06/28/26

As We Gather

Jesus has not come to calm the world but to lead us into battle. That battle is inside of us. The call to take up the cross, to deny self, and to follow Jesus is impressed upon every believer who, by faith, understands that Jesus has already won the victory over death and the devil, and now He works to sanctify us in this truth. This path of surrender brings us to everlasting life. We are bearers of the Gospel message to the world and accompanied with the promise that Christ is working in us and through us to make the Gospel known. We are encouraged in Christ and reminded, that we have a heavenly reward awaiting our faithful believing and living.

Children 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, a closed-circuit TV to watch the worship service, 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, 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.

 Joy Comes Through the Word of God “I do not know how strong in the Spirit others are. But I cannot become as holy as some imagine themselves to be, however learned and full of the Spirit I might be. I still constantly find that when I am without the Word, Christ is gone, yes, and so are joy and the Spirit. But as soon as I look at a Psalm or a passage of Scripture,  it so shines and burns into my heart that I gain a different spirit and mind. Moreover, I know that everybody may daily experience this in his own life.”  What Luther Says # 2141

Fifth Sunday in Pentecost

June 28, 2026

Welcome 

Opening Hymn                  Come, Follow Me,” The Savior Spake              LSB 688  vs 1-3

Invocation, Confession and Absolution    (Psalm 89: 1-8)

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:   I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; 

C:   with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. 

P:   I will declare that your love stands firm forever, 

C:   that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself. 

P   You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, 

C:   I have sworn to David my servant, 

P:   ‘I will establish your line forever 

C:   and make your throne firm through all generations.’ ” 

P:   The heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, 

C:   your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones. 

P:   For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord? 

C:   Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings? 

P:   In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared; 

C:   he is more awesome than all who surround him. 

P:   O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? 

C:   You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you. 

P:   Holy and gracious God,

C: I confess that I have sinned against You this day. Some of my sin I know—the thoughts and words and deeds of which I am ashamed—but some is known only to You. In the name of Jesus Christ, I ask forgiveness. Deliver according to Your mercy and grant peace to my heart so that I may serve You with all my mind, body, and soul. Amen

P: By the mercy of God we are redeemed by Jesus Christ, and in Him we are forgiven. As a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, 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 Response            Come, Follow Me,” The Savior Spake            LSB 688  vs 4-5      

Prayer of the Day

All:  Merciful God, for freedom You have set us free through Christ’s liberating death and resurrection. In this freedom, teach us to live in the fruit of the Spirit and as Your own children, bearing in our bodies the fulfillment of the Law, loving You above all things and loving our neighbors as ourselves; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

O T Lesson       (It will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.)   Jeremiah 28:5–9

Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord. ⁶ He said, “Amen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord’s house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. ⁷ Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: ⁸ From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. ⁹ But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true.” 

N T Lesson      (In dying to the law we are raised to bear eternal fruit.)       Romans 7:1–6

Do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to men who know the law—that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? ² For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. ³ So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man. ⁴ So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. ⁵ For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. ⁶ But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

Gospel Lesson                       (“Take up your cross…”)                   Matthew 10:34–42

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to turn “ ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— ³⁶ a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’³⁷ “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸ and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ⁴⁰ “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. ⁴¹ Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴² And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”

Message Song                                      Lord, I Need You                           Matt Maher

Lord I come I confess Bowing here I find my rest
And without You I fall apart  You’re the one that guides my heart

             Chorus            Lord I need You oh I need You  Ev’ry hour I need You
                                  My one defense my righteousness Oh God how I need You

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more 
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are Lord I am free
Holiness is Christ in me
                Where You are Lord I am free  Holiness is Christ in me          Chorus

Bridge      So teach my song to rise to You   When temptation comes my way
                      And when I cannot stand I’ll fall on You   Jesus You’re my hope and stay
                      And when I cannot stand I’ll fall on You   Jesus You’re my hope and stay          Chorus

CCLI Song # 5925687  ©2011 sixsteps Music  CCLI License #11390779

 Message                                           Anyone… Whoever…

Taking up the cross, those who follow Christ :

1.      will suffer __rejection_, even in their own house.

2.      will find _true_   _life_, for His sake!

3. _Rewards_ come from being obedient to the _Gospel Message _ and in service to our _fellow_  _man_.

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 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  

Offertory                           Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow                   LSB 805

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 160 in the hymnal

P:  The Lord be with you.

C:  ♪ And also with you.

P:   Lift up your hearts.

C:  ♪ We lift them to the Lord.

P:   Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

C:   ♪ It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

P:   It is truly good, right, and salutary …. And ever more praising You and singing:

Sanctus — Holy, Holy, Holy                                         page 161 in the hymnal

C:  ♪ Holy, holy, holy Lord God of pow’r and might: Heaven and earth are full of   

         Your glory. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is He who  

         comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

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

Pax Domini—The Peace of the Lord                    page 163 in the hymnal

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

C:  ♪ Amen.

Agnus Dei – Lamb of God                                                            page 163 in the hymnal                                      

C:  ♪ 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 peace.

Distribution Hymn                   Lord Jesus Christ, We Humbly Pray           LSB 623

Nunc Dimittis                                                                                  page 211 in the hymnal

C: ♪ O Lord, now let Your servant      Depart in heav’nly peace,    For I have seen the glory     Of Your redeeming grace:     A light to lead the Gentiles    Unto Your holy hill,    The glory of Your people,   Your chosen Israel.  All glory to the Father,   All glory to the Son,  All glory to the Spirit,    Forever Three in One;    For as in the beginning,    Is now, shall ever be,   God’s triune name resounding    Through all eternity.                                                                                                                                         

Post Communion Thanksgiving

All:   O God, for our redemption You gave Your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross and by His glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of the enemy. Grant that all our sin may be drowned through daily repentance and that day by day we may arise to live before You in righteousness and purity forever; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Benediction                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

P:   The Lord God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit 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                               On Galilee’s High Mountain                              LSB 835

Announcements 

Dismissal

P:   Go in peace as you serve the Lord.      

C:   Thanks be to God!   

Postlude

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”