Tenth Sunday after Pentecost — August 9, 2020

Today’s Theme for Worship: True wisdom comes from God. God gave Solomon wisdom to rule as a good king. Jesus’ parables teach us the wisdom of God’s kingdom.

Opening Hymn: 469 Take My Life and Let It Be

1 Take my life and let it be Consecrated, Lord, to thee.

Take my moments and my days; Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

2 Take my hands and let them move At the impulse of thy love.

Take my feet and let them be Swift and beautiful for thee.

3 Take my voice and let me sing Always, only for my King.

Take my lips and let them be Filled with messages from thee.

4 Take my silver and my gold; Not a mite would I withhold.

Take my intellect and use Ev’ry pow’r as thou shalt choose.

5 Take my will and make it thine; It shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart-it is thine own; It shall be thy royal throne.

6 Take my love, my Lord, I pour At thy feet its treasure store.

Take myself, and I will be Ever, only, all for thee.

Text: Frances R. Havergal, 1836-79.

P: The grace of our Lord + Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.

C: And also with you.

Confession of Sins

P: We have come into the presence of God, who created us to love and serve him as his dear children. But we have disobeyed him and deserve only his wrath and punishment. Therefore, let us confess our sins to him and plead for his mercy.

C: Merciful Father in heaven, I am altogether sinful from birth. In countless ways I have sinned against you and do not deserve to be called your child. But trusting in Jesus, my Savior, I pray: have mercy on me according to your unfailing love. Cleanse me from my sin, and take away my guilt.

P: God, our heavenly Father, has forgiven all your sins. By the perfect life and innocent death of our Lord Jesus Christ, he has removed your guilt forever. You are his own dear child. May God give you strength to live according to his will.

C: Amen.

P: In the peace of forgiveness, let us praise the Lord.

♬ Oh Taste And See

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Bless-ed are they who take re-fuge in him.

Your Word, O Lord, is e-ter-nal;

it stands firm in the heav-ens.

Your faith-ful-ness con-tin-ues for-ev-er.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Bless-ed are they who take re-fuge in him.

Prayer of the Day

P: Let us Pray.

O Lord, your ears are always open to the prayers of your humble servants, who come to you in Jesus’ name. Teach us always to ask according to your will that we may never fail to obtain the blessings you have promised; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: ♬ Amen.

FIRST LESSON: 1 Kings 3:5-12 - God offers young Solomon whatever he wants. Solomon could have asked for personal gain, but chose wisdom to govern God’s people. This pleased God, and he gave Solomon many other blessings as well.

⁵The Lord appeared to Solomon in Gibeon in a dream at night.

God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

⁶Solomon said, “You have shown great mercy and faithfulness to your servant, my father David, just as he walked before you in truth, righteousness, and uprightness of heart toward you. You have shown this great mercy and faithfulness to him and have given him a son who is seated on his throne to this very day. ⁷O Lord my God, now you have made your servant king in the place of my father David, but I am a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. ⁸And I, your servant, am among your people whom you have chosen, a great people, who cannot be counted or numbered because they are so many. ⁹Now give to your servant a perceptive heart to judge your people, to distinguish between good and evil, for who is able to judge this great people of yours?”

¹⁰In the eyes of the Lord, Solomon’s request was good. ¹¹So God said to him, “Because you have asked for this, and you have not asked for a long life, nor have you asked for riches, nor have you asked for the lives of your enemies, but you have asked for discernment to reach just verdicts, ¹²therefore I will act according your words. Yes, I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you before you, nor will anyone like you rise up after you.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 5 – Special Music – congregation sings the refrain

Refrain

By your great love I can come into your house; I bow to you in worship.

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
In the morning I send my prayers to you.

Refrain

By your great love I can come into your house; I bow to you in worship.

O Lord, bless all who take refuge in your name;
Let those who love you be glad and sing for joy!

Refrain

By your great love I can come into your house; I bow to you in worship.

Surely, Lord, You bless the righteous;
You surround them with your favor as a shield.

Refrain

By your great love I can come into your house; I bow to you in worship.

Glory be to the Father and the Son
And Holy Spirit; forever three in one.

Refrain

By your great love I can come into your house; I bow to you in worship.

SECOND LESSON: Romans 8:28-30 - Despite the sufferings of this life, we still have great comfort because we know that “in all things God works for the good of all who love him.”

²⁸We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose, ²⁹because those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰And those he predestined, he also called. Those he called, he also justified. And those he justified, he also glorified.

Verse:

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

These words are written that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

GOSPEL: Matthew 13:44-52 - Jesus tells three parables: the hidden treasure, the priceless pearl and the net. In each parable Jesus teaches about “the kingdom of heaven.” The parables of the treasure and the pearl show how precious the kingdom is. The parable of the net shows the reality of God’s judgment.

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again. In his joy, he goes away and sells all that he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls. ⁴⁶When he found one very valuable pearl, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

⁴⁷“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. ⁴⁸When the net was filled, they pulled it onto the shore. They sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw the bad ones away. ⁴⁹That is how it will be at the end of the world. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous who are among them. ⁵⁰And they will throw the wicked into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ⁵¹Jesus said to them, “Did you understand all these things?”

They answered him, “Yes.”

⁵²He said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law who has been trained as a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure both new things and old things.”

P: This is the Gospel of our Lord.

C: ♬ Praise be to you, O Christ!

Hymn of the Day: 418 My God Will Never Leave Me

1 My God will never leave me, And I will not leave him;

A light my God will give me In pathways dark and grim.

He reaches out his hand, His mighty power sharing,

My burdens ever bearing Wherever I may stand.

2 When human thought and action Shall unavailing prove,

God grants me his protection And shows his pow’r and love.

He helps in ev’ry need, From sin and shame redeems me,

From chains and bonds reclaims me; From death I, too, am freed.

3 God shall be my reliance In sorrow’s darkest night;

Its dread I bid defiance When he is at my right.

I unto him commend My body, soul, and spirit-

They are his own by merit-All’s well, then, at the end.

4 Oh, praise him for he never Forgets our daily need;

Oh, blest the hour whenever To him our thoughts can speed,

For all the time we spend Without him is but wasted,

Till we his joy have tasted, The joy that has no end.

5 And when the world will perish With all its pride and pow’r,

All that the world may cherish Will vanish in that hour.

But though in death they make The deepest grave our cover,

When there our sleep is over, Our God will us awake.

Text: Ludwig Helmbold, 1532-98, abr.; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827-78, st. 1, 4-5, alt.;

The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis, 1941, st. 2-3, alt.

Sermon – Romans 8:28-32

²⁸We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose, ²⁹because those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰And those he predestined, he also called. Those he called, he also justified. And those he justified, he also glorified.

³¹What then will we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also graciously give us all things along with him?

Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his 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 into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Offering Prayer

Electronic Giving! You can give your offerings from your smartphone with the GivePlusChurch app, which can be downloaded for free at Google Play or the App Store. You can also give at holytrinitylutheranwyoming.com by clicking the Offerings link at the top of the page or scan the QR code below. If you have any questions about any of these options, please contact Dave Conrad at dconrad765@gmail.com or 616-406-7172

Prayer of the Church: Spoken by the Liturgist

Lord’s Prayer

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

Hymn: 737 vv. 1,3,5 God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It

1 God’s own child, I gladly say it:

I am baptized into Christ!

He, because I could not pay it,

Gave my full redemption price.

Do I need earth’s treasures many?

I have one worth more than any

That brought me salvation free,

Lasting to eternity!

3 Satan, hear this proclamation:

I am baptized into Christ!

Drop your ugly accusation;

I am not so soon enticed.

Now that to the font I’ve traveled,

All your might has come unraveled,

And, against your tyranny,

God, my Lord, unites with me!

5 There is nothing worth comparing

To this lifelong comfort sure!

Open-eyed my grave is staring:

Even there I’ll sleep secure.

Though my flesh awaits its raising,

Still my soul continues praising:

I am baptized into Christ;

I’m a child of paradise!

Text: Erdmann Neumeister, 1671-1756; tr. Robert E. Voelker, b. 1957 © 1991

Robert E. Voelker. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Prayer and Blessing

P: Almighty God, we thank you for teaching us the things you want us to believe and do. Help us by your Holy Spirit to keep your Word in pure hearts that we may be strengthened in faith, guided in holiness, and comforted in life and in death, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: ♬ A-men.

P: Brothers and sisters, go in peace. Live in harmony with one another. Serve the Lord with gladness.

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look on you with favor and + give you peace.

Closing Hymn: 349 Jesus, Priceless Treasure

1 Jesus, priceless treasure, Fount of purest pleasure, Truest friend to me.

Ah, how long in anguish Shall my spirit languish, Yearning, Lord, for thee?

Thou art mine, O Lamb divine!

I will suffer naught to hide thee, Naught I ask beside thee.

2 In thine arms I rest me; Foes who would molest me Cannot reach me here.

Though the earth be shaking, Ev’ry heart be quaking, Jesus calms my fear.

Lightnings flash And thunders crash;

Yet, tho’ sin and hell assail me, Jesus will not fail me.

3 Satan, I defy thee; Death, I now decry thee; Fear, I bid thee cease.

World, thou shalt not harm me Nor thy threats alarm me While I sing of peace.

God’s great pow’r Guards ev’ry hour;

Earth and all its depths adore him, Silent bow before him.

4 Hence, all earthly treasure! Jesus is my pleasure; Jesus is my choice.

Hence, all empty glory! Naught to me thy story Told with tempting voice.

Pain or loss Or shame or cross

Shall not from my Savior move me Since he deigns to love me.

5 Hence, all fear and sadness! For the Lord of gladness, Jesus, enters in.

Those who love the Father, Though the storms may gather, Still have peace within.

Yea, whate’er I here must bear, Thou art still my purest pleasure,

Jesus, priceless treasure!

Text: Johann Franck, 1618-77, abr.; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827-78, st. 1-2, 4-5, alt.;

The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis, 1941, st. 3.