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Proper 23 / OT 28 / Pentecost 19

Worship
Lectionary Worship Workbook
Series III, Cycle A
Prayer Of Confession And Absolution
P: We hold back your goodness from one another.
We hold back, pretending it is our own.
C: Break open the tombs of pride and fear that we build,
so that in giving what is yours,
we might find what we truly need.

Silence for reflection and self-examination

P: The Lord is your shepherd: you shall never be in want.
Such goodness and mercy will seek you,
and they will find you;
so that in the banquet of love, you will forever be filled.
Your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.

Prayer Of The Day
P: Holy God, you have chosen us as your own. Prepare us for the great banquet to come where your righteousness and justice will satisfy all. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
C: Amen.

Intercessory Prayer/Prayer Of The Church
P: Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

After each petition:
L: O Lord, wipe away our tears,
C: that we might rejoice.

P: Now may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.
C: Amen.

Offertory Prayer
A: Bring your best to the wedding banquet, lift your hearts in song, rejoice with the king;
C: clothe us with your righteousness, clothe us with your joy, that we might give glory to you with every gift that has been entrusted to us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sending
Speak Philippians 4:8-9 using different voices on each phrase for verse 8. (Have your teenagers be the speakers.) Then pastor/leader speaks verse 9, omitting the words "in me" on verse 9c.

Hymns And Songs
Lord Jesus Christ, You Have Prepared -- LBW 208
At The Lamb's High Feast We Sing -- LBW 210; MBW 216; G&P 394
Come, Let Us Eat -- LBW 214; UMH 625; MBW 423
Come With Us, O Blessed Jesus -- LBW 219
Oh, Sing Jubilee To The Lord -- LBW 256
Where Cross The Crowded Ways Of Life -- LBW 429; UMH 427; PH 408; MBW 581
Rejoice, O Pilgrim Throng -- LBW 553; UMH 160/161; PH 145/146; MBW 786
Go, My Children, With My Blessing -- WOV 721
O God Beyond All Praising -- WOV 797
Thine The Amen, Thine The Praise -- WOV 801
I'm a-Goin'a Eat At The Welcome Table -- TFF 263
I've Got Peace Like A River -- TFF 258; PH 368; MBW 592
Come, Sinners, To The Gospel Feast -- UMH 339/616
Rain Down -- G&P 713
In the Day Of The Lord -- G&P 722

Psalm Settings
The Lord Is My Shepherd -- TFF 3
Gentle Shepherd/Jesus, Pastor Tan Dulce -- G&P 512

Choral Music
"In Remembrance" -- Buryl Red (Broadman Press)
"Rejoice In The Lord Always" -- Richard W. Gieske (Morning Star Publishers)
"The Lord Is My Shepherd" -- Malcolm Acher (GIA)
"The Lord Is My Shepherd" -- John Rutter (Oxford University Press)

Liturgical Dance/Service Notes
Begin your service with joyous instrumental music as one voice repeatedly proclaims, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice." Let the dancers dressed in white with flower garlands enter first, strewing flower petals about. Following them, bring in a chuppa, which is an arch made of four poles and a tallis (prayer shawl) or white lace cloth that is used at Jewish weddings. Later in the service you may preach under the chuppa and then have the congregation pass through it on their way to receive Holy Communion.
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John Jamison
Object: You may present this message as a simple story, or have the children act it out as a role-play. I will show the role-play version, but you can ignore the acting pieces and just tell the story if you prefer.

Note: For the role-play version, you will need to select two girls and one boy to play the roles. You might also have a broom and a dust rag if you want to.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great! Let’s get started.

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Amos proclaims the word from God that punishes the people. The people are to be punished for their lack of faith, for their focus on practicing deceit, betraying honesty to their neighbors, and being impatient for the time after the Sabbath when they can focus on profit and selling their crops and wares. Oh, my! What a terrible message for people. You have been unfaithful so I will punish you. And then in the psalm, God is proclaimed to be the olive tree, that which brings blessing.
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I have tried to find different ways of saying it so that my children don’t tire of hearing it. But the basic principle remains the same, and my kids have heard it a ton. “First things first.” They ask if they can do this or they start to do that, and I will endeavor to redirect them, saying, “Why don’t we make sure we’re doing first things first!”

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. (v. 24)

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
One of Martha's earliest memories was of her little sister Mary singing and dancing in the middle of an admiring crowd of friends. Mary had always been a dancer, from the time she could walk. Privately, Martha thought she'd always been something of a show-off and ought to go on the stage, for Mary loved an audience.

SermonStudio

John E. Sumwalt
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Several years ago, before we moved to Wisconsin, I was an honorary nanny for our pastor's son, Jonathan. I took care of him from the time he was able to walk until our pastor moved, when Jonathan was about five. We had wonderful times together. One time, when I was at their house, and we had been doing some spiritual direction together, Pastor Michael asked me if I knew the name of my guardian angel.
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Arley K. Fadness
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It was the best of times. A time of prosperity and confidence, a time of relative peace, a time when most everything looked pretty good, a time when most everyone felt pretty good. It was a time maybe not unlike our own time.
H. Burnham Kirkland
Words Of Assurance
Our God is both wise and caring: afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted.

Pastoral Prayer
God, we bow before you this morning, knowing that you hear every prayer. We know that in all of Creation, you are the source of life. You are the one who set the light swirling between the galaxies. The breath of your Spirit pulses through all life. You have even become flesh among us. We praise you, Lord, that in all your wonder, you have not forgotten us.

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