08/16/26

As We Gather

In today’s Gospel, our Lord Jesus moved beyond His ministry initially among the Jews now to the Gentile woman of Canaan. The miracle greater than the healing of her daughter was her great faith in Jesus addressing Him, saying, “Lord, help me”. Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord said He would bring “foreigners” to His “house of prayer for all peoples”. The early church learned how the Gentiles are grafted into Israel, making the Christian Church the fulfillment of the true Israel, God’s people! The outreach of the Gospel of Christ continues through His church, calling all people “that He may have mercy on all”. Because we have mercy through Christ, you can have steadfast confidence as His beloved child.

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.

 An Illustration  “Affection for our fellow man is to be like the chaste love with which one spouse loves the other. In this relation all faults are rationalized and covered, and only the virtues are seen.”     What Luther Says # 2583

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

                                                                     August 16, 2026

Welcome

Opening Hymn                           Glory Be To God the Father           LSB 506  vs 1-3

Invocation, Confession and Absolution     (portions of Psalm 28)

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:   The Lord is the strength of His people;

C:   He is the saving refuge of His anointed.

P:   To You, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me,

C:   lest, if You be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.

P:   Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to You for help,

C:   when I lift up my hands toward Your most holy sanctuary.

P:   The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped;

C:   my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him.

P:   Delivering Lord, You invite all people into Your holy house of prayer.

C:   We confess that we have not kept justice, choosing to go our own way instead of following Your direction. We admit that we have not lived righteously, breaking Your commands by what we think, say, and do. Help us to live in the victory of Christ, our Lord, trusting in Your promises, and gathering with all Your people to praise Your name forever. Amen.

(Silence for Reflection)

P:   Deliverance has come to you! Salvation is yours! God has heard your prayer for mercy and has given you a place in His kingdom. As a called and ordained servant of the Word, and by the authority of Jesus, my King, I declare that you are forgiven of all your sins in the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C:   Amen.

Hymn of Praise                  In Christ There Is No East or West                       LSB 653                   

Prayer of the Day

All:  We give thanks and praise to You, O God, for making Your house a place of prayer for all peoples. You have blessed us with Your grace and salvation! Through the Gospel, make us voices of invitation to all people that with us they may serve You with joy and gladness all our days. We pray this 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              (The Lord’s salvation comes for all peoples.)            Isaiah 56:1–8

This is what the Lord says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.” Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.” And let not any eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.” For this is what the Lord says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant— to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off. And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to serve him, to love the name of the Lord, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant— these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” The Sovereign Lord declares— he who gathers the exiles of Israel: “I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.” 

NT  Lesson       (God will reveal His mercy to all people)  Romans 11:1–2a, 13–15, 28–32

I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew.  I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? …As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

 Gospel Lesson       (A Canaanite woman shows great faith.)           Matthew 15:21–28

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Message Hymn                             The Father’s House                                      Cory Asbury  

Sometimes on this journey    I get lost in my mistakes
What looks to me like weakness   Is a canvas for Your strength
My story isn’t over   My story’s just begun

          Failure won’t define me   ‘Cause that’s what my Father does  

Failure won’t define me   ‘Cause that’s what my Father does  

Chorus          Oo lay your burdens down    Oo here in the Father’s house
      Check your shame at the door   ‘Cause it ain’t welcome anymore
Oo you’re in the Father’s house

Arrival’s not the endgame     The journey’s where You are
You never wanted perfect  You just wanted my heart
And the story isn’t over  If the story isn’t good
        Failure’s never final   When the Father’s in the room    

Failure’s never final   When the Father’s in the room       (Chorus)

           Bridge:                      Prodigals come home     the helpless find hope
                                        Love is on the move   When the Father’s in the room
                                          Prison doors fling wide     the dead come to life
                                        Love is on the move    When the Father’s in the room
                                                Miracles take place     the cynical find faith
                                  Love is breaking through    When the Father’s in the room
                                  Jericho walls are quaking    Strongholds now are shaking
                            Love is breaking through      When the Father’s in the room  

                          Love is breaking through      When the Father’s in the room    ( Chorus)  

CCLI Song # 7135153 Benjamin Hastings | Cory Asbury | Ethan Hulse  CCLI License # 11390779

Message                                    God’s Desire is to Show Mercy
1.      To everyone      . 2 Peter 3: 9; Eze. 18: 23, 32

2.      God’s generosity    makes   provision    for everyone’s needs     .

3.      Even the unassuming can recognize     and       proclaim       God’s hand in their care.

Notes:

The Apostle’s Creed                                      

C:   I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. 

1.        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 of Communion

Distribution Hymn                         Christ the Eternal Lord               LSB 829 vs 1-3, 5

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: We give thanks to You, our good and gracious King, that You have refreshed us through this sacred Meal, and we implore You that of Your mercy You continue to make Your deliverance known to us and to all peoples so that we may live 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:   Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness,

C:   for soon My salvation will come, and My deliverance be revealed.”

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                                      Lift High the Cross             LSB 837 vs 1, 3, 5-6Agnus 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                         Christ the Eternal Lord               LSB 829 vs 1-3, 5

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: We give thanks to You, our good and gracious King, that You have refreshed us through this sacred Meal, and we implore You that of Your mercy You continue to make Your deliverance known to us and to all peoples so that we may live 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:   Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness,

C:   for soon My salvation will come, and My deliverance be revealed.”

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                                      Lift High the Cross             LSB 837 vs 1, 3, 5-6

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.”