07/19/26

As We Gather

God’s plans are far beyond our understanding. Even His divine existence sends our minds reeling. No wonder that Jesus’ disciples, and we who follow Him, cannot figure out why He lets His and our spiritual enemies live with us. But because we have been given faith by the Holy Spirit, we trust His divine wisdom. We have the firstfruits of the Spirit and know that the Spirit intercedes for us. Thus, even in the groans of our prayers, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. In sure hope, we wait for the day when we shall “shine like the sun” in our Father’s kingdom.

Family Room & Children Activity Bags- 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 the LCMS ordinarily communes only those who have been instructed in the teachings of our church and who have confessed their faith in these teachings. Please speak to Pastor Ralph before the service if you have a question about this. 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.

When Will Judgement Come?  “I fully expect Him not to delay long. The world has now stood for some 5,500 years. Now in the course of the sixth period of a thousand years the end should come and this last thousand will not be completed; for God customarily acts as He did in the resurrection of Christ: in the middle of the third day Christ rises from the dead.” What Luther Says # 2163

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost 

   July 19. 2026

Welcome

Opening Hymn                     God of Grace and God of Glory                   LSB 850 vs 1, 3-4                

Invocation, Confession and Absolution      (Portion of Psalm 119:57–64)

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:   You are my portion, O Lord; I have promised to obey your words. 

C:   I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. 

P:   I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes. 

C:   I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands. 

P:   Though the wicked bind me with ropes, I will not forget your law. 

C:   At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws. 

P:   I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts. 

C:   The earth is filled with your love, O Lord; teach me your decrees.

P:   Gracious Father,

C:   we confess that we groan not only because of sin in the world, but our failure to trust You for all that we need. We have not waited patiently; we have demanded reasons from You; we have sought to excuse ourselves. Yet You have given us the Spirit, who intercedes for us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us to hope not in ourselves but in the resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

(Silence for Meditation)

P:   The promises of God are sure; one day creation will be set free from corruption. Your sins were taken to Christ’s cross, where you were redeemed as God’s beloved children. You are a forgiven people in the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C:   Amen.

Hymn of Praise                  Saints, See the Cloud of Witnesses             LSB 667  vs 1, 4-6

Prayer of the Day

All:   O God, so rule and govern our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that we may be stirred up to holiness of fruitful living here and dwell with You in perfect joy hereafter; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

OT Reading                                     (No one compares to God.)               Isaiah 44:6–8

“This is what the Lord says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come— yes, let him foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

NT  Lesson                                (The Holy Spirit intercedes for us)            Romans 8:18–27

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

 Gospel Lesson         (The parable of the wheat and weeds)     Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

 “ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ “ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”

Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. 

Message Hymn                                Speak O Lord                                       Getty/Townend

Speak, O Lord, as we come to You   To receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;  Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us All Your purposes for Your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience,  Holy reverence, true humility;
Test our thoughts and our attitudes   In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see  Your majestic love and authority.
Words of pow’r that can never fail— Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;  Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us—
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time   That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises,  And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built   And the earth is filled with Your glory.

 CCLI License #11390779

Message                                         Sowing Good Seed

1.      Making       disciples      for Jesus is sowing “good seed” into the Kingdom.

2.      Kingdom principles are taught     so that God’s people are enabled    to follow   where He leads.

3.      While it’s tempting    to     remove      the weeds sown in the King’s field, better yet to prayerfully wait for God’s     timing     in the matter.

Notes:

Explanation to The Third Article of the Apostles Creed

P:   In the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed, we confess our faith in the Holy Spirit, who intercedes for us.

C:   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.

P:   What does this mean?

C:   I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.

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 of Communion

Distribution Hymn                           Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me           LSB 761

Post Communion Canticle                                                  page 164 in the hymnal

C:  ♪ Thank the Lord and sing His praise; tell ev’ryone what He has done.  Let all who seek the Lord rejoice and proudly bear His name.  He recalls His promises and leads His people forth in joy with shouts of thanksgiving. Alleluia, alleluia. 

Post Communion Thanksgiving

All: O God the Father, the fountain and source of all goodness, we thank You that for Jesus’ sake You have given us pardon and peace in this Sacrament. As You promise not to forsake Your children, we pray that You rule our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that we may be enabled constantly to serve You with thanksgiving and praise; 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                                Christ Be My Leader                       LSB 861

 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.”