Humbled and Exalted by the Cross of Christ – Church at Home Service Bulletin | August 31st, 2025

Sunday August 31st, 2025 | Humbled and Exalted by the Cross of Christ
“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,” Jesus proclaims, but “he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). For your hope is in the name of the Lord, who humbled Himself unto death on the cross and was exalted in His resurrection. So, are you humbled by His cross, and “at the resurrection of the just,”…
PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH | Dinner Guest

Download Printable PDF Bulletin

Today’s Service Below

Use the scroll bar on the right side of the window below to read the service bulletin.

OPENING HYMN: #537 – Beautiful Savior
HYMN OF THE DAY: #842 vs. 1 & 2 – Son of God, Eternal Savior
CLOSING HYMN: #837 – Lift High the Cross

PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH

Sunday, August 31, 2025 – 10AM

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

We Are Humbled and Exalted by the Cross of Christ

“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,” Jesus proclaims, but “he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). For your hope is in the name of the Lord, who humbled Himself unto death on the cross and was exalted in His resurrection. So, are you humbled by His cross, and “at the resurrection of the just,” He will say to you, “Friend, move up higher” (Luke 14:10, 13–14)? By His grace, the King will honor you “in the presence of a noble,” where your eyes will gaze upon the Prince, His dearly beloved Son (Prov. 25:7). As He has dealt so graciously with you, “do not neglect to do good and to share what you have” (Heb. 13:16), and “do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers” (Heb. 13:2). Humble yourself and exalt your neighbor.

PRELUDE MUSIC

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

OPENING HYMN: #537 – Beautiful Savior

INVOCATION – p151

P   In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C   Amen.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

P     If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

C     But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Silence for reflection on God’s Word and for self-examination.

P     Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.

C     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.

P     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 commissioned 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.

C  Amen.

+ Service of the Word +

INTROIT Psalm 75:1-2, 6-9; antiphon: v. 7

 (spoken responsively as marked)

It is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.
We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds.
At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity.
For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up.
But I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
        and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
        is now, and will be forever. Amen.
It is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.

Amen

Kyrie – p.152

P     In peace let us pray to the Lord. 

P      For the peace from above and for our salvation let us pray to the Lord.

P     For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all let us pray to the Lord.

P     For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship and praise let us pray to the Lord.

 P   Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.

HYMN OF PRAISE: This Is the Feast – p.155

SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY

P    The Lord be with you.

P  Let us pray.

O Lord of grace and mercy, teach us by Your Holy Spirit to follow the example of Your Son in true humility, that we may withstand the temptations of the devil and with pure hearts and minds avoid ungodly pride; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

OLD TESTAMENT READING – Proverbs 25:2-10

² It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. ³ As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, so the heart of kings is unsearchable. ⁴ Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel;
⁵ take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness. ⁶ Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great,
⁷ for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble. What your eyes have seen ⁸ do not hastily bring into court, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame? ⁹ Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another’s secret, ¹⁰ lest he who hears you bring shame upon you, and your ill repute have no end.

A  This is the Word of the Lord.

 C    Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL –  Psalm 34:9, 19, alt.

(spoken in unison)

Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing! Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Amen

EPISTLE –Hebrews 13:1-17

          ¹Let brotherly love continue. ²Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. ³Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. ⁴Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. ⁵Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁶So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;
             I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

          ⁷Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. ⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. ⁹Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. ¹⁰We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. ¹¹For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. ¹²So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. ¹³Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. ¹⁴For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. ¹⁵Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. ¹⁶Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

          ¹⁷Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

A          This is the Word of the Lord.
C          Thanks be to God.

Stand

ALLELUIA and VERSE         p.156

HOLY GOSPEL –Luke 14:1-14

P      The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the fourtheenth chapter.

        ¹One Sabbath, when [Jesus] went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. ²And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. ³And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” ⁴But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. ⁵And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” ⁶And they could not reply to these things.

        ⁷Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, ⁸“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, ⁹and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. ¹⁰But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. ¹¹For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

        ¹²He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. ¹³But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

P   This is the Gospel of the Lord.

HYMN OF THE DAY: #842 vs. 1 & 2 – Son of God, Eternal Savior

SERMON: “Dinner Guest” – Luke 14:1-14

NICENE Creed

(spoken responsively as marked)

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:                                             At conclusion:

P  ..Lord, in Your mercy:                         P   one God, now and forever.

C   hear our prayer.                              C   Amen.

OFFERING

OFFERTORY LSB 159

+ Service of the Sacrament +

PREFACE – p 160

P     The Lord be with you.

P     Lift up your hearts.

P     Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

PROPER PREFACE

P   It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who, having created all things, took on human flesh and was born of the virgin Mary. For our sake He died on the cross and rose from the dead to put an end to death, thus fulfilling Your will and gaining for You a holy people. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:

SANCTUS     LSB 161

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING   LSB 161

P     Blessed are You, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have had mercy on those whom You created and sent Your only-begotten Son into our flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior. With repentant joy we receive the salvation accomplished for us by the all-availing sacrifice of His body and His blood on the cross.

Gathered in the name and the remembrance of Jesus, we beg You, O Lord, to forgive, renew, and strengthen us with Your Word and Spirit. Grant us faithfully to eat His body and drink His blood as He bids us do in His own testament. Gather us together, we pray, from the ends of the earth to celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end. Graciously receive our prayers; deliver and preserve us. To You alone, O Father, be all glory, honor, and worship, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C     Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER     

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

P     Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My + body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”

In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My + blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

PAX DOMINI    LSB 163

P     The peace of the Lord be with you always.

AGNUS DEI    LSB 163

COMMUNION

POST COMMUNION CANTICLE – Thank the Lord– p.164

POST COMMUNION COLLECT

A     Let us pray.

We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C     Amen.

BENEDICTION

P      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.

CLOSING HYMN: #837 – Lift High the Cross

DISMISSAL

P      Go in peace! Serve the Lord!

C     Thanks be to God!

POSTLUDE MUSIC

Creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish, Series C, Quarter 3. Copyright © 2022 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission.