July 9, 2023 – PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH – SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST – “Come to Me, I Will Give You Rest”
Jesus Christ, Our Savior, Is Our True Peace and Sabbath Rest Though we have died with Christ in Holy Baptism, and we are raised to new life in Him, we find “another law waging war” in our body and life, that is, between our old Adam and the new man (Rom. 7:23).

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OPENING HYMN: #575 My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less
HYMN OF THE DAY: #657 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
CLOSING HYMN: #803 Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee

PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH

SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

“Come to Me, I Will Give You Rest”

July 9, 2023

Jesus Christ, Our Savior, Is Our True Peace and Sabbath Rest

Though we have died with Christ in Holy Baptism, and we are raised to new life in Him, we find “another law waging war” in our body and life, that is, between our old Adam and the new man (Rom. 7:23). By the Spirit of Christ, we “desire to do what is right,” but we are not able to do so because “nothing good” dwells in our sinful flesh (Rom. 7:18). “Thanks be to God,” therefore, “through Jesus Christ our Lord,” who delivers us from “this body of death” (Rom. 7:24–25). We rejoice in Him, our gentle King, who comes “righteous and having salvation” (Zech. 9:9). He speaks peace to our embattled hearts, and by His blood of the New Testament He sets us “free from the waterless pit,” and He returns us to the stronghold of our Baptism (Zech. 9:10–12). Though we “labor and are heavy laden,” He calls us to Himself and gives rest to our souls through His free and full forgiveness (Matt. 11:28), not because we are “wise and understanding,” but by the “gracious will” of God the Father, whom “the Son chooses to reveal” in love (Matt. 11:25–27).

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

OPENING HYMN: #575 My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less

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 91:2, 9–10; antiphon: v. 1
                        (spoken responsively as marked)

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
            will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
            my God, in whom I trust.”
Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—
            the Most High, who is my refuge—
no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
            no plague come near your tent.
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.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
            will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

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.

SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY

P      The Lord be with you.

C     And also with you.

P     Let us pray.

       Gracious God, our heavenly Father, Your mercy attends us all our days. Be our strength and support amid the wearisome changes of this world, and at life’s end grant us Your promised rest and the full joys of Your salvation; 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    Zechariah 9:9–12

⁹Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
            Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
behold, your king is coming to you;
            righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
            on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
¹⁰I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
            and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
            and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
            and from the River to the ends of the earth.
¹¹As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
            I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
¹²Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
            today I declare that I will restore to you double.

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

 

GRADUAL        Romans 11:33, 36
                        (spoken together)

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
            How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
            To him be glory forever. Amen.

 

Epistle            Romans 7:14–25a

      ¹⁴We know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. ¹⁵I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ¹⁶Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. ¹⁷So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. ¹⁸For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. ¹⁹For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. ²⁰Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

      ²¹So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. ²²For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, ²³but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. ²⁴Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? ²⁵Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

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

VERSE              Matthew 11:28           (spoken together)

Alleluia. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL  Matthew 11:25–30

P          The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the Eleventh chapter.

C          Glory to You, O Lord.

                        ²⁵At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; ²⁶yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. ²⁷All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ²⁸Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

P      This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C     Praise to You, O Christ.

HYMN OF THE DAY: #657 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

SERMON: “Come to Me, I Will Give You Rest”

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 T of the world to come. 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.

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

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.

C     Amen.

DISMISSAL

P          Go in peace! Serve the Lord!
C          Thanks be to God.

CLOSING HYMN: #803 Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee

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