The traditional Christian church calendar comprises seasons and special days. We are in the season of Pentecost, but also this is a special day of celebration in Protestant Churches. It marks the day a monk, far from the seats of power, called on the church to turn from a church for the powerful back to serve the powerless.
Brief Order For Confession and Forgiveness
Music to accompany this worship is on Spotify at:
Entrance Hymn
God of Wonders
Kyrie
Hymn of Praise
Prayer of the Day
Gracious Father, we pray for your holy catholic church. Fill it with all truth and peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it; where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in need, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
The First Lesson
Jeremiah 31:31-34
31. The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
32. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt– a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD.
33. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the LORD,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
Psalm
Psalm 46 (7)
1. [To the leader. Of the Korahites. According to Alamoth. A Song.] God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
3. though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah
4. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
5. God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns.
6. The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
8. Come, behold the works of the LORD; see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
9. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
10. “Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.”
11. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
The Second Lesson
Romans 3:19-28
19. Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
20. For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.
21. But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets,
22. the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction,
23. since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
24. they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25. whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed;
26. it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.
27. Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law of faith.
28. For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.
The Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia. If you continue in my word, you are truly | my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will | make you free. Alleluia. (John 8:31-32)
The Gospel
John 8:31-36
31. Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples;
32. and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
33. They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”
34. Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.
35. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever.
36. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
The Sermon
Freedom is not a gift but the natural state of being
The Hymn of the Day
Lord Keep Us Steadfast In Your Word
The Creed
The Peace
We Sing God’s Truth
The Prayers
The Offering
Communion
The Lord’s Prayer
Communion Hymns
The Church Is One Foundation
Communal Blessing
Dismissal
The Bible readings are from the New Revised Standard Version. I wish to thank the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, ELCA, and its predecessor bodies for all their teaching throughout the years. I’ve used the Lectionary published on the ELCA website at elca.org in preparation of this worship.