EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

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July 31, 2022

Christ Is the Answer to Our Despair

All three Readings today bemoan the problems of worldly people. Vainly do they strive for material goods, for, as “the Preacher” notes, you can’t take it with you. Indeed, at any time, as Jesus reminds a man wanting his fair share of an inheritance, your soul can be required. Then to whom shall your things belong? But while Paul in the Epistle reminds his readers about what their lives were like once upon a time, he also reminds them that in Holy Baptism they have been raised with Christ and promises that they (we!) will appear with Him in glory. Today is a day to look up to the things that are above, remember our Baptism, and “serve the Lord with gladness!” (Psalm 100:2).

+ Preparation +

OPENING HYMN: #590 – Baptized into Your Name Most Holy

INVOCATION

Pastor: In the name of the Father, who graciously calls us His sons and daughters.

People: Amen.

Pastor: In the name of the + Son, whose death and resurrection has given us eternal life.

People: Amen.

Pastor: In the name of the Holy Spirit, who has given us the gift of faith to trust all the promises of God.

People: Amen.

REMEMBRANCE OF BAPTISM Romans 6:4; Colossians 3:1–4

Pastor: In his Epistle to the Church in Rome, Paul wrote, “We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

And in today’s Epistle, Paul writes, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”

Let us therefore remember our Baptism.

Almighty and eternal God, according to Your strict judgment You condemned the unbelieving world through the flood, yet according to Your great mercy You preserved believing Noah and his family, eight souls in all. You drowned hard-hearted Pharaoh and all his host in the Red Sea, yet led Your people Israel through the water on dry ground, foreshadowing the washing of Your Holy Baptism. Through the Baptism in the Jordan of Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, You sanctified and instituted all waters to be a blessed flood and a lavish washing away of sin.

People: We give thanks that according to Your boundless mercy, You have beheld us and have blessed us with true faith by the Holy Spirit, that through this saving flood all sin in us, which has been inherited from Adam, has been drowned and died. Grant that we be kept safe and secure in the holy ark of the Christian Church, being separated from the multitude of unbelievers and serving Your name at all times with a fervent spirit and a joyful hope, so that, with all believers in Your promise, we could be declared worthy of eternal life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION LSB, p. 151

Pastor: Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.

People: Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.

Pastor: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

+ WORD +

PSALM Psalm 100 (spoken responsively as marked)

¹Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
²Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

³Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

⁴Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

⁵For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY

Pastor: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Pastor: Let us pray.
O Lord, You have made great and gracious promises that come to us through our Baptism into Christ. As we recall our Baptism, assure us of Your forgiveness, strengthen our faith, and lead us to be instruments of Your peace and joy, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12–14; 2:18–26

(Life is much more than possessions.)

²Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity. . . .

¹²I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³And I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹⁴I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. . . .

¹⁸I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, ¹⁹and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. ²⁰So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, ²¹because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. ²²What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? ²³For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.

²⁴There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, ²⁵for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? ²⁶For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL Romans 10:15b, 18b; Isaiah 52:7b, alt.

Lector: How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news,

People: who publish peace and bring good news of salvation.

Lector: Their voice has gone out to all the earth,

People: and their words to the ends of the world.

EPISTLE Colossians 3:1–11

(In Baptism, our old selves were buried with Christ; therefore, our new self ought to reflect His presence in how we live.)

¹If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

⁵Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ⁶On account of these the wrath of God is coming. ⁷In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. ⁸But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. ⁹Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. ¹¹Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

ALLELUIA and VERSE Colossians 3:23–24a

Pastor: Alleluia. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

People: knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. Alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL Luke 12:13–21

(Life means more than earthly treasures.)

Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the twelfth chapter.

People: Glory to You, O Lord.

¹³Someone in the crowd said to [Jesus], “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” ¹⁴But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ¹⁶And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ ²⁰But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ ²¹So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to You, O Christ.

HYMN OF THE DAY: #743 – Jesus, Priceless Treasure

SERMON: Christ Is the Answer to Our Despair

NICENE CREED

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.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

After each petition:

Pastor: … let us pray to the Lord:

People: Lord, have mercy.

At conclusion:

Pastor: Into Your hands, heavenly Father, we commend ourselves and all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

People: Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER Matthew 6:9–13

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.

CLOSING PRAYER

Pastor: Let us pray.
O Lord, grant us wisdom to recognize the treasures You have stored up for us in heaven, that we may never despair but always rejoice and be thankful for the riches of Your grace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

BENEDICTION Numbers 6:24–26

Pastor: The blessing of God Almighty—the Father, who graciously calls you His sons and daughters; the + Son, whose death and resurrection has given you eternal life; and the Holy Spirit, who has given you the gift of faith to trust all the promises of God—be upon you, now and forever.

People: Amen.

DISMISSAL

Pastor: Go in peace as you serve the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST – Online Church at Home Bulletin