PRELUDE
“Great God Your Love Has Called Us Here” ELW 358
Gathering
The Holy Spirit calls us together as people of God.
WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS
For safety reasons, we ask that the congregation follow along with all spoken and sung responses silently.
The Assisting Minister and the Cantor will respond for the congregation to all spoken and sung responses.
CONFESSION
Let us confess our sin.
Silence for self-reflection
Most merciful God, 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 or families or friends as ourselves.
For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, Have mercy on us.
Forgive us, renew us, and lead us. Free us from the urge to speak with
haste, offending those we fail to fully understand. Let our words always
honor your wondrous love so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your holy name. Amen
ABSOLUTION
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 each of you the entire forgiveness of all your sins; In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen
GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
KYRIE
Lord, Have Mercy. Christ, Have Mercy. Lord, Have Mercy.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
The presiding minister leads the prayer of the day.
Let us pray,…
Word
God speaks to us in scripture, preaching and song.
CHILDREN’S TIME
FIRST READING Jonah 3:10-4:11
Response after the conclusion: Thanks be to God.
10When God saw what [the people of Ninevah] did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. 4:1But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. 2He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. 3And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city. 6The Lord God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. 7But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 8When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” 9But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” 10Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”
PSALM 145:1-8
I will exalt you, my | God and king, and bless your name forev- | er and ever.
2Every day | will I bless you and praise your name forev- | er and ever.
3Great is the LORD and greatly | to be praised! There is no end | to your greatness.
4One generation shall praise your works | to another and shall de- | clare your power.
5I will speak of the glorious splendor | of your majesty and all your | marvelous works.
6They shall tell of the might of your | wondrous acts, and I will re- | count your greatness.
7They shall publish the remembrance of | your great goodness; they shall sing joyfully | of your righteousness.
8The LORD is gracious and full | of compassion, slow to anger and abounding in | steadfast love.
SECOND READING Philippians 1:21-26
Response after the conclusion: Thanks be to God.
21For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. 23I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; 24but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. 25Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, 26so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
GOSPEL Matthew 20:1-16
Response after the announcement: Glory to you, O Lord.
Response after the conclusion: Praise to you, O Christ.
[Jesus said to the disciples:] 1“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. 5When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ 7They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 8When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ 9When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. 10Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. 11And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 13But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
SERMON PASTOR ERIC
HYMN OF THE DAY ELW 606
(Congregation is invited to silently follow along with the text below)
1 There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea; there’s a kindness in God’s justice which is more than liberty. There is no place where earth’s sorrows are more felt than up in heav’n. There is no place where earth’s failings have such kindly judgment giv’n.
2 There is welcome for the sinner, and a promised grace made good; there is mercy with the Savior; there is healing in his blood. 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.
3 For the love of God is broader than the measures of our mind; and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind. But we make this love too narrow by false limits of our own; and we magnify its strictness with a zeal God will not own.
4 ‘Tis not all we owe to Jesus; it is something more than all: greater good because of evil, larger mercy through the fall. Make our love, O God, more faithful; let us take you at your word, and our lives will be thanksgiving for the goodness of the Lord.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Each portion of the prayers ends with these or similar words:
Lord in your mercy…Hear our prayer.
PEACE
The presiding minister and the assembly greet each other in the peace of the risen Christ.
The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.
The people may greet one another using their cell phones texting “Peace be with you” or similar words. The assembly is then seated.
THE LORDíS PRAYER
Together as Jesus taught us using the more familiar words
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.
Sending
God blesses us and sends us into the world to serve our neighbor.
BLESSING
Live your lives in Christ, rooted and built up in him, and abound in thanksgiving; and the blessing of the Holy Trinity + one God, be upon you and remain with you forever. Amen.
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Christ is with you. Thanks be to God. Alleluia.
POSTLUDE
“Rise Up, O Saints of God”
What’s Happening!
Worship Assistants
- Pastor: The Reverend Dr. Eric J. Trozzo
- Assisting Minister: Max Frable
- Cantor: David D. Harp
- Greeter: Jeanne Grayson
- Usher: Charlie Lange
- Soloist: Denise Cole
Zoom Events
For more info, please refer to September Messenger
- Today, Sept. 20 9:30AM Live Streaming Worship
- Today, Sept. 20 9:30AM 11AM Confirmation Orientation
- Today, Sept. 20 9:30AM 1PM Confirmation (9th Grade)
- Today, Sept. 20 9:30AM 5PM Outdoor Holy CommunionThe service will be held in the “Exit” driveway and adjacent grassy area. Please bring your own chairs. We will use prefilled communion cups and expect mask and social distancing, of course! Because the service is outdoors, there is no limit to the number of people who can attend and no need to sign up in advance.
- Monday, Sept. 21 10:30AM Bible Study & Fellowship
- Monday, Sept. 21 12-2PM Food Pantry
- Monday, Sept. 21 5-7PM Food Pantry
- Monday, Sept. 21 7PM Congregation Council Mtg.
- Tuesday, Sept. 22 7PM Stephen Ministry
- Tuesday, Sept. 22 7PM Staff Mtg.
- Wednesday, Sept. 23 7PM Book Group “Dear Martin”
- Thursday, Sept. 24 10:30AM Tea & Talk
Mark Your Calendar
- Sunday, Sept. 27 9:30AM Live Streaming Worship
- Sunday, Sept. 27 11AM Congregation Meeting via Zoom
- Sunday, Sept. 27 TBA Virtual Sunday School with Cross Roads