Eighth Sunday after Pentecost July 31, 2022

Today’s Theme for Worship: Focused living properly values earthly wealth. One of the things that can most easily get in the way of our heavenly focus is our earthly possessions. Jesus’ followers value earthly wealth correctly. They don’t give earthly wealth a role in their lives it will never be able to fill.

Hymn: 753 My Worth Is Not in What I Own

1     My worth is not in what I own,
not in the strength of flesh and bone,
    but in the costly wounds of love
        at the cross. (v. 2)

2     My worth is not in skill or name,
in win or lose, in pride or shame,
    but in the blood of Christ that flowed
        at the cross. (Refrain)

Ref I rejoice in my Redeemer—
greatest treasure, wellspring of my soul.
I will trust in him, no other;
my soul is satisfied in him alone.

3     As summer flow’rs we fade and die;
fame, youth, and beauty hurry by.
    But life eternal calls to us
        at the cross. (v. 4)

4     I will not boast in wealth or might,
or human wisdom’s fleeting light.
    But I will boast in knowing Christ
        at the cross. (Refrain)

5     Two wonders here that I confess:
my worth and my unworthiness.
    My value fixed—my ransom paid
        at the cross. (Refrain)

Text: Graham Kendrick, b. 1950; Kristyn Getty, b. 1980; Keith Getty, b. 1974
Text: © 2014 Getty Music Publishing and Makeway Music, admin. MusicServices.org. Used by permission: OneLicense no. 703297

Order of Service: Morning Praise, New Service Settings (handout)

P: O Lord, open my lips.

C: (sing)And my mouth shall declare your praise.

P: Hasten to save me, O God

C: (sing)O Lord, come quickly to help me.

P: Give glory to God, our light and our life.

C: (sing) Come, oh, come, let us worship.

Come, Oh, Come, Let Us Sing to the Lord (p. 2)

Come, oh, come, let us sing to the Lord,

let us shout with joy to our saving Rock;

come, enter in with our songs of praise,

come enter in with thanksgiving.

Come, oh, come, let us sing to the Lord,

let us shout with joy to our saving Rock;

come, enter in with our songs of praise,

come enter in with thanksgiving.

You are a great and a wondrous God,

cupping in your hands all the depths of earth.

You made the hills and the mountains high,

you made the seas and the dry land.

Come, oh, come, let us sing to the Lord,

let us shout with joy to our saving Rock;

come, enter in with our songs of praise,

come enter in with thanksgiving.

Come, let us worship and, bowing low,

kneel before the One who has made us all.

You are God whom we call our own,

we are the flock that you shepherd.

Come, oh, come, let us sing to the Lord,

let us shout with joy to our saving Rock;

come, enter in with our songs of praise,

come enter in with thanksgiving.

Confession and Absolution (p. 3)

P: Dear friends, let us approach God with a true heart and confess our sins, asking him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us.

Stanza 1

O Jesus, Lamb of God, you are

My comfort and my guiding star;

I come, a sinner, trustingly

And bring my many sins with me.

C: O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. I am bowed down and brought very low; I groan in anguish of heart. I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin. O Lord, do not forsake me; be not far from me. Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior. (selected verses from Psalm 38)

Stanza 2

O Lord, my sin indeed is great;

I groan beneath the dreadful weight.

Be merciful to me I pray;

Take guilt and punishment away.

SILENT CONFESSION

Stanza 3

Saint John the Baptist points to you

And bids me cast my sin on you,

For you have left your throne on high

To suffer for the world and die.

P: Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. In Jesus you have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. (Ephesians 2:4-5 & 1:7)

C: We have been brought from death to life. Sin shall not be our master, because we are not under law, but under grace. (Romans 6:13-14)

Stanza 4

Help me to change my ways, O Lord,

And gladly to obey your Word.

While here I live, abide with me,

Then take me home eternally.

Psalm 63 (p. 6)

Refrain (congregation sings)

In the morning I will sing,

I will sing glad songs to you,

I will sing glad songs of praise to you.

O God, you are my God;

for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting.

My body pines for you like a dry,

weary land without water.

So I gaze on you in the sanctuary

to see your strength and your glory

Refrain (congregation sings)

In the morning I will sing,

I will sing glad songs to you,

I will sing glad songs of praise to you.

For your love is better than life,

my lips will speak your praise.

So I will bless you all my life, in your name

I will lift up my hands.

My soul shall be filled as with a banquet,

my mouth shall praise you with joy.

Refrain (congregation sings)

In the morning I will sing,

I will sing glad songs to you,

I will sing glad songs of praise to you.

On my bed I remember you.

On you I muse through the night,

for you have been my help;

in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.

My soul clings to you;

your right hand holds me fast.

Refrain

In the morning I will sing,

I will sing glad songs to you,

I will sing glad songs of praise to you.

Lessons

First Reading: Ecclesiastes 1:1-2,12–14; 2:18-26

¹The words of Ecclesiastes, David’s son, king in Jerusalem.

²“Nothing but vapor,” Ecclesiastes said. “Totally vapor. Everything is just vapor that vanishes.”

¹²I, Ecclesiastes, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³I applied my heart to seek out and explore with wisdom everything done under the sky. (What a burdensome task God has given the children of Adam to keep them busy!) ¹⁴I have seen all the actions done under the sun, and, look, it is all nothing but vapor. It is all chasing the wind.

^2:18I also hated all the results of my hard work, for which I worked so hard under the sun, since I must leave it all to the man who comes after me. ¹⁹And who knows—will he be wise, or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the results of my hard work, for which I worked so hard and so wisely, under the sun. This too is vapor that vanishes.

²⁰So I changed my course, and my heart began to despair over all my hard work at which I worked so hard under the sun. ²¹Sure, there may be a man who has worked hard—wisely, aptly, and skillfully. But he must hand over whatever he accumulated by all his hard work to a man who has not worked hard for it. This too is vapor. It’s so unfair! ²²For what does a man gain through all his hard work, through all the turmoil in his heart, as he works so hard under the sun?

²³Pain fills all his days. His occupation is frustration. Even at night his heart does not rest. This too is vapor.

²⁴There is nothing better for a man than to eat and to drink and to find joy in his work. This too, I saw, is from God’s hand. ²⁵For who can eat or enjoy himself apart from him? ²⁶Yes, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and happiness to the man whom he considers good, but to the person who goes on sinning God gives the task of gathering and collecting, but only so that he can give it all to a person whom God considers good. This too is vapor, nothing but chasing wind.

Second Lesson: Second Reading: Colossians 3:1–11

Therefore, because you were raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. ³For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

⁵So put to death whatever is worldly in you: sexual immorality, uncleanness, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶It is because of these things that the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience. ⁷You too once walked in these things, when you were living in them.

⁸But now, you too are to rid yourselves of all of these: wrath, anger, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. ⁹Do not lie to each other since you have put off the old self with its practices, ¹⁰and put on the new self, which is continually being renewed in knowledge, according to the image of its Creator. ¹¹Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcision or uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but rather Christ is all and is in all.

Gospel Lesson: Luke 12:13–21

¹³Someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴But Jesus said to him, “Man, who appointed me to be a judge or an arbitrator over you?”

¹⁵Then he said to them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because a man’s life is not measured by how many possessions he has.”

¹⁶He told them a parable: “The land of a certain rich man produced very well. ¹⁷He was thinking to himself, ‘What will I do, because I do not have anywhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸He said, ‘This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and goods. ¹⁹And I will tell my soul, “Soul, you have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry.”’

²⁰“But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your soul will be demanded from you. Now who will get what you have prepared?’

²¹“That is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Seasonal Response

P: Come, Holy Spirit! Fill the hearts of your faithful people, and kindle in us the fire of your love. Alleluia!

Hymn of the Day: 820 O God, Our Help in Ages Past

1     O God, our help in ages past,
    our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast,
    and our eternal home:

2     Under the shadow of your throne
    your saints have dwelt secure;
sufficient is your arm alone,
    and our defense is sure.

3     Before the hills in order stood
    or earth received its frame,
from everlasting you are God,
    to endless years the same.

4     A thousand ages in your sight
    are like an evening gone,
short as the watch that ends the night
    before the rising sun.

5     Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
    soon bears us all away;
we fly forgotten, as a dream
    dies at the op’ning day.

6     O God, our help in ages past,
    our hope for years to come,
still be our guard while troubles last
    and our eternal home!

Text: Isaac Watts, 1674–1748, abr., alt.
Text: Public domain

Sermon

You are God; We Praise You (p. 7)

You are God; we praise you.

You are Lord; we acclaim you.

To you, O Father holy, all creation offers praise.

With the angels in heaven,

We praise you, we praise you!

With cherubim and seraphim,

We praise you, we praise you!

With apostles and prophets,

We praise you, we praise you!

With the martyrs and your holy Church

We sing in endless praise!

You are God; we praise you.

You are Lord; we acclaim you.

To you, O Father holy, all creation offers praise.

Creator of all things

We praise you, we praise you!

O Jesus Christ, the Son of God,

We praise you, we praise you!

O Spirit, most holy,

We praise you, we praise you!

To the Trinity most blessed,

We sing in endless praise!

You are God; we praise you.

You are Lord; we acclaim you.

To you, O Father holy, all creation offers praise.

O Christ, King of glory,

We praise you, we praise you!

You became a man to set us free;

We praise you, we praise you!

You have risen to free us;

We praise you, we praise you!

And with all your saints in glory,

We sing in endless praise!

You are God; we praise you.

You are Lord; we acclaim you.

To you, O Father holy,

all creation offers praise,

all creation offers praise.

Offering Prayer

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Lord, Have Mercy (p. 10)

P: In the morning, O Lord, I call to you; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

C: (sing) Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Lord’s Prayer

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.

Lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,

and the glory are yours

now and forever. Amen.

Prayer of the Church

Hymn 718 Though Thoughtless Thousands Choose the Road

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 need 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.”

Prayer for Grace

P: O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to this new day. Defend us with your mighty power, and grant that this day we neither fall into sin nor run into any kind of danger; and in all we do, direct us to what is right in your sight, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord.

C: (sing) Amen

Blessing (p. 11)

P: Let us praise the Lord

C: (sing) Thanks be to God

P: The Lord bless and keep you.

C: (sing) Amen

P: The Lord's face ever shine upon you

C: (sing) Amen

P: The Lord grant you peace for all your days.

C: (sing) Amen

Hymn: 717 What Is the World to Me

1     What is the world to me
    with all its vaunted pleasure
when you and you alone,
    Lord Jesus, are my treasure!
You only, dearest Lord,
    my soul’s delight shall be;
you are my peace, my rest.
    What is the world to me!

2     The world seeks after wealth
    and all that money offers,
yet never is content
    though gold should fill its coffers.
I have a higher good,
    content with it I’ll be;
my Jesus is my wealth.
    What is the world to me!

3     The world is like a cloud
    and like a vapor fleeting,
a shadow that declines,
    swift to its end retreating.
My Jesus shall remain,
    though all things fade and flee,
my everlasting rock.
    What is the world to me!

4     What is the world to me!
    My Jesus is my treasure,
my life, my health, my wealth,
    my friend, my love, my pleasure,
my joy, my crown, my all,
    my bliss eternally.
Once more then I declare:
    What is the world to me!

Text: tr. August Crull, 1845–1923, alt.; Georg M. Pfefferkorn, 1645–1732, abr.
Text: Public domain

Acknowledgments

Morning Prayer (alternate) from Christian Worship

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, New International Version^®, NIV^®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.^TM Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

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