NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

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August 7, 2022

Those Who Wait on the Promises of God Do Not Wait In Vain

In today’s Old Testament Reading, when Abram trusted God’s promise of a son, he and Sarai were old and childless. But God had much more than one son in mind for the patriarch: the Promised Land as an inheritance and innumerable descendants. The Epistle is a list of people who have preceded us in faith. And now it is our turn, for in one of Abraham’s offspring, Jesus, all God’s promises were fulfilled. And by the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith, we can trust Him for all we need. The promise is not only for the physical things we think we need; the inheritance is the promised land of heaven and citizenship in God’s kingdom. “Seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you,” our Lord promises (Luke 12:31). Our faith-filled response echoes today’s Psalm: “Let Your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in You” (Psalm 33:22).

+ Preparation +

OPENING HYMN: #728 – How Firm a Foundation

INVOCATION

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

People: Amen.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Luke 12:32

Pastor: Let us go to our gracious God, confessing our sins, trusting Him for grace and forgiveness.

People: We confess, heavenly Father, that 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.

Forgive us for Jesus’ sake, strengthen our faith, and focus our hearts on Your kingdom, the inheritance He won for us in His death and resurrection.

Pastor: “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” 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 33:12–22 (spoken responsively by verse)

¹²Blessèd is the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

¹³The Lord looks down from heaven;

he sees all the children of man;

¹⁴from where he sits enthroned he looks out

on all the inhabitants of the earth,

¹⁵he who fashions the hearts of them all

and observes all their deeds.

¹⁶The king is not saved by his great army;

a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

¹⁷The war horse is a false hope for salvation,

and by its great might it cannot rescue.

¹⁸Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,

on those who hope in his steadfast love,

¹⁹that he may deliver their soul from death

and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰Our soul waits for the Lord;

he is our help and our shield.

²¹For our heart is glad in him,

because we trust in his holy name.

²²Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,

even as we hope in you.

KYRIE

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

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: For the peace from above and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: 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.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship and praise, 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.
Almighty and merciful God, You promised great blessings to the faith-filled people who have gone before us. Grant that we confidently trust that we have joined them to receive the gracious inheritance because of Your Son’s fulfilling all Your promises in His death and resurrection; through the same 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 Genesis 15:1–6

(God tells Abram he will have a large family and, through one offspring, countless inheritors of His promises.)

¹After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” ²But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” ⁴And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” ⁵And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ⁶And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL Psalm 34:9, 19, alt.

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 Hebrews 11:1–16

(People of faith before us are examples for us.)

¹Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ²For by it the people of old received their commendation. ³By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

⁴By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. ⁵By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. ⁶And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. ⁷By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

⁸By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. ¹¹By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. ¹²Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

¹³These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

ALLELUIA and VERSE Luke 12:32

Pastor: Alleluia. Fear not, little flock,

People: for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL Luke 12:22–34

(Jesus encourages us to not fear, for God knows what we truly need.)

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

People: Glory to You, O Lord.

²²[Jesus] said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. ²³For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁶If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! ²⁹And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. ³⁰For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

³²“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³³Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to You, O Christ.

HYMN OF THE DAY: #735 – Have No Fear, Little Flock

SERMON: Those Who Wait on the Promises of God Do Not Wait In Vain

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, hear our prayer:

People: Let Your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in You.

At conclusion:

Pastor: These and any other things You would have us ask of You, heavenly Father, grant to us for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, in whose name we pray.

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.
Almighty and merciful God, it is by Your grace that we live as Your people who offer acceptable service. Grant that we may walk by faith, and not by sight, in the way that leads to eternal life; 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 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.

People: Amen.

DISMISSAL

Pastor: Go in peace as you serve the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God!

NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST – Online Church at Home Bulletin