08/23/26

As We Gather

Son of a pub owner and a cabinet maker by trade, Edward Mote was a nineteenth century Englishman who came to faith in Christ as an adult and then served the last two decades of his life as a parish pastor. He discovered a new passion in his later years: writing hymns for Christians to sing. “My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness,” he wrote. “I dare not trust the sweetest frame  But wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand”. The story is told that the first person with whom Mote shared these words was a friend who had fallen ill and was nearing the end of her life. Mote’s beautiful hymn, is a reminder God’s beloved that Christ Jesus alone is the solid foundation, the mighty fortress in whom we can trust. In life and in death, our hope is built on this rock, who offers for us nothing less than His own blood and righteousness.

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 ( 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.

Objective Justification “This is why there is a great need here again to pray and cry: Dear Father, forgive us our trespasses. Not that He does not forgive sin even without and before our prayer; for He has given us the Gospel, in which there is nothing but forgiveness, even before we prayed for it or ever thought about it. What we are concerned about in this petition is that we may recognize and accept this forgiveness.”  What Luther Says # 2201

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

August 23, 2026

Welcome 

Opening Hymn                           Christ Is Our Cornerstone                                       LSB 912

Invocation, Confession and Absolution      (portions of Psalm 2, 115, 117)

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:   But we will bless the Lord

C:   from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord!

P:   As for Me, I have set My King on Zion, My holy hill. I will tell of the decree:

C:   The Lord said to Me, “You are My Son; today I have begotten You.”

P:   Praise the Lord, all nations!

C:   Extol Him, all peoples!

P:   For great is His steadfast love toward us,

C:   and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!

P:  That we may rest on Jesus and His unchanging grace, we confess our sins in the presence of God and of one another.

C:   Heavenly Father, Your Word tells us that we all have sinned and fall short of Your glory. By what we have done and by what we have failed to do, we have lived  lives that falter when we do not stand firm in You.  Have mercy upon us and enable us to trust the promises of Your Word, confident in the forgiveness of sins found in Christ Jesus, our solid rock. Amen.

(Silence for Meditation)

P:   Upon this your confession, I am blessed to proclaim the certainty of God’s saving grace to all of you! In the stead and by the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, our mighty rock and fortress, I announce that your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C:   Amen.

Hymn of Praise                                  Built on the Rock                   LSB 645  vs 1, 3, 5

Prayer of the Day

All:   Almighty God, grant us to know Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be the rock upon whom our lives are built. Help us rest securely in Your justifying promises and find strength in Your mighty deliverance; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

OT Lesson                      (“Look to the rock from which you were hewn.”)       Isaiah 51:1–6

“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many. The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing. “Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: The law will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations. My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail. 

NT Lesson              (Do not be conformed; be transformed.)                 Romans 11:33–12:8

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. 

Gospel Lesson             (“On this rock I will build My church.”)               Matthew 16:13–20

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon’s son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

Message Song                                          Cornerstone                                                      Hillsong

My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness.

                I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.   Repeat

Chorus    Christ alone.  Cornerstone. Weak made strong in the Savior’s love.

Through the storm, He is Lord. Lord of all.

When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace.

In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.

                  My anchor holds within the veil.    Chorus

                              Bridge                                   He is Lord. Lord of all.        then Chorus

When He shall come with trumpet sound,    O may I then in Him be found.

Dressed in His righteousness alone. Faultless stand before the throne.

Chorus 

CCLI Song # 6158927 ©Hillsong Music Pub. CCLI License # 11390779

Message                                          The Church is Built and Filled

1.      with    faith-filled          people through our confession of Christ.  Matt 16: 16

2.      with    diversely        gifted         people for service in Kingdom and Community.  Rom. 12: 6-8;            3.   with a       rejoicing     and       glad      people.     Acts 2: 42-47

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 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 takes away the sin of the world; 

         grant us Thy peace.  A – men.

Distribution Hymn                       Thy Body, Given for Me, O Savior            LSB 619

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 Collect

All:  Gracious Savior, You are the cornerstone on whom our lives are built. We thank You for Your saving blood and cleansing righteousness, which we have received in Your most sacred Meal. Reign in our hearts by Your Holy Spirit so that, in a world of sinking sand, we may stand on You, our solid rock; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Benediction                                                                                                  

P:   The Lord alone is our rock and our refuge, our fortress and our deliverer. 

C:   His blessing be upon us as we go forth in His name.

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      The Church’s One Foundation       LSB 644 vs 1, 4-5

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.”