Virtual Worship for August 8, 2021
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
Worship at 10:00 a.m.
The congregation reads the boldface responses.
PRELUDE
Precious Lord Take My Hand, Thomas A Dorsey
GATHERING
ANNOUNCEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
Jesus says that the bread he gives for the life of the world is his flesh, and whoever eats this bread has eternal life now and will be raised on the last day. In Ephesians Paul tells us what this life Jesus gives us looks like, this life we live as those marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit in baptism. We live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. The whole purpose of life is giving yourself for the other.
The congregation stands.
A PRAYER FOR GOOD SHEPHERD DURING OUR VISIONING PROCESS
Dear Lord, bless this congregation as it deals with the transition process. Grant peace and patience to all who are being stressed by the worries of this world. Give guidance to the Visioning Team to complete the process for the best results for Good Shepherd. Let the peace the surpasses all understanding be with us, now, and always. Amen.
GATHERING HYMN
O Jesus, Joy of Loving Hearts, (LBW 356)
1. O Jesus, joy of loving hearts,
the fount of life, the light of all:
from ev’ry bliss that earth imparts
we turn, unfilled, to hear your call.
2. Your truth unchanged has ever stood;
you plead with all to call on you;
to those who seek you, you are good;
to those who find you, life is new.
3. We taste you, ever-living bread,
and long to feast upon you still;
we drink of you, the fountainhead;
our thirsting souls from you we fill.
4. For you our restless spirits yearn,
where’er our changing lot is cast;
glad, when your smile on us you turn,
blest, when by faith we hold you fast.
5. O Jesus, ever with us stay!
Make all our moments fair and bright!
Oh, chase the night of sin away!
Shed o’er the world your holy light.
Text: attr. Bernard of Clairvaux, 1091-1153; tr. Ray Palmer, 1808-1887, alt.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
the God of manna,
the God of miracles,
the God of mercy.
Amen.
Drawn to Christ and seeking God’s abundance,
let us confess our sin.
Silence is kept for reflection.
God, our provider,
help us.
It is hard to believe there is enough to share.
We question your ways when they differ from the ways
of the world in which we live.
We turn to our own understanding
rather than trusting in you.
We take offense at your teachings and your ways.
Turn us again to you.
Where else can we turn?
Share with us the words of eternal life
and feed us for life in the world.
Amen.
Beloved people of God:
in Jesus, the manna from heaven,
you are fed and nourished.
By Jesus, the worker of miracles,
there is always more than enough.
Through Jesus, ☩ the bread of life,
you are shown God’s mercy:
you are forgiven and loved into abundant life.
Amen.
GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Gracious God, your blessed Son came down from heaven to be the true bread that gives life to the world. Give us this bread always, that he may live in us and we in him, and that, strengthened by this food, we may live as his body in the world, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
The congregation is seated.
WORD
FIRST READING
1 Kings 19:4-8
A reading from 1 Kings.
First Kings chapter 18 describes the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. The contest proves that the Lord is God, and afterward Elijah orders the killing of the Baal prophets. Angered by the deaths of her prophets, Queen Jezebel threatens to kill Elijah. This reading finds Elijah fleeing, fatigued, and in utter despair.
[Elijah] went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
PSALMODY
Psalm 34:1-8
(Read responsively.)
I will bless the Lord at all times;
the praise of God shall ever be in my mouth.
I will glory in the Lord;
let the lowly hear and rejoice.
Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord;
let us exalt God’s name together.
I sought the Lord, who answered me
and delivered me from all my terrors.
Look upon the Lord and be radiant,
and let not your faces be ashamed.
I called in my affliction, and the Lord heard me
and saved me from all my troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear the Lord
and delivers them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
happy are they who take refuge in God!
SECOND READING
Ephesians 4:25-5:2
A reading from Ephesians.
Christians are called to be imitators of God. This does not mean Christians are perfect. Rather, the Spirit is at work in our lives so that our actions and attitudes genuinely reflect the love and forgiveness we have received through Christ and his death.
So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The congregation stands
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
GOSPEL
John 6:35,41-51
The holy gospel according to John.
Glory to you, O Lord.
Jesus said to [the crowd,] “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. 49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
The congregation is seated.
SERMON
Moldy Bread!
Pastor Harkness
The congregation stands.
HYMN OF THE DAY
Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness, (LBW 224)
1. Soul, adorn yourself with gladness,
leave the gloomy haunts of sadness,
come into the daylight’s splendor,
there with joy your praises render.
Bless the one whose grace unbounded
this amazing banquet founded;
he, though heav’nly, high, and holy,
deigns to dwell with you most lowly.
2. Hasten as a bride to meet him,
eagerly and gladly greet him.
There he stands already knocking;
quickly, now, your gate unlocking,
open wide the fast-closed portal,
saying to the Lord immortal:
“Come, and leave your loved one never;
dwell within my heart forever.”
3. Now in faith I humbly ponder
over this surpassing wonder
that the bread of life is boundless
though the souls it feeds are countless;
with the choicest wine of heaven
Christ’s own blood to us is given.
Oh, most glorious consolation,
pledge and seal of my salvation.
4. Jesus, source of lasting pleasure,
truest friend, and dearest treasure,
peace beyond all understanding,
joy into all life expanding:
humbly now, I bow before you,
love incarnate, I adore you;
worthily let me receive you,
and, so favored, never leave you.
Text: Johann Franck, 1618-1677; tr. Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978
© 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship, admin. Augsburg Fortress
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.
*Or, “he descended into hell,” another translation of this text in widespread use.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Rooted in Christ and sustained by the Spirit, we offer our prayers for the church, the world, and all of creation.
A brief silence.
The response to “Lord, in your mercy,” is “hear our prayer.”
The prayers conclude:
We lift these and all our prayers to you, O God, confident in the promise of your saving love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The congregation is seated.
OFFERING
OFFERTORY
All The Way My Savior Leads Me, Robert Lowry (ca. 1875) arr. Larry Sue (ASCAP)
Handbell Quartet performed by,
Faith, Laurie, Michael & Mike Elia
The congregation stands.
OFFERING PRAYER
Let us pray. Jesus, Bread of life,
you have set this table with your very self,
and called us to the feast of plenty.
Gather what has been sown among us,
and strengthen us in this meal.
Make us to be what we receive here,
your body for the life of the world. Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven,
allowed 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.
SENDING
BLESSING
The blessing of God,
who provides for us, feeds us, and journeys with us,
☩ be upon you now and forever. Amen.
SENDING HYMN
Be Thou My Vision (WOV 776)
1. Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that thou art:
thou my best thought by day and by night,
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
2. Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord.
Thou my soul’s shelter, thou my high tower,
raise thou me heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r.
3. Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise,
thou mine inheritance, now and always:
thou, and thou only, first in my heart,
great God of heaven, my treasure thou art.
4. Light of my soul, after victory won,
may I reach heaven’s joys, O heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
Text: Irish, 8th-10th cent.; tr. Mary E. Byrne, 1880-1931; vers. Eleanor H. Hull, 1860-1935, alt.
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. You are the body of Christ.
Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE
I Am the Bread of Life, Suzanne Toolan
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