Open Arms Sunday Worship July 5, 2020

5th Sunday after Pentecost
Divine Service
July 5, 2020

Please click here for the video of this service.  

Welcome! 

Invocation

V:   In the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit,

C:  AMEN

Opening Song:     Great Are Your Works

Call to Worship                Psalm 146

V:   Praise the Lord!

C:  Praise the Lord, O my soul!

V;   I will praise the Lord as long as I live;

C:  I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

V;   Put not your trust in princes,

C:  in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

V:   When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;

C:  on that very day his plans perish.

V:   Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

C:  whose hope is in the Lord his God,

V:   who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them,

C:  who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed,

V:   who gives food to the hungry.

C:  The Lord sets the prisoners free;

V:   the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

C:  The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

V:   the Lord loves the righteous.

C:  The Lord watches over the sojourners;

V:   he upholds the widow and the fatherless,

C:  but the way of the wicked He brings to ruin.

V:   The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations.

C:  Praise the Lord!

Confession and Absolution

V:   St. Paul describes us perfectly in our Epistle lesson, which we'll hear in a few minutes.  We don’t do the good we want to do.   And we do the bad things we don’t want to do!  Like Paul, wretched people we are!  We are seduced by the devil, the world and our own sinful natures.  Every day we give in, every day we sin.   Our thoughts, our words and our actions go against God’s law and His will for our lives.

         O God, deliver me from this body of death!       

Silent confession of your sins

V:   We confess together:

C:  For the sake of Jesus, Your Son and our Savior, forgive our sins, and create new hearts in us.  Amen

V:   Who will deliver us?  Who has already delivered us?  Paul answers for us:  “Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord!”  Jesus Christ has delivered you!  Jesus Christ has set you free from the punishment for your sins requires.  In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit, your sins are forgiven & you’re free indeed!

C:  Amen. 

Sit

Old Testament Reading      Zechariah 9: 9-12

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

     Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king is coming to you;

     righteous and having salvation is he,

humble and mounted on a donkey,

     on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim

     and the war horse from Jerusalem;

and the battle bow shall be cut off,

     and he shall speak peace to the nations;

his rule shall be from sea to sea,

     and from the River to the ends of the earth.

As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,

     I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.

Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;

     today I declare that I will restore to you double.

V:   This is the Word of the Lord.

C:  Thanksbe to God.

Epistle Reading                   Romans 7:14-25a

For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.  For I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.  So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.  For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

So, I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.   For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.  Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

V:   This is the Word of the Lord.

C:  Thanks be to God.

Stand

Holy Gospel                           Matthew 11:25-30

V:   The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the 11^th chapter.

C:  Gloryto You, O Lord.

 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.  All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

V:   This is the Word of the Lord.

C:  Praise to You, O Christ.

Sit

Song:               Cry Out to Jesus

Sermon

Stand

The Apostles’  Creed             

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,  maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His 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 into hell.  The third day He rose again from the dead.  He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.  From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

 I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.    Amen.

Prayers of the Church

V:   …after each petition:  Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

The Sacrament of the Altar

V:   The Lord be with you.

C:   and also with you.

V:   Lift up your hearts!

C:  we lift them to the Lord!

V:   Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.

C:  it is right to give Him thanks and praise.

V:   Let us pray…

C:  Amen

Words of Institution

V:   As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

C:  Amen!    Come, Lord Jesus.

V:   O Lord Jesus Christ, remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:

C:  Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed 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.

V:   The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C:  Amen.

Communion Distribution      

Communion Dismissal

V:   This body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen and keep you in the one true faith to life everlasting.  Depart ✠ in peace.

C:  Amen

Post-Communion Prayer

V:   Let us pray…

C:  Amen.

     

Benediction

Sit        Announcements

Closing Song:       How Great is Your Love