Worship Notes for Sunday, Pentecost 9, 2015

Thursday after Pentecost 8

July 23 2015

The Lord be with you.

This coming Sunday, Pentecost 9, we will receive the gifts of our Lord’s Body and Blood for the forgiveness of our sins and strengthening of our faith. To prepare you may read again the Christian Questions with their Answers out of Luther’s Small Catechism.

For our liturgy we will use the third setting of the Divine Service (page 184). The only wrinkle will be the use of the offertory from Divine 2, which will be included in an insert. The appointed lessons are Genesis 9:8-17, Ephesians 3:14-21 and Mark 6:45-56. The sermon is titled “In the Same Boat.” The text is Mark 6:51.

Our opening hymn will be “Today Your Mercy Calls Us” (LSB 915). Our sermon hymn will be “In God, My Faithful God” (LSB 745). Our closing hymn will be “Go, My Children, with My Blessing” (LSB 922). We will have only two distribution hymns because both of them are longish. They will be “Jesus, Priceless Treasure” (LSB 743) and “Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness” (LSB 636).

Below is a video of our first distribution hymn, ““Jesus, Priceless Treasure,” sung by the Lutheran Quartet.

What follows is a synopsis of Sunday’s lessons, provided by the synod, then the lessons and finally some additional notes.

Creation Is Redeemed and Sanctified by the Word of Christ Jesus

Having spared faithful Noah and his family from the flood, the Lord established His covenant with them, “and with every living creature,” that never again would there be “a flood to destroy the earth” (Gen. 9:9–11). He signed and sealed this everlasting covenant with His rainbow in the clouds, by which He sees and remembers His promise that “the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh” (Gen. 9:13–16). Although creation suffers under the curse of sin, the Lord preserves and orders creation for the benefit of His Church. In particular, all of creation is redeemed and sanctified by the incarnate Son of God. “Take heart,” and “do not be afraid,” for He is with you on the sea. He is not a ghost, but He has come in the flesh to save you. He has gotten “into the boat” with you, and the wind that was against you has ceased (Mark 6:45–51). For He is the Word and promise of the Father, and His own flesh and blood are the covenant by which you are “strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being” (Eph. 3:16–17).

Genesis 9:8-17

^9:8         Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ⁹“Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, ¹⁰and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. ¹¹I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” ¹²And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: ¹³I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, ¹⁵I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” ¹⁷God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Ephesians 3:14-21

^3:14        For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

²⁰          Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Mark 6:45-56

^6:45        Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. ⁴⁸And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, ⁴⁹but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, ⁵⁰for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” ⁵¹And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, ⁵²for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

⁵³          When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. ⁵⁴And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him ⁵⁵and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

Some Additional Notes

• The August Newsletter is almost ready. It will be posted on the blog before Sunday. Print copies will be available at church for those who do not have an internet connection.

• The Voters’ Meeting that was scheduled for this past Sunday was rescheduled for Sunday, August 16.

• Included in Sunday’s worship bulletin will be an insert containing the list of supplies we are collect for Jesse Boyd Elementary school. We will be dropping off the supplies August 10, making Sunday, August 9, the final day to bring in your supplies. The list is also posted on this blog. You may drop off your supplies in the box in the narthex.

·         Praying for our Neighbors and Walking our Neighborhoods: We have joined the rest of the District in this effort. Members of Our Savior Lutheran in Laurel, Maryland, shared the following that happened this past Christmas. As we “went caroling through the neighborhood, we took prayer requests and offered prayers at the homes we visited.  After we finished singing at the first house they visited, a 12-year old member of the group asked the homeowner if she had any prayer requests.  She asked that they pray for her daughter, a drug addict, who hadn't been seen for weeks.  The church continues to follow up and pray for her situation.
At the end of the evening, the carolers had collected two sheets of prayer requests, and went home realizing that they made a significant impact in the neighborhood.
The following week, Our Savior held its annual Christmas concert.  Over 600 people were in attendance!
Prayer is a powerful tool for connection, especially to connect the church to the community.  People appreciate prayer, and want to be prayed for!  Praying for neighbors is something that anyone can do.”
Keep walking. And keep sharing the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• At the District Convention this past May the delegates voted to have a special “Sunday for the City” August 9. This was shortly after the shooting death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore. Since then we had the murders in Charlotte at Emmanuel AME congregation. The planning for “Sunday for the City” has expanded to include, not only Charlotte, but all our cities. The SED is preparing special material for this local commemoration, and we will participate at Lamb of God.   

• Our Sunday morning Bible hour begins at 9:00 am. We will finish our consideration of what the Scriptures teach concerning Vocation. The following week we will turn our attention to the Bible itself, the Word of God. Is there a proper way to read it? What are the blessings God bestows on us through the Bible? What is the Holy Spirit’s role in our use of the Scriptures? Such questions, and more, will be addressed. The study begins Sunday, August 2.

• Don’t forget to check out the other posts on our blog that have been made this past week. Many of these posts are from district, synod or one of the groups affiliated with us (like a seminary).

Blessings in Christ,

Pastor Rickert