Humility – Online Church at Home Service Bulletin

September 10th, 2023, FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Living as Humble Little Children of the Father True greatness is not self-sufficient strength, but humility like that of a little child. The greatness of childlike faith receives all good things as gracious gifts from our Father in heaven. Apart from such faith, “you will never enter the kingdom of heaven,” but whoever is humbled like a little child will be “the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3–4)….
PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH | “Humility”

Download Printable PDF Bulletin

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

OPENING HYMN: #905 Come, Thou Almighty King
HYMN OF THE DAY: #828 We Are Called to Stand Together
CLOSING HYMN: #924 Lord, Dismiss Us With Your Blessing

PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

“Humility”

September 10, 2023

+ AS WE GATHER +

Living as Humble Little Children of the Father

True greatness is not self-sufficient strength, but humility like that of a little child. The greatness of childlike faith receives all good things as gracious gifts from our Father in heaven. Apart from such faith, “you will never enter the kingdom of heaven,” but whoever is humbled like a little child will be “the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3–4). Though in our sin we deserve to be “drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matt. 18:6), we have instead been drowned (“buried”) with Christ in Baptism and then raised to the new, humble life of a child of God. The Lord sends His watchman to warn us with a word from His mouth, in order that we may not die in our iniquity but be turned from our pride and selfishness to live (Ezek. 33:7–9). Thus, we live in humility and faith before God as well as in love for our neighbor, which “is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:10). In the reverent fear of God, we do no harm to our neighbor, but we “pay to all what is owed to them” (Rom. 13:7) and we “owe no one anything, except to love each other” (Rom. 13:8).

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

OPENING HYMN: #905 Come, Thou Almighty King

INVOCATION

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

C     Amen.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION       Psalm 3:4, 8

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 meditation and reflection.

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 ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C     Amen.

+ Service of the Word +

INTROIT         Psalm 32: 1 – 7            (spoken responsively as marked)

¹Blessèd is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
            whose sin is covered.
²Blessèd is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
            and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
            through my groaning all day long.
⁴For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
            my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

⁵I acknowledged my sin to you,
            and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
            and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

⁶Therefore let everyone who is godly
            offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
            they shall not reach him.
⁷You are a hiding place for me;
            you preserve me from trouble;
            you surround me with shouts of deliverance.

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.

Kyrie

P     In peace let us pray to the Lord. 

C     Lord, have mercy.

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

C     Lord, have mercy.

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.

C     Lord, have mercy.

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

C     Lord, have mercy.

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

C     Amen.

HYMN OF PRAISE: Gloria in Excelsis  LSB 154

A     Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on earth.

SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY

P      The Lord be with you.

C     And also with you.

P     Let us pray.

       O God, from whom all good proceeds, grant to us, Your humble servants, Your holy inspiration, that we may set our minds on the things that are right and, by Your merciful guiding, accomplish them; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C     Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING    Ezekiel 33:7–9

      ⁷“So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. ⁸If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. ⁹But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.”

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

 

GRADUAL     Psalm 34:9, 19, alt. (spoken together)

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.

 

Epistle            Romans 13:1–10

      ¹Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ²Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, ⁴for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. ⁶For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ⁷Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

      ⁸Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

 

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

ALLELUIA,  p. 156

HOLY GOSPEL  Matthew 18:1 – 20

P          The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the Eighteenth chapter.
C          Glory to You, O Lord.

            ¹At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

            ⁵“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, ⁶but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

            ⁷“Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! ⁸And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

            ¹⁰“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. ¹¹For the Son of Man came to save the lost. ¹²What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

            ¹⁵“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

P          This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C          Praise to You, O Christ.

HYMN OF THE DAY: #828 We Are Called to Stand Together

SERMON: “Humility”         

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 T everlasting. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

After each petition:     P   … Lord, in Your mercy:

                                    C    hear our prayer.

At conclusion:              P   … one God, now and forever.

                                    C    Amen.

OFFERING

OFFERTORY LSB 159  

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

P      Let us pray.

O God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works, give to us, Your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey Your commandments and also that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may live in peace and quietness; 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   LSB 166

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 T give you peace.

CLOSING HYMN: #924 Lord, Dismiss Us With Your Blessing

DISMISSAL

Pastor:       Go in peace as you serve the Lord.

People:     Thanks be to God!

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