (Paul rejoices with the Colossians.)                Colossians 1:1–14

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, ² To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— ⁵ the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel ⁶ that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth. ⁷ You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, ⁸ and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.  ⁹ For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. ¹⁰ And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, ¹¹ being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Gospel Lesson   (The Good Samaritan shows us how to love our neighbor.)   Luke 10:25–37

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” ²⁷ He answered: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” ²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” ²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ ³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” ³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” 

Message Song                               Mighty to Save

Everyone needs compassion      Love that’s never failing     Let mercy fall on me         

Everyone needs forgiveness     Kindness of a Savior          The hope of nations

 Chorus             Savior, He can move the mountains        Forever, Author of salvation

My God is mighty to save     He is mighty to save

He rose and conquered the grave      Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as You find me     All my fears and failures     Fill my life again      

I give my life to follow    Everything I believe in    Now I surrender      Chorus

Shine your light       And let the whole world see

                We’re singing for the glory    Of the risen King, Jesus    2 x’s then    Chorus

Written by Reuben Morgan and Ben Flielding      ©2006 Hillsong Publishing  CCLI License # 11390779

Message                               When I Do Not Make It About Me

1. I do not seek to _____________________________________________     .

2. I _____________________________________    when it is about me.

3. Jesus made it about me and _______________________   __     to prove His and because  _____________________________________________________________           ! 

Notes:

Nicene Creed

 C:   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 at 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.

Offering 

Offertory                                  Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart                         LSB 806

Prayers of the Church  

After each petition:

P:  Lord, in your mercy,

C:  hear our prayer.

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 Lord’s Supper

Preface                                                                      page 194 in the hymnal

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 to the Lord our God.

C:  ♪ It is meet and right so to do.

P:  It is truly good, right, and salutary …. And with the host of heaven we sing:

Sanctus — Holy, Holy, Holy                                          page 195 in the hymnal

P:  ♪ Ho -ly, ho-ly, ho-ly Lord God of Sa – ba – oth. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.   

          Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He, blessed is He, blessed is

          He who cometh in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.

The Words of Institution (Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper)

Pax Domini—The Peace of the Lord                    page 197 in the hymnal

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

Agnus Dei – Lamb of God                                                             page 198 in the hymnal 

C:  ♪ O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world; have mercy upon us.

         O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world; have mercy upon us.

         O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world; 

         grant us Thy peace.  A – men.

Distribution                                 What Wondrous Love Is This                            LSB 543

Nunc Dimittis                                                                                   page 199 in the hymnal        

C: ♪ Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy Word, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.                                                                                                                                          

Post Communion Collect                                                                                 

All: O God the Father, the fountain and source of all goodness, who in loving-kindness sent Your only-begotten Son into the flesh, we thank You that for His sake You have given us pardon and peace in this Sacrament, and we ask You not to forsake Your children but always to rule our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that we may be enabled constantly to serve You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Benediction                                                                                                            

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.
Sending Hymn                        Where Charity and Love Prevail                         LSB 845

Announcements 

Dismissal

P:   Go in peace as you serve the Lord.      

C:   Thanks be to God!   

Postlude