St. Johns Lutheran Church
St. Johns Lutheran Church St. Louis, Missouri
The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost August 25th, 2024
Divine Service Setting 4 LSB 203
AS WE GATHER
Tradition is a profound gift, but it can also be a problem. When the works of our hands are at odds with the faith of our hearts or when the faith of our hearts no longer shapes our lives, we are in trouble. Jesus calls out the empty tradition that begs for faith and the timid faith that fears bold confession. In so doing, our Lord rightly places the gift and blessing of tradition, not the dead faith of the living but the living faith of the dead, to encourage us in our own believing.
RINGING OF THE BELLS
WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS
WELCOME GUESTS
We’re glad you are here! Make it a point to introduce yourself to
the pastor. Please take time to fill out an attendance card and drop it in the basket during the offering. Please consider liking us on Facebook (St. Johns Lutheran Church – St. Louis City) and checking out our website (https://stjohnslutheranstlouis.org/).
If you have a prayer request that you would like offered during the service, please grab one of the blue sheets of paper next to the bulletins and place it in the basket during offering.
Our service today includes the celebration of God’s presence, as He comes in the true body and blood of Christ in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Any who are not yet instructed or who hold a confession differing from that of this congregation and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, please see the pastor. You may come forward to the communion rail for a blessing. Please cross your hands to indicate you would like to receive a blessing.
PREPARATION
HYMN “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” LSB 700 v. 1-2
Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heav'n, to earth come down!
Fix in us Thy humble dwelling,
All Thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
Pure, unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation,
Enter ev'ry trembling heart.
Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit
Into ev'ry troubled breast;
Let us all in Thee inherit;
Let us find Thy promised rest.
Take away the love of sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith, as its beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.
INVOCATION (Stand as you are able)
In the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Psalm 14:1
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.
Silence for self-examination
Holy and gracious God,
I confess that I have sinned against You this day. Some of my sin I know—the thoughts and words and deeds of which I am ashamed—but some is known only to You. In the name of Jesus Christ, I ask forgiveness. Deliver and restore me that my heart may know peace.
By the mercy of God, we are redeemed by Jesus Christ and in Him we are forgiven. As a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
WORD
SALUTATION / PRAYER OF THE DAY
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Almighty and merciful God, defend Your church from all false teaching and error that Your faithful people may confess You to be the only true God and rejoice in Your good gifts of life and salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
MEMORIZED WORD (Sit)
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17
OLD TESTAMENT READING Isaiah 29:11–19
11The vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.” 13And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, 14therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.” 15Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?” 16You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”? 17Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest? 18In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. 19The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
HOLY GOSPEL Mark 7:1–13 (Stand as you are able)
The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the seventh chapter.
Glory to You, O Lord.
1When the Pharisees gathered to [Jesus], with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) 5And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” 9And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban’ (that is, given to God)— 12then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to You, O Christ.
HYMN OF THE DAY “Amazing Grace” LSB 744 (Sit)
Amazing grace--how sweet the sound--
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind but now I see!
The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.
Through many dangers, toils, and snares
I have already come;
His grace has brought me safe thus far,
His grace will lead me home.
Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail
And mortal life shall cease,
Amazing grace shall then prevail
In heaven's joy and peace.
When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.
SERMON
NICENE CREED (Stand as you are able)
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried. And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church, I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
OFFERING
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Guard Your people, O Lord, let not our hearts be empty of faith nor our minds filled with pride. Give us a healthy respect for the things of old, which we have received from those who have gone before and give us a living faith that trusts not in works but in Christ alone. Lord, in Your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Give grace to the leaders of this and every land, that every people may enjoy good government, peace among the nations, security in their homes, and reward for virtue. Bless us in our service to our neighbor and those in need. Lord, in Your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Give grace to those afflicted in body or mind that they may rest their cares upon You and be kept strong in the day of trouble, [especially . . .], and those we name in our hearts.
Lord, in Your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Special Petitions….Lord, in Your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Give grace that those who come to the Lord’s Table may approach with clean hearts, with repentance for their sins, and with confidence that they receive here the body and blood of our Lord in this bread and cup. Lord, in Your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Through Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory is Yours, almighty Father, both now and forever.
Amen.
SACRAMENT
LORD’S PRAYER
Lord, remember us in your kingdom and teach us to pray:
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.
THE WORDS OF OUR LORD
PAX DOMINI (The Peace of the Lord)
The peace of the Lord be with you always.
Amen.
DISTRIBUTION HYMNS (Sit)
“Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” LSB 700 v. 3-4
Come, Almighty, to deliver;
Let us all Thy life receive;
Suddenly return, and never,
Nevermore Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,
Pray and praise Thee without ceasing,
Glory in Thy perfect love.
Finish then Thy new creation,
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee,
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heav'n we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise!
POST-COMMUNION THANKSGIVING
(Stand as you are able)
Let us pray. O God the Father, the fountain and source of all goodness, who in loving-kindness sent Your only-begotten Son into the flesh, we thank You that for His sake You have given us pardon and peace in this Sacrament, and we ask You not to forsake Your children but always to rule our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that we may be enabled constantly to serve You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
BENEDICTION Numbers 6:24–26
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and ✠ give you peace.
Amen.
HYMN “Oh, That the Lord Would Guide My Ways” LSB 707 (Sit)
Oh, that the Lord would guide my ways
To keep His statutes still!
Oh, that my God would grant me grace
To know and do His will!
Order my footsteps by Thy Word
And make my heart sincere;
Let sin have no dominion, Lord,
But keep my conscience clear.
Assist my soul, too apt to stray,
A stricter watch to keep;
And should I e'er forget Thy way,
Restore Thy wand'ring sheep.
Make me to walk in Thy commands--
'Tis a delightful road--
Nor let my head or heart or hands
Offend against my God.
Preacher Pastor Bill Wilson
Liturgist Pastor Bill Wilson
Lector Pastor Bill Wilson
Elder Earl Welch
Organist Suzanne Manelli
Ushers John Benwell, Patrick Benwell,
Jayvon Evers, and Roger Schmidt
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Parts of this worship folder are copyrighted. Permission for reprint has been received from Concordia Publishing House. The Fellowship Publications, and C.C.L.I copyright license #386077 & C.C.L.I Streaming license #20825510
Creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish, Series B, Quarter 3.
Copyright © 2024 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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