The traditional Christian church calendar is comprised of seasons and special days. We are in the season of Pentecost. Pentecost is the longest season of the church calendar and concludes with Christ the King Sunday. In this season, let us consider how we are empowered to act for God.
Brief Order For Confession and Forgiveness
Music to accompany this worship is on Spotify at:
Entrance Hymn
If God Himself be for Me
Kyrie
Hymn of Praise
Prayer of the Day
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.
The First Lesson
Isaiah 56:1, 6-8
1 Thus says the Lord: Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed.
6 And 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—
7 these 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.
8 Thus says the Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.
Psalm
Psalm 67 (3)
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, (Selah)
2 that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. (Selah)
5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.
6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us.
7 May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.
The Second Lesson
Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32
1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
2a God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.
29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
30 Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience,
31 so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy.
32 For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.
The Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia. Jesus preached the good| the Messiah,
the Son of the | living God. Alleluia. (Matt. 16:16)
The Gospel
Matthew 15:[10-20] 21-28
10 Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, “Listen and understand:
11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.”
12 Then the disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?”
13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.
14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit.”
15 But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.”
16 Then he said, “Are you also still without understanding?
17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?
18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles.
19 For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.
20 These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”
21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
22 Just 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.”
23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
26 He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
The Sermon
Where is your heart leading?
The Hymn of the Day
Eternal Father Strong to Save
The Creed
The Peace
Sing for Peace
The Prayers
The Offering
Communion
The Lord’s Prayer
Communion Hymns
The Prayer
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. I’ve used the Lectionary published on the ELCA website at elca.org in preparation for this worship.