NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

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October 3, 2021

It Is Not Good for Us to Be Alone – We Were Created for Relationship

Humanity is created in the image and likeness of God. “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18). For the Lord Himself is a perfect communion of three Persons — the Father, Son and Holy Spirit — in one God. Therefore, “the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs,” which “he made into a woman” and brought “to the man” (Gen. 2:21–22). It is for this reason that “a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24; Mark 10:7). This great mystery of holy marriage signifies Christ Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, and His Bride, the Church. Divorce and all manner of adultery contradict and undermine this sign. However, Christ Jesus has atoned for all such sins, and He has perfected marriage in Himself “through suffering,” that He might bring “many sons to glory” in His resurrection (Heb. 2:8–10).

+ PREPARATION +

OPENING HYMN: #869 –With the Lord Begin Your Task

INVOCATION

Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

OPENING SENTENCES Psalm 27:7, 11a, 13–14; 51:15; 70:1

Pastor: O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise.

People: Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me!

Pastor: Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!

People: Teach me Your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path.

Pastor: I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!

People: Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

Pastor: Let us now confess our sin to God, our merciful Father.

People: Gracious God, we admit and confess our sinfulness. We know well that we are by nature sinful and unclean. Morning, noon, and night we have done things we ought not to have done and have not done that which we are to have been doing as Your faithful servants. We have neglected the salvation You so graciously have provided for us. Indeed, we deserve Your punishment in this life and for eternity. Trusting in Your mercy, we come to You for forgiveness. Our trust is not in ourselves but in the merits of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Have mercy on us, O God. Grant us remission of all our sins and lead us to renewed lives that reflect Your goodness, mercy, and love.

Pastor: With confident joy, I announce to you that God is gracious and merciful and hears our supplications. Upon your confession, by the command of our Lord and as His called and ordained servant, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

+ WORD +

INTROIT Psalm 127:3–5; antiphon: v. 1a (spoken responsively by verse)

Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the children of one’s youth.

Blessèd is the man who fills his quiver with them!

He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

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.

Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.

KYRIE

Pastor: In peace, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: For peace from God and peace among our brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: For peace among all who seek to serve Christ and support His Church, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: For this holy house and for all who gather here to be strengthened in faith and encouraged in service, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.

People: Amen.

SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY

Pastor: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Pastor: Let us pray.
Father of our Lord Jesus, the strength of all who trust You, help us to live according to Your design and to treasure both Your word of command and Your word of forgiveness. Make our lives to be signs of Your life and the instruments of renewal in our world; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING Genesis 2:18–25

(God creates and fashions the first woman.)

¹⁸Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” ¹⁹So out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. ²¹So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²²And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. ²³Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”

²⁴Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. ²⁵And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

PSALM Psalm 128 (spoken responsively by verse)

¹Blessèd is everyone who fears the Lord,

who walks in his ways!

²You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;

you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

³Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

within your house;

your children will be like olive shoots

around your table.

⁴Behold, thus shall the man be blessed

who fears the Lord.

⁵The Lord bless you from Zion!

May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem

all the days of your life!

⁶May you see your children’s children!

Peace be upon Israel!

EPISTLE Hebrews 2:1–18

(Counsel against neglecting salvation)

¹Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. ²For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, ³how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, ⁴while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

⁵Now it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. ⁶It has been testified somewhere,

“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
     or the son of man, that you care for him?
⁷You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
     you have crowned him with glory and honor,
     ⁸putting everything in subjection under his feet.”

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. ⁹But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

¹⁰For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. ¹¹For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, ¹²saying,

“I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”

¹³And again,

“I will put my trust in him.”

And again,

“Behold, I and the children God has given me.”

¹⁴Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. ¹⁶For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. ¹⁷Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

VERSE Mark 10:14b (spoken together)

Alleluia. Let the children come to Me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL Mark 10:2–16

(Jesus blesses the children.)

Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the tenth chapter.

People: Glory to You, O Lord.

²Pharisees came up and in order to test [Jesus] asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” ³He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” ⁵And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. ⁶But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ⁷‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, ⁸and they shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. ⁹What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

¹⁰And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. ¹¹And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, ¹²and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

¹³And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁵Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” ¹⁶And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to You, O Christ.

**HYMN OF THE DAY: #770 –*What a Friend We Have in Jesus***

SERMON: It Is Not Good for Us to Be Alone

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 + everlasting. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

After each petition:

Pastor: … Lord, in Your mercy:

People: hear our prayer.

At conclusion:

Pastor: … for the sake of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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 God, whose strength is made perfect in weakness, grant us humility and childlike faith that we may please You in both will and deed; 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 James 4:8a, 10

Pastor: The grace of our Lord + Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

People: Amen.

DISMISSAL

Pastor: Go in peace as you serve the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God!

NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST – Online Church at Home Service Bulletin