14TH Sunday After Pentecost

Sunday, August 29, 2021

PRELUDE  Now the Silence     Schalk/Sadowski

Welcome

Confession and Forgiveness (ELW p. 94)
Blessed be the holy Trinity, one God,
who forgives all our sin,
whose mercy endures forever.
Amen.

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.
Amen.

Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
The assembly kneels or stands. Silence is kept for reflection.

Gracious God, have mercy on us. We confess that we have turned from you and given ourselves into the power of sin. We are truly sorry and humbly repent. In your compassion forgive us our sins, known and unknown, things we have done and things we have failed to do. Turn us again to you, and uphold us by your Spirit, so that we may live and serve you in newness of life through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

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 Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Gathering Song  532 Gathering Us In

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.

Canticle of Praise This is the feast of victory for our God.

Prayer of the Day
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray. Almighty and merciful God, we implore you to hear the prayers of your people. Be our strong defense against all harm and danger, that we may live and grow in faith and hope, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.

CHILDREN’S TIME

SACRAMENT OF HOLY BAPTISM

Presentation
Pastor: God, who is rich in mercy and love, gives us a new birth into a living hope through the sacrament of baptism. By water and the Word God delivers us from sin and death and raises us to new life in Jesus Christ. We are united with all the baptized in the one body of Christ, anointed with the gift of the Holy Spirit, and joined in God’s mission for the life of the world.

Sponsors Response: I present Wyatt Joseph Kelly for baptism.

Pastor: Called by the Holy Spirit, trusting in the grace and love of God, do you desire to have Wyatt baptized into Christ?

Parents Response: I do.

Pastor: As you bring Wyatt to receive the gift of baptism, you are entrusted with responsibilities:
to live with him among God’s faithful people,
bring him to the word of God and the holy supper,
teach him the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments,
place in his hands the holy scriptures,
and nurture him in faith and prayer,
so that your child may learn to trust God,
proclaim Christ through word and deed,
care for others and the world God made,
and work for justice and peace.

Do you promise to help Wyatt grow in the Christian faith and life?
Parents Response: I do.

Sponsors, do you promise to nurture Wyatt in the Christian faith as you are empowered by God’s Spirit, and to help them live in the covenant of baptism and in communion with the church?
Sponsors Response: I do.

People of God, do you promise to support Wyatt and pray for him in his new life in Christ?
We do. (silently)

I ask you to profess your faith in Christ Jesus, reject sin, and confess the faith of the church.
Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God,
the powers of this world that rebel against God,
and the ways of sin that draw you from God?
Parents & Sponsors Response: I renounce them

Do you believe in God the Father? (Parents, Sponsors, Assisting Minister respond)
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
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.

Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
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.

Baptism
Wyatt, I baptize you in the name of the Father,*
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.

Let us pray.
We give you thanks, O God, that through water and the Holy Spirit you give your daugh-ters and sons new birth, cleanse them from sin, and raise them to eternal life.

Sustain Wyatt with the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understand-ing, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever.
Amen.

Wyatt, child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.
Amen.

Welcome
Assisting Minister: Let your light so shine before others
that they may see your good works
and glorify your Father in heaven.
Let us welcome the newly baptized.

We welcome you into the body of Christ and into the mission we share:
join us in giving thanks and praise to God
and bearing God’s creative and redeeming word to all the world.

First Reading:  Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9

1So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you.
  6You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!” 7For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him? 8And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?
  9But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Psalm 15

1Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle?
  Who may abide upon your holy hill?
2Those who lead a blameless life and do what is right,
  who speak the truth from their heart;
3they do not slander with the tongue, they do no evil to their friends;
  they do not cast discredit upon a neighbor.
4In their sight the wicked are rejected, but they honor those who fear the Lord.
  They have sworn upon their health and do not take back their word.
5They do not give their money in hope of gain, nor do they take bribes against the innocent.
  Those who do these things shall never be overthrown. R

Second Reading: James 1:17-27

17Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

  19You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. 21Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls.
  22But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. 23For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; 24for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. 25But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.
  26If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. 27Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation (ELW p. 151)
Alleluia. Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia.

Gospel: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Glory to you, O Lord.

1Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around [Jesus]2they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. 3(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; 4and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) 5So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
 ’This people honors me with their lips,
  but their hearts are far from me;
7in vain do they worship me,
  teaching human precepts as doctrines.’
8You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”
  14Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”
  21For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, 22adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. 23All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon (ELW p. 151)           

Hymn of the Day  512 Lord, Let My Heart Be Good Soil

Prayers of Intercession
Each portion of the prayers ends with these or similar words:
Response: Hear our prayer.

Peace (ELW p. 152)
The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.

Announcements (ELW p. 155)

Offering Prayer (ELW p. 152) invite congregation to stand
Let us pray.

God of all creation, all you have made is good, and your love endures forever. You bring forth bread from the earth and fruit from the vine. Nourish us with these gifts, that we might be for the world signs of your gracious presence in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.

Thanksgiving at the Table (ELW p. 153)
Let us pray:
You are indeed holy, almighty and merciful God.
You are most holy, and great is the majesty of your glory.

You so loved the world that you gave your only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.

We give you thanks for his coming into the world to fulfill for us your holy will and to accomplish all things for our salvation.

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.

For as often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. To you, O God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory in your holy church, now and forever. Amen.

Lord’s Prayer (ELW p. 154)
Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.

Invitation to Communion (ELW p. 154)
Come to the banquet, for all is now ready.

Communion (ELW p. 154)
The body of Christ, given for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.

Anthem – Day by Day

Prayer after Communion (ELW p. 155)
Let us pray.

Gracious God, in this meal you have drawn us to your heart, and nourished us at your table with food and drink, the body and blood of Christ. Now send us forth to be your people in the world, and to proclaim your truth this day and evermore, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.

Sending Song  534 Savior Again to You Dear Name

Dismissal (ELW p. 155)
Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

POSTLUDE  Prelude in G Minor   J.S. Bach