Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost August 29, 2021

Today’s Theme for Worship: God has fed our bodies and souls. With this new strength from God, we boldly confess his name and go about the work he has given us.

Opening Hymn 416 How Firm a Foundation

1 How firm a foundation, O saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!

What more can he say than to you he has said

Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?

2 In ev’ry condition, in sickness, in health,

In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth,

At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea-

The Lord, the Almighty, your strength e’er shall be.

3 “Fear not, I am with you. Oh, be not dismayed,

For I am your God and will still give you aid;

I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,

Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

4 “When through the deep waters I call you to go,

The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow,

For I will be with you your troubles to bless

And sanctify to you your deepest distress.

5 “Throughout all their lifetime my people shall prove

My sov’reign, eternal, unchangeable love,

And then, when gray hair shall their temples adorn,

Like lambs they shall still on my shoulders be borne.”

Text: A Selection of Hymns, London, 1787, abr., alt.

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.

Almighty and everlasting God, give us an increase of faith, hope, and love; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; 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: Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18

Joshua reminds the people of the Lord’s gracious acts throughout their history, and urges them to renew their commitment to the Lord.

Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, and he summoned the elders of Israel, its heads, its judges, and its officers, and they presented themselves before God.

²Then Joshua told all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel has said.”

¹⁴Joshua said, “Now, therefore, fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly and faithfully. Remove the gods that your fathers served in the region across the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. ¹⁵But if you see no benefit in serving the Lord, then choose for yourselves today whomever you will serve—whether the gods that your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household—we will serve the Lord!”

¹⁶The people responded by saying, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord in order to serve other gods! ¹⁷For the Lord our God, he is the one who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, where we were slaves. He is the one who performed these great signs right before our eyes and protected us on the whole journey that we made and among all the peoples through whom we passed. ¹⁸The Lord drove out of our presence all the peoples and the Amorites who were living in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God!”

Psalm of the Day Psalm 71

Refrain

Blessed are they who hope, who hope in the Lord.

In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;*

let me never be put to shame.

Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness;*

turn your ear to me and save me.

Be my rock of refuge to which I can always go;*

For you are my rock and my fortress.

Refrain

Blessed are they who hope, who hope in the Lord.

Since my youth, O God, you have taught me,*

and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

Even when I am old and gray,*

do not forsake me, O God,

till I declare your power to the next generation,*

your might to all who are to come.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son*

and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning,*

is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain

Blessed are they who hope, who hope in the Lord.

Second Lesson: Ephesians 5:21-31

Paul builds the relationship of a husband and wife on that of Christ and the Church.

²¹ …and by submitting to one another in reverence for Christ.

²²Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. ²³For the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he himself is the Savior. ²⁴Moreover, as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything.

²⁵Husbands, love your wives, in the same way as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶to make her holy, by cleansing her with the washing of water in connection with the Word. ²⁷He did this so that he could present her to himself as a glorious church, having no stain or wrinkle or any such thing, but so that she would be holy and blameless. ²⁸In the same way, husbands have an obligation to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹To be sure, no one has ever hated his own body, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, ³⁰because we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones. ³¹“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will be one flesh.”

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: John 6:60-69

Jesus asks the Twelve if they, too, will leave. Peter answers with a bold confession.
⁶⁰When they heard it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching! Who can listen to it?”

⁶¹But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, asked them, “Does this cause you to stumble in your faith? ⁶²What if you would see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? ⁶³The Spirit is the one who gives life. The flesh does not help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. ⁶⁴But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning those who would not believe and the one who would betray him. ⁶⁵He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me, unless it is given to him by my Father.”

⁶⁶After this, many of his disciples turned back and were not walking with him anymore. ⁶⁷So Jesus asked the Twelve, “You do not want to leave too, do you?”

⁶⁸Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

P: This the gospel of our Lord.

C: ♬ Praise be to you, O Christ!

Hymn of the Day: 556 Rise, Shine, You People

1 Rise, shine, you people! Christ the Lord has entered

Our human story; God in him is centered.

He comes to us, by death and sin surrounded,

With grace unbounded.

2 See how he sends the pow’rs of evil reeling;

He brings us freedom, light and life and healing.

All men and women, who by guilt are driven,

Now are forgiven.

3 Come, celebrate, your banners high unfurling,

Your songs and prayers against the darkness hurling.

To all the world go out and tell the story

Of Jesus’ glory.

4 Tell how the Father sent his Son to save us.

Tell of the Son, who life and freedom gave us.

Tell how the Spirit calls from ev’ry nation

His new creation.

Reprinted by permission of Augsburg Fortress.

Sermon

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

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 David Vogel at davidvogel@gmail.com or 616-808-6320

Prayer of the Church

Hymn: 506 Oh, Blest the House, Whate’er Befall

1 Oh, blest the house, whate’er befall,

Where Jesus Christ is all in all!

A home that is not wholly his-

How sad and poor and dark it is!

2 Oh, blest that house where faith you find

And all within have set their mind

To trust their God and serve him still

And do in all his holy will.

3 Oh, blest the parents who give heed

Unto their children’s foremost need

And weary not of care or cost.

May none to them and heav’n be lost!

4 Blest such a house; it prospers well.

In peace and joy the parents dwell,

And in their children’s lives is shown

How richly God can bless his own.

5 Then here will I and mine today

A solemn promise make and say:

Though all the world forsake his Word,

I and my house will serve the Lord!

Text: Christoph C. L. von Pfeil, 1712-84, abr.; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827-78,

st. 1-2, 4-5, alt.; Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal, Columbus, OH, 1880, st. 3, alt.

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.

C: ♬ A-men, A-men, A-men

Closing Hymn: 466 Though Thoughtless Thousands Choose

1 Though thoughtless thousands choose the road

That leads the soul away from God,

This happiness, dear Lord, be mine:

To live and die entirely thine.

2 In Christ, by faith, I wish to live,

From him my life, my all, receive,

To him devote my fleeting hours,

Serve him alone with all my pow’rs.

3 Christ is my everlasting all.

To him I look; on him I call.

He will my ev’ry want supply

In time and through eternity.

4 Soon will the Lord, my life, appear;

Soon shall I end my trials here,

Leave sin and sorrow, death and pain.

To live is Christ; to die is gain.

5 Soon will the saints in glory meet,

Soon walk through ev’ry golden street

And sing on ev’ry blissful plain,

“To live is Christ; to die is gain.”

Text: Joseph Hoskins, 1745-88, alt.