The Virtual Service for August 16, 2020

Worship for Sunday, August 16, 2020
11th Sunday after Pentecost

GATHERING
All Are Welcome

Marty Haugen; song of praise Holy Holy Holy
John Bacchus Dykes | Reginald Heber
© Words: Public Domain
Music: Public Domain
Performed and arranged by Robert Prester & Adriana Samargia 

Let us build a house
Where love can dwell
And all can safely live,
A place where
Saints and children tell
How hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions,
Rock of faith and vault of grace;
Here the love of Christ shall end divisions;

All are welcome
All are welcome
All are welcome in this place.

All are welcome in this place
Let us build a house where love is found
In water, wine and wheat:
A banquet hall on holy ground,
Where peace and justice meet.
Here the love of God, through Jesus,
Is revealed in time and space;
As we share in Christ the feast that feeds us:

All are welcome, all are welcome,
All are welcome in this place.
In this place
In this place

Introduction to the day

In Isaiah we hear that God’s house shall be a house of prayer for all people and that God will gather the outcasts of Israel. The Canaanite woman in today’s gospel is a Gentile, an outsider, who is unflinching in her request that Jesus heal her daughter. As Jesus commends her bold faith, how might our church extend its mission to those on the margins of society? In our gathering around word and meal we receive strength to be signs of comfort, healing, and justice for those in need.

GATHERING SONG In Christ There Is No East or West (ELW 650)

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS

Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
whose steadfast love is everlasting,
whose faithfulness endures from generation to generation.
Amen.

Trusting in the mercy of God, let us confess our sin.

Reconciling God,
we confess that we do not trust your abundance,
and we deny your presence in our lives.

We place our hope in ourselves
and rely on our own efforts.

We fail to believe that you provide enough for all.

We abuse your good creation for our own benefit.

We fear difference and do not welcome others
as you have welcomed us.

We sin in thought, word, and deed.

By your grace, forgive us;
through your love, renew us;
and in your Spirit, lead us;
so that we may live and serve you in newness of life. Amen.

Beloved of God,
by the radical abundance of divine mercy
we have peace with God through ☩ Christ Jesus,
through whom we have obtained grace upon grace.
Our sins are forgiven.
Let us live now in hope.
For hope does not disappoint,
because God’s love has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit.
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.

KYRIE

Kyrie eleison, on our world and on our way,
Kyrie eleison, ev’ry day.

 For peace in the world, for the health of the church, for the unity of all;
for this holy house, for all who worship and praise,
let us pray to the Lord, let us pray to the Lord
Kyrie eleison, on our world and on our way,
Kyrie eleison, ev’ry day.

That we may live out your impassioned response to the hungry and the poor;
that we may live out truth and justice and grace,
let us pray to the Lord, let us pray to the Lord
Kyrie eleison, on our world and on our way,
Kyrie eleison, ev’ry day.

For peace in our hearts, for peace in our homes, for friends and family;
for life and for love, for our work and our play,
let us pray to the Lord, let us pray to the Lord
Kyrie eleison, on our world and on our way,
Kyrie eleison, ev’ry day.

For your Spirit to guide; that you center our lives in the water and the Word;
that you nourish our souls with your body and blood,
let us pray to the Lord, let us pray to the Lord
Kyrie eleison, on our world and on our way,
Kyrie eleison, ev’ry day.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Let us pray. God of all peoples, your arms reach out to embrace all those who call upon you. Teach us as disciples of your Son to love the world with compassion and constancy, that your name may be known throughout the earth, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 WORD

THE READING Isaiah 56:1, 6-8

A reading from Isaiah.

The prophet calls upon Israel to do justice in view of God’s imminent intervention to save. Righteousness and obedience define who belongs to the Israelite community—not race, nationality, or any other category.

 1Thus says the Lord:
  Maintain justice, and do what is right,
 for soon my salvation will come,
  and my deliverance be revealed.
 6And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
  to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
  and to be his servants,
 all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
  and hold fast my covenant—
 7these I will bring to my holy mountain,
  and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
 their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
  will be accepted on my altar;
 for my house shall be called a house of prayer
  for all peoples.
 8Thus says the Lord God,
  who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
 I will gather others to them
  besides those already gathered.

The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

MUSICAL MEDITATION
There Is a Balm in Gilead
African American Spiritual
© Words: Public Domain
Music: Public Domain
Performed and arranged by Robert Prester & Adriana Samargia 

There is a balm
In Gilead
To make the wounded whole
There is a balm
In Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul

 Sometimes I feel discouraged
When I feel my works in vain
But then the Holy Spirit 
Revives my soul again 

 Don’t ever be discouraged 
For Jesus is your friend
And if you lack for knowledge
He’ll never refuse to lend

There is a balm
In Gilead
To make the wounded whole
There is a balm
In Gilead
To heal the sin-sick soul

GOSPEL: Matthew 15:21-28

The holy gospel according to Matthew.
Glory to you, O Lord.

21Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” 23But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 27She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.

SERMON
All Are Welcome!
Pastor Carlson

HYMN OF THE DAY 
All Are Welcome (ELW 641)

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

Confident of your care and helped by the Holy Spirit, we pray for the church, the world, and all who are in need.

A brief silence. 

The response to “Lord, in your mercy,” is, ”Hear our Prayer.” 

The Prayers conclude: 
In the certain hope that nothing can separate us from your love, we offer these prayers to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

OFFERING

ANTHEM Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee  
Beethoven / arr. Scholes 
Handbell Ensemble:
Carol Garwood, Ruthann German, William Lutz, Ann-Marie Mettus

OFFERING PRAYER

God of goodness and growth,
all creation is yours,
and your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.
Water and word, wine and bread:
these are signs of your abundant grace.
Nourish us through these gifts,
that we might proclaim your steadfast love
in our communities and in the world,
through Jesus Christ, our strength and our song. Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER

SENDING

BLESSING

Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers,
nor things present, nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

God, the creator, ☩ Jesus, the Christ,
and the Holy Spirit, the comforter,
bless you and keep you in eternal love. Amen.

DISMISSAL

Go in peace. Christ is with you.
Thanks be to God.

SENDING SONG 
Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing (ELW 886)

SENDING Go Make a Difference
Steve Angrisano | Tom Tomaszek
© 1997 spiritandsong.com
Performed and arranged by Robert Prester & Adriana Samargia

Go make a dff'rence, we can make a diff'rence
Go make a diff'rence in the world
Go make a diff'rence we can make a diff'rence
Go make a diff'rence in the world

We are the salt in the earth, called to let the people see
The love of God in you and me
We are the light of the world, not to be hidden, but be seen
Go make a diff'rence in the world

 We are the hands of Christ, reaching out to those in need
The face of all for God to see
We are the spirit of hope, we are the voice of peace

Go make a dff'rence, we can make a diff'rence
Go make a diff'rence in the world
Go make a diff'rence we can make a diff'rence
Go make a diff'rence in the world

_____

From sundaysandseasons.com.

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