Proper 22
Worship
Lectionary Worship Workbook
Series IV, Cycle A
Hymns
Cantemos al Senor (O Sing To The Lord) (UM149, CBH55, NCH39, PH472)
O Day Of Rest And Gladness (CBH641, NCH66)
From All That Dwell Below The Skies (CBH49, UM101, NCH27, PH229)
All Beautiful The March Of Days (CBH159, NCH434, PH292)
Awake My Soul (CBH609, NCH491)
When I Survey The Wondrous Cross (NCH224, CBH259, 260, UM298, 299, PH100, 101)
When Jesus Wept (NCH191, CBH234, PH312)
Be Thou My Vision (PH330, NCH451, CBH545, UM451)
God's Law Is Perfect And Gives Life (PH167)
Anthems
The Holy Ten Commandments, Josef Haydn, Mercury, 3 to 5 equal voices
The Heavens Are Telling, Josef Haydn, G Schirmer, SATB, with STB solos
God Called Moses, John Horman, CGA, Unison
O Sing To The Lord, Cantad al Senor, arr. Ziegenhals, CGA, Unison/2--part, optional maracas
Call to Worship (based on Psalm 19)
Leader:The heavens are telling the glory of God,
People:The firmament proclaims God's handiwork.
Leader:Day to day pours forth speech;
People:Night to night declares knowledge.
Leader:There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard;
People:Yet their voice goes out through all the earth,
All:Their words to the end of the world.
Prayer of Invocation
We call to you, O God. You have given us laws that we are to keep. And yet you sent your son to show us that some laws can and should be broken. Give us insight as we hear the ancient laws read and interpreted. Help us to know which laws are God--given, and which have been created out of human need or greed. Grant us wisdom as we listen to your word for us today. Amen.
Scripture Readings
Exodus 20:1--4, 7--9, 12--20: This passage can be strengthened by having an amplified voice read the Ten Commandments without the congregation being able to see that person. It can be very effective if you have someone with a good and authoritative voice. The sex of the person does not matter as long as he/she speaks confidently. Have a Narrator at the lectern, and have people in the congregation stand up and read together the People's part.
Narrator: Then God spoke all these words:
God: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. Honor thy father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male, or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Narrator: When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, and said to Moses,
People: You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.
Narrator: Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin."
Psalm 19: This is a wonderful psalm, and makes mention of God's precepts. Use it in the service, and have the congregation read it responsively. The right side would read the odd--numbered verses and the left side the even--numbered verses. A deaf sign language interpreter might stand at the front of the church and sign it as the people read and watch the interpretation.
Matthew 21:33--46: This passage is very violent, so do not act it out. But it is an important passage as it is also about the Law and the Pharisees' interpretation of the Law. It is definitely a warning to the Pharisees. One person could read it, as Jesus taught, or it could be quite effective read by a choral speaking choir.
1 2 3
4 5 6 10 11
7 8 9 12
All: Listen to another parable.
Voice 7: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower.
Voice 8: Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.
Voice 9: When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce.
Voices 10, 11, and 12: But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
All: And again he sent other slaves, more than the first;
Voices 10, 11, and 12: And they treated them in the same way.
Voice 4: Finally he sent his son to them, saying, "They will respect my son."
Voice 5: But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves,
Voices 1, 2, and 3: This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.
Voices 10, 11, and 12: So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
Voice 6: Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?
Voice 1: They said to him,
Voices 1 to 9: He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.
Voice 2: Jesus said to them,
Voice 3: Have you never read in the scriptures: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes?"
Voice 4: Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you
Voices 5 and 6: And given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.
Voices 7, 8, and 9: The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces;
Voices 1 to 9: And it will crush anyone on whom it falls.
Voices 10, 11, and 12: When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him,
Voices 7 to 12: But they feared the crowds,
All: Because they regarded him as a prophet.
Call to Offering
In Philippians 3, Paul says that he presses on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Jesus Christ. May we all push on toward that goal as the ushers wait upon us for our gifts and offerings.
Prayer of Dedication
Great and awesome God, may the gifts we bring today be used to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comforted as we press on toward the goal of your kingdom on earth. Amen.
Benediction
Leader: Go from this place today striving to keep God's laws. Let all your words and thoughts be as God would have them be, and show the love of God in all you do and say. Be kind yet brave in all your actions, and fear not, for God is with you. Amen.
Choral Response
God's Law Is Perfect (v. 1)
Cantemos al Senor (O Sing To The Lord) (UM149, CBH55, NCH39, PH472)
O Day Of Rest And Gladness (CBH641, NCH66)
From All That Dwell Below The Skies (CBH49, UM101, NCH27, PH229)
All Beautiful The March Of Days (CBH159, NCH434, PH292)
Awake My Soul (CBH609, NCH491)
When I Survey The Wondrous Cross (NCH224, CBH259, 260, UM298, 299, PH100, 101)
When Jesus Wept (NCH191, CBH234, PH312)
Be Thou My Vision (PH330, NCH451, CBH545, UM451)
God's Law Is Perfect And Gives Life (PH167)
Anthems
The Holy Ten Commandments, Josef Haydn, Mercury, 3 to 5 equal voices
The Heavens Are Telling, Josef Haydn, G Schirmer, SATB, with STB solos
God Called Moses, John Horman, CGA, Unison
O Sing To The Lord, Cantad al Senor, arr. Ziegenhals, CGA, Unison/2--part, optional maracas
Call to Worship (based on Psalm 19)
Leader:The heavens are telling the glory of God,
People:The firmament proclaims God's handiwork.
Leader:Day to day pours forth speech;
People:Night to night declares knowledge.
Leader:There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard;
People:Yet their voice goes out through all the earth,
All:Their words to the end of the world.
Prayer of Invocation
We call to you, O God. You have given us laws that we are to keep. And yet you sent your son to show us that some laws can and should be broken. Give us insight as we hear the ancient laws read and interpreted. Help us to know which laws are God--given, and which have been created out of human need or greed. Grant us wisdom as we listen to your word for us today. Amen.
Scripture Readings
Exodus 20:1--4, 7--9, 12--20: This passage can be strengthened by having an amplified voice read the Ten Commandments without the congregation being able to see that person. It can be very effective if you have someone with a good and authoritative voice. The sex of the person does not matter as long as he/she speaks confidently. Have a Narrator at the lectern, and have people in the congregation stand up and read together the People's part.
Narrator: Then God spoke all these words:
God: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. Honor thy father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male, or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Narrator: When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, and said to Moses,
People: You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.
Narrator: Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin."
Psalm 19: This is a wonderful psalm, and makes mention of God's precepts. Use it in the service, and have the congregation read it responsively. The right side would read the odd--numbered verses and the left side the even--numbered verses. A deaf sign language interpreter might stand at the front of the church and sign it as the people read and watch the interpretation.
Matthew 21:33--46: This passage is very violent, so do not act it out. But it is an important passage as it is also about the Law and the Pharisees' interpretation of the Law. It is definitely a warning to the Pharisees. One person could read it, as Jesus taught, or it could be quite effective read by a choral speaking choir.
1 2 3
4 5 6 10 11
7 8 9 12
All: Listen to another parable.
Voice 7: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower.
Voice 8: Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.
Voice 9: When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce.
Voices 10, 11, and 12: But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
All: And again he sent other slaves, more than the first;
Voices 10, 11, and 12: And they treated them in the same way.
Voice 4: Finally he sent his son to them, saying, "They will respect my son."
Voice 5: But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves,
Voices 1, 2, and 3: This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.
Voices 10, 11, and 12: So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
Voice 6: Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?
Voice 1: They said to him,
Voices 1 to 9: He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.
Voice 2: Jesus said to them,
Voice 3: Have you never read in the scriptures: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes?"
Voice 4: Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you
Voices 5 and 6: And given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.
Voices 7, 8, and 9: The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces;
Voices 1 to 9: And it will crush anyone on whom it falls.
Voices 10, 11, and 12: When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him,
Voices 7 to 12: But they feared the crowds,
All: Because they regarded him as a prophet.
Call to Offering
In Philippians 3, Paul says that he presses on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Jesus Christ. May we all push on toward that goal as the ushers wait upon us for our gifts and offerings.
Prayer of Dedication
Great and awesome God, may the gifts we bring today be used to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comforted as we press on toward the goal of your kingdom on earth. Amen.
Benediction
Leader: Go from this place today striving to keep God's laws. Let all your words and thoughts be as God would have them be, and show the love of God in all you do and say. Be kind yet brave in all your actions, and fear not, for God is with you. Amen.
Choral Response
God's Law Is Perfect (v. 1)
