St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church

The 17th Sunday after Pentecost
September 27, 2009


Prelude O God, My Heart is Ready Simon Lindley

O God, my heart is ready,I will sing and give praise,
praise with the best member that I have.
Awake, lute and harp, I myself will awake right early.
My lips shall speak of Thy praise, when Thou hast taught me Thy statutes.
Yea, my tongue shall sing of Thy word, for all Thy commandments are righteous.
O God, my heart is ready, I will sing and give praise,
praise with the best member that I have.


Welcome

We’re delighted to greet everyone in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who takes away our sin and offers grace to all people. If you are a guest, please fill out the Guest Form. If you’re looking for a meaningful ministry with which to become involved, you are encouraged to speak with the Pastor.

Mission Moment


Gathering

(We stand)
Brief Order for Confession & Forgiveness
P We gather in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
 P God of all mercy and consolation, come to the help of your people, turning us from our sin to live for you alone. Give us the power of your Holy Spirit that we may confess our sin, receive your forgiveness, and grow into the fullness of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
C Amen

Confession (We kneel)
 P Most merciful God,

C we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.

Absolution

P In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the ς Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen

Entrance Hymn (We stand) When Morning Gilds the Skies Hymn 853



Greeting
P The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all!
C And, also with you.

Kyrie (Music on page 138)
P In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
C Lord, have mercy.
 P For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
C Lord, have mercy.
P For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the church of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
C Lord, have mercy.
P For this holy house, and for all who offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.
C Lord, have mercy.
 P Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
C Amen.

Hymn of Praise (Music on page 140)

This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain, whose blood set us free to be
people of God.
This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Power, riches, wisdom, and strength, and honor, blessing, and glory are his.
This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Sing with all the people of God, and join in the hymn of all creation:
Blessing, honor, glory, and might be to God and the Lamb forever. Amen.
This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
For the Lamb who was slain has begun his reign. Alleluia.
This is the feast of victory for our God. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Prayer of the Day
P Generous God, your Son gave his life that we might come to peace with you. Give us a share of your Spirit, and in all we do empower us to bear the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

C Amen.


Word

Children’s Message (We sit) Matt Canniff-Kuhn
First Reading Numbers 11:4–6, 10–16, 24–29

What constitutes legitimate need and legitimate leadership is the focus of this reading. God provides manna in the wilderness, yet the people crave meat. What is truly needful? God bestows the spirit on seventy elders, yet two men not designated as leaders prophesy in the power of God’s spirit. What constitutes real leadership?

The rabble among them had a strong craving; and the Israelites also wept again, and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, all at the entrances of their tents. Then the LORD became very angry, and Moses was displeased. So Moses said to the LORD, “Why have you treated your servant so badly? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give birth to them, that you should say to me,
‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a sucking child,’ to the land that you promised on oath to their ancestors? Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they come weeping to me and say, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I am not able to carry all this people alone, for they are too heavy for me. If this is the way you are going to treat me, put me to death at once — if I have found favor in your sight — and do not let me see my misery.” So the LORD said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their place there with you. So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD; and he gathered seventy elders of the people, and placed them all around the tent. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again. Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “My lord Moses, stop them!” But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit on them!”

P The Word of the Lord. C Thanks be to God.


Psalm Day by Day, Dear Lord Martin How

Day by day, dear Lord, of thee three things I pray:
to see thee more clearly, love thee more dearly,
follow thee more nearly, day by day.


Second Reading James 5:13-20

Marks of the Christian community include praying for those who are sick and in need, celebrating with those in good health, restoring those who have strayed, confessing sins to one another, and offering forgiveness to each other.

Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest. My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

P The Word of the Lord. C Thanks be to God.

Gospel (We stand) Mark 9:38-50
P The Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark, the ninth chapter.
C Glory to you, O Lord.

On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus teaches his disciples about ministry that involves service and sacrifice. His disciples are slow to realize that these words apply to them as well as to others.

John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not
stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell
you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. If any of you put a stumbling block
before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

P The Gospel of the Lord. C Praise to you, O Christ.


Sermon (We sit) Worshipful Work and Walk the Talk Pastor Robert Wallace

(We stand)
Hymn of the Day O God, My Faithful God Hymn 806

Apostles’ Creed
 I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s 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 to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Prayers of the People (We kneel)
After each prayer petition:
P Lord in your mercy
C Hear our prayer
The prayers conclude:
P Receive our prayers, holy God, and give us all we need for this day and the days to come, through the power of the Holy Spirit, and in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
C Amen.

Peace (We stand)

 P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C And also with you.

(Please feel free to move about and share God’s Peace with one another!)




Meal

Offertory Anthem There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy Corvedale
Maurice Bevan

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea;
there’s a kindness in his justice which is more than liberty.
There is no place where earth’s sorrows are more felt than up in heaven;
there is no place where earth’s failings have such kindly judgment given.
For the love of God is broader than the measure of man’s mind;
and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.
But we make his love too narrow by false limits of our own;
and we magnify his strictness with a zeal he will not own.
There is plenteous redemption in the blood that has been shed;
there is joy for all the members in the sorrows of the head.
There is grace enough for thousands of new worlds as great as this;
there is room for fresh creations in that upper home of bliss.
If our love were but more simple, we should take him at his word;
and our lives would be all gladness in the joy of Christ our Lord.


Offering Response (We stand) Tune: Lasst uns erfreuen
 C O friends, in gladness let us sing,
 Supernal anthems echoing: Alleluia! Alleluia!
To God the Father, God the Son
And God the Spirit, Three in One:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia.

Offering Prayer
 P God of majesty, in your might you have created all things, and you entrust to our care what you have made. Receive our offerings, and make them a sign of our dedication to provide for the needs of all people and creatures, in the name of the one who sustains all things by his word, Jesus Christ our Lord.
C Amen.

The Great Thanksgiving (Music on page 144)
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 our thanks and praise.

Proper Preface

Sanctus (Music on page 144)

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.




Words of Institution

In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread and gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me. Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.

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.


Communion
All baptized Christians are invited to share in the Eucharist. Those who are not baptized, or wish to receive only a blessing, are asked to fold their arms over their chest. Communion will be by intinction (dipping). Please follow the usher’s direction.

Music at the Distribution (We sit)

Agnus Dei (Music on page 146)
 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.

Motet Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face to Face Barry Rose

Here, O my Lord, I see thee face to face,
here faith would touch and handle things unseen;
Here grasp with firmer hand the ternal grace,
and all my weariness upon thee lean.
Here would I feed upon the bread of God,
here drink with thee the royal wine of heaven,
here would I lay aside each earthly load,
here taste afresh the calm of sin forgiven.
I have no help but Thine,
nor do I need another arm save thine to lean upon;
It is enough, my Lord, indeed, my strength is in thy might, thy might alone.


Hymns during Communion 476, 490


Post Communion Blessing and Prayer (We stand)

 P Loving God, in this meal you sustain the weary and heal the broken. May the gift of your word made flesh, the body and blood of Christ, inspire our tongues to praise you and proclaim to the entire world the Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord.
C Amen.



Blessing
P The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord’s face shine on you with grace and mercy. The Lord look upon you with favor and ς give you peace.
C Amen.

Sending Hymn Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life Hymn 719

Dismissal
P Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.

Voluntary Phoenix Processional Dan Locklair
Mark Frye


___________________________________________

St. Matthew’s extends a warm welcome this morning to the choir of St. James’ Lutheran Church in Concord, North Carolina and their director, Mr. Mark Frye. They will be singing for both services after many hours of rehearsal while on retreat this weekend.

Reproduced with permission by Augsburg Fortress.
Liturgies License #23349