Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost October 10, 2021

Today’s Theme for Worship: God intends marriage to be a lifelong union of one man and one woman, committed in love to each other. Since sin has infected and corrupted marriage and family relationships, it is important to keep the Savior at the heart of every home.

Opening Hymn 296 Our Children Jesus Calls

1 Our children Jesus calls To his most dear embrace.

He holds them in his mighty arms Through their baptismal grace.

2 “Let them approach,” he cries, “Nor scorn their humble claim.

The heirs of heav’n are such as these; For such as these I came.”

3 With joy we bring them, Lord, Devoting them to you,

And pray, “As you show love to us, So love our children, too.”

Text: Philip Doddridge, 1702-51, adapt., abr.

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 God, in your bountiful goodness keep us safe from every evil of body and soul. Make us ready, with cheerful hearts, to do whatever pleases you; 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: Genesis 2:18-24

¹⁸The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is a suitable partner for him.” ¹⁹Out of the soil the Lord God had formed every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature, that became its name. ²⁰The man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every wild animal, but for Adam no helper was found who was a suitable partner for him. ²¹The Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, the Lord God took a rib and closed up the flesh where it had been. ²²The Lord God built a woman from the rib that he had taken from the man and brought her to the man.

²³The man said,

Now this one is bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh.

She will be called “woman,”

because she was taken out of man.

²⁴For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother

and will remain united with his wife,

and they will become one flesh.

Psalm of the Day Psalm 139b

Refrain

I will praise you, O Lord, for I am wonderfully made.

O LORD, you created my inmost being;*

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;*

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you;*

your eyes saw my unformed body.

Refrain

I will praise you, O Lord, for I am wonderfully made.

All the days ordained for me*

were written in your book before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!*

How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,*

they would outnumber the grains of sand.

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

I will praise you, O Lord, for I am wonderfully made.

Second Lesson: Hebrews 2:9-11

⁹But we look to Jesus (the one who was made lower than the angels for a little while, so that by God’s grace he might taste death for everyone), now crowned with glory and honor, because he suffered death.

¹⁰Certainly it was fitting for God (the one for whom and through whom everything exists), in leading many sons to glory, to bring the author of their salvation to his goal through sufferings. ¹¹For he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified all have one Father. For that reason, he is not ashamed to call them brothers.

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: Mark 10:2-16

²Some Pharisees came to test him and asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

³He replied, “What did Moses command you?”

⁴They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

⁵But Jesus told them, “He wrote this command for you because of your hard hearts. ⁶But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. ⁷For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ⁸and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. ⁹Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

¹⁰In the house his disciples asked him about this again. ¹¹He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. ¹²If she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

¹³Some people began bringing little children to Jesus so that he would touch them. But the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said, “Let the little children come to me! Do not hinder them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵Amen I tell you: Whoever will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶And he took the little children in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

P: This the gospel of our Lord.

C: ♬ Praise be to you, O Christ!

Hymn of the Day: 500 For Christian Homes, O Lord, we pray

1 For Christian homes, O Lord, we pray,

That you might dwell with us each day.

Make ours a place where you are Lord,

Where all is governed by your Word.

2 We are the children of your grace;

Our homes are now your dwelling-place.

In you we trust and daily live;

Teach us to serve and to forgive.

3 United in a bond of love,

We lift our eyes to you above.

From you we gain the strength to live,

The wish to share, the joy to give.

4 Protect us and our loved ones dear

From pain and sorrow, want and fear;

Yet when we must our burdens bear,

“Your will be done” shall be our prayer.

5 And when you call us all to rest,

Then will we have a home more blest,

See all our care and sorrow cease,

And find with Christ eternal peace.

Text: Richard S. Armstrong, b. 1924, st. 1, 3-5, abr., alt. Mark A. Jeske, b. 1952, st. 2, alt.

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

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Prayer of the Church

Hymn: 505 Love is the Gracious Gift

1 Love is the gracious gift of your goodness;

Love is the patient fruit of your care;

Love is the gentle work of your Spirit,

Who is the source of love ev’rywhere.

2 You loved me first, Lord, sending me Jesus.

Then I responded, trusting your Son.

Now you invite me to love my neighbor,

Showing your true love to ev’ryone.

3 Love means forgiveness, patience, and kindness;

Love is not jealous, boastful, or rude.

Love endures all things, bearing, believing;

Love hopes forever, rejoices in truth.

4 Love in a marriage, love freely given,

Love of a husband, love of a wife-

Made to continue, blossom, and flourish,

Grow ever deeper throughout this life.

5 Love among Christians, love in the fam’ly,

Love for the Savior, whose blood was shed,

Love and submission one to another

As unto Christ, who reigns as our head.

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.

C: ♬ A-men, A-men, A-men

Closing Hymn: 502 Lord of the Home

1 Lord of the home, the Son you love

Received a mother’s tender care,

A father’s strength like yours above,

A home with warmth and kindness there.

2 Help us, O Lord, our homes to make

Your Holy Spirit’s dwelling-place;

Our hands and hearts’ devotion take

To be the servants of your grace.

3 We pray that all who with us dwell

Your love and joy and peace may know.

And while our lips your praises tell,

May faithful lives your glory show.

4 Teach us to keep our homes so fair

That, were our Lord a child once more,

He might be glad our hearth to share

And find a welcome at our door.

5 Lord, may your Spirit sanctify

Each household duty we fulfill.

May we our Savior glorify

With glad obedience to your will.

Used by permission of Oxford University Press.