06/21/26

As We Gather

Polls tell us that many of us live in fear and struggle with depression. Jesus calls us not to be afraid—not because we have no enemies but because He is stronger than them all. God knows the score—from every bird that falls from the sky to every hair on our head. He has invested His love and mercy in us in Christ and will not turn away from us. This promise is sure. Because of this, we can surrender our fears of being known as His children. Everyone who confesses Him on earth, Christ will confess him before His Father in heaven. From this promise comes the strength to live the new life given to us in our Baptism and to make known what Christ has done by His death and resurrection—for us and for all the world. We are called to judge not by the times but by the promises of God. Neither will He disappoint us nor will He forsake us.

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.

 The Love of Christ Passeth Knowledge “Our heart is much too limited to be able to grasp the scope of this great blessing. For such is its magnitude that if anyone were able to comprehend it… if we had a full understanding of this love of God for men, a joy so great would come to us from this recognition that we would promptly die because of it. From this we see how great our feebleness is, how great our apathy, since few taste, I do not say, this ocean, but scarcely a few drops of this immense joy.”  

                                                                                                                 What Luther Says #2549

Pentecost 4

June 21, 2026

Opening Hymn   O Day of Rest and Gladness                   LSB 906 vs 1-2

Invocation, Confession and Absolution (Portions of Psalm 91)

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

C:   Amen.

P:   He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

C:   I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

P:   For He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.

C:   He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

P:   You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,

C:   nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

P:   A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.

C:   You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.

P:   Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—the Most High, who is my refuge—

C:   no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.

P:   For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

C:   On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.

P:   Lord, God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

C:   we confess we have not always been mindful of Your eternal kingdom, instead focusing on the things of this world. We have not loved You with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. Forgive us, cleanse us and renew in us a right heart that seeks to do Your holy will. Amen.

(Silence for Meditation)

P:   Jesus speaks of the day when the Son of Man comes and will bring us to where He is. Today He comes to us out of unconditional love with mercy and grace. Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. In the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C:   Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Hymn of Praise       O Day of Rest and Gladness                   LSB 906 vs 3-4

Prayer of the Day

All:   O God, because Your abiding presence always goes with us, keep us aware of Your daily mercies that we may live secure and content in Your eternal love; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

O T Lesson                     (Jeremiah’s complaint and God’s assurance)          Jeremiah 20:7–13

O Lord, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side! Report him! Let’s report him!” All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him.” But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten. O Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause. Sing to the Lord! Give praise to the Lord! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked. 

N T Lesson                                   (Alive in Christ)                                            Romans 6:12–23

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Gospel Lesson                              (Jesus sends out the Twelve)              Matthew 10:5a, 21–33

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household! “So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows…

Message Song                                Before the Throne of God Above

Before the throne of God above     I have a strong, A perfect plea,

A great High Priest whose name is “Love.      Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on His hands,    My name is written on His heart;

I know that while in heaven He stands     No tongue can bid me thence depart,

No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,    And tells me of the guilt within,

Upward I look and see Him there     Who made an end to all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died,     My sinful soul is counted free;

For God, the Just is satisfied     To Look on Him and pardon me,

To Look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there! The Risen Lamb,    My perfect, spotless Righteousness;

The great unchangeable I AM,    The King of glory and of grace!

One with Himself I cannot die,    My soul is purchased with His blood;

My life is hid with Christ on high,    With Christ, my Savior and my God.

With Christ, my Savior and my God.

 Words and music by Charitie Lees Bancroft and Vikki Cook.         CCLI License #11390779

Message                                             How Much More Valuable!    

1.      Valuable by being created in His image   .  vs 31; Gen 1, 2; Psalm 8

2.      Valued so much that Jesus gave    His    life     for you.  Romans 6:23; John 3:16

3.      Kingdom Value Driven to joyfully proclaim Christ in Word and in deed!

Nicene Creed (on screen or Hymnal)

Nicene

Offering     

Offertory                                                          Doxology                                                           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 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

C:  ♪ 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.

C:  ♪ Amen.

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 takest away the sin of the world; 

         grant us Thy peace.  A – men. 

Distribution of Communion   

Distribution Hymn                     I Come, O Savior, To Thy Table                                  LSB 618

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:   We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; 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                              Glory Be to God the Father                                            LSB 506

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.”