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15TH Sunday After Pentecost

Sunday, September 5, 2021

PRELUDE There Is a Balm in Gilead” arr. S.B. Owens

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESSThere Is a Balm in Gilead” arr. S.B. Owens
Please stand as able
Blessed be the holy Trinity, one God, whose teaching is life, whose presence is sure, and whose love is endless. Amen.

Let us confess our sins to the one who welcomes us with an open heart.
Silence for reflection.

God our comforter: like lost sheep, we have gone astray. We gaze upon abundance and see scarcity, we turn our faces away from injustice and oppression. We exploit the earth with our apathy and greed. Free us from our sin, gracious God. Listen when we call out to you for help. Lead us by your love to love our neighbors as ourselves.

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.

People of God, hear the Good News: by the gift of grace ☩ in Christ, God makes you righteous. Receive with glad hearts the forgiveness of all your sins. Amen.

GATHERING SONG 673 God Whose Almighty Word

GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

KYRIE (ELW p. 98)

PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray.
Gracious God, throughout the ages you transform sickness into health and death into life. Open us to the power of your presence, and make us a people ready to proclaim your promises to the whole world, through Jesus Christ, our healer and Lord. Amen.

CHILDREN’S TIME

FIRST READING: Isaiah 35:4-7a
A reading from Isaiah.

⁴Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
“Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
He will come and save you.”

⁵Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
⁶then the lame shall leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
and streams in the desert;
^7athe burning sand shall become a pool,
and the thirsty ground springs of water.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

PSALM: Psalm 146
I will praise the Lord as long as I live. (Ps. 146:2)

¹Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
²I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
³Put not your trust in rulers,
in mortals in whom there is no help.
⁴When they breathe their last, they re- turn to earth,
and in that day their thoughts perish. R
⁵Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help,
whose hope is in the Lord their God;
⁶who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them;
who keeps promis- es forever;
⁷who gives justice to those who are oppressed, and food to those who hunger.
The Lord sets the captive free.
⁸The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord^| loves the righteous. R
⁹The Lord cares for the stranger;
the Lord sustains the orphan and widow, but frustrates the way of the wicked.
¹⁰The Lord shall reign forever,
your God, O Zion, throughout all generations. Hallelujah! R

SECOND READING: James 2:1-6, 14-17
A reading from James.

¹My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? ²For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, ³and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit at my feet,” ⁴have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? ⁵Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? ⁶But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? ⁷Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?
¹⁴What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? ¹⁵If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, ¹⁶and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? ¹⁷So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (ELW p. 102)
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

GOSPEL: Mark 7:24-37 The holy gospel according to Mark.
Glory to you, O Lord.

²⁴[Jesus] set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice,²⁵but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. ²⁶Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁸But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” ²⁹Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” ³⁰So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
³¹Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. ³²They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. ³³He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. ³⁴Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” ³⁵And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. ³⁷They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

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

SERMON

HYMN OF THE DAY – 612 Healer of Our Every Ill

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.

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Response: Hear our prayer.

PEACE
The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.

MOMENT FOR MISSION
Family Promise (Formerly Interfaith Hospitality Network)
Family Promise is a non-profit interfaith organization committed to a united outreach by the religious community in Burlington County providing shelter, meals and assistance to homeless families. The program provides help, hope and a safe haven for our guests while they seek affordable housing.

OFFERING PRAYER – invite congregation to stand
Let us pray.

God of mercy and grace, the eyes of all wait upon you, and you open your hand in blessing. Fill us with good things at your table, that we may come to the help of all in need, through Jesus Christ, our redeemer and Lord. Amen.

GREAT THANKSGIVING
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
It is indeed right, our duty and our joy,
that we should at all times and in all places
give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God,
through our Savior Jesus Christ;
who on this day overcame death and the grave,
and by his glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life.
And so, with all the choirs of angels,
with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven,
we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

(spoken)
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

THANKSGIVING AT THE TABLE (ELW p. 108)
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.

LORD’S PRAYER (ELW p. 112)
Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray.

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.

INVITATION TO COMMUNION (ELW p. 112)
Taste and see that the Lord is good.

LAMB OF GOD (sung)
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, grant us peace.

ANTHEM Now the Silence arr. M. Sedio

POST COMMUNION BLESSING
May the body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in God’s grace. Amen.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION (ELW p. 114)
Let us pray.

O God, we give you thanks that you have set before us this feast, the body and blood of your Son. By your Spirit strengthen us to serve all in need and to give ourselves away as bread for the hungry, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

BLESSING (ELW p. 114)
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 ☩ give you peace.
Amen.

SENDING SONG – 879 For the Beauty of the Earth

DISMISSAL (ELW p. 115)
Go in peace. Christ is with you.
Thanks be to God.

POSTLUDE God, Whose Almighty Word arr. B. Culli