TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

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August 14, 2022

We Dream Dreams, but God’s Word Is Truth

The Lord Jesus causes fear and trembling and division because His Word is “like fire … and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces” (Jer. 23:29). His Law puts us all to death, whereas only His Gospel can bring us to life. He has fulfilled that Word for us by His cross and in His resurrection from the dead. He undergoes such a distressing baptism, accomplished by His death, in order to open the way for us through our Holy Baptism into His cross and resurrection. So, then, if we are able “to interpret the appearance of earth and sky” (Luke 12:56), let us mark this sign of His cross — recognizing that this world is subject to death, but knowing that Christ Jesus also has conquered death and obtained life everlasting for us. Let us fix our eyes on “Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,” and “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1–2).

+ Preparation +

OPENING HYMN: #850 – God of Grace and God of Glory

INVOCATION

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

People: Amen.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Hebrews. 12:1–2

Pastor: Let us confess our sins, recognizing the forgiveness we receive because of our Lord’s sacrifice in our place.

Gracious heavenly Father,

People: I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.

Pastor: People of God, “we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,” all of whom struggled in their day, none of them perfect, but all of whom looked forward in hope. Because our Lord Jesus, “for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, . . . is seated at the right hand of the throne of God,” we can be confident that He fulfilled all God’s promises and has made His total, gracious forgiveness available to us. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen. Thanks be to God!

+ WORD +

PSALM Psalm 119:81–88; antiphon: v. 81

Pastor: Today we consider faith under trial. But we cannot remain strong without God’s help. Let us begin by praying today’s Psalm responsively.

People: My soul longs for Your salvation; I hope in Your word.

Pastor: My eyes long for Your promise;
I ask, “When will You comfort me?”
For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten Your statutes.

People: My soul longs for Your salvation; I hope in Your word.

Pastor: How long must Your servant endure?
When will You judge those who persecute me?
The insolent have dug pitfalls for me;
they do not live according to Your law.
All Your commandments are sure;
they persecute me with falsehood; help me!

People: My soul longs for Your salvation; I hope in Your word.

Pastor: They have almost made an end of me on earth,
but I have not forsaken Your precepts.
In Your steadfast love give me life,
that I may keep the testimonies of Your mouth.

People: My soul longs for Your salvation; I hope in Your word.

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.
Lord our God, You have graciously bestowed on us the gift of faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Strengthen our faith so that we may fight the good fight of faith in times of trial, winning those daily struggles and anticipating the final victory that awaits us by Your grace; through 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 Jeremiah 23:16–29

(God decries the false prophets.)

¹⁶Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. ¹⁷They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”

¹⁸For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord
     to see and to hear his word,
     or who has paid attention to his word and listened?
¹⁹Behold, the storm of the Lord!
     Wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest;
     it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
²⁰The anger of the Lord will not turn back
     until he has executed and accomplished
     the intents of his heart.
In the latter days you will understand it clearly.

²¹“I did not send the prophets,
     yet they ran;
I did not speak to them,
     yet they prophesied.
²²But if they had stood in my council,
     then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
and they would have turned them from their evil way,
     and from the evil of their deeds.

²³“Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God afar off? ²⁴Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. ²⁵I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ ²⁶How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, ²⁷who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal? ²⁸Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. ²⁹Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”

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 11:17–31; 12:1–3

(Heroes of faith acted when tested, well before Christ appeared in human history.)

¹⁷By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, ¹⁸of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ¹⁹He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. ²⁰By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. ²¹By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. ²²By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.

²³By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. ²⁴By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. ²⁷By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. ²⁸By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.

²⁹By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as if on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. ³⁰By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. ³¹By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ²looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

³Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

ALLELUIA and VERSE Jeremiah 23:29a, 28b

Pastor: Alleluia. Is not My word like fire, declares the Lord?

People: What has straw in common with wheat? Alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL Luke 12:49–56

(Jesus says families will be divided over Him.)

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

People: Glory to You, O Lord.

⁴⁹[Jesus said:] “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! ⁵⁰I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! ⁵¹Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. ⁵²For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. ⁵³They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

⁵⁴He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. ⁵⁵And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. ⁵⁶You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to You, O Christ.

HYMN OF THE DAY: #664 – Fight the Good Fight

SERMON: We Dream Dreams, but God’s Word Is Truth

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 + of the world to come. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH Psalm 119:81; Hebrews 11:19, 22–23

Pastor: Let us pray for ourselves, the Church around the world, and all people in their various circumstances.

Abraham “considered that God was able even to raise [Isaac from] the dead.”

We join our prayers with people who have heard only bad news and ignored God’s promises. Open their ears that they may hear the Good News proclaimed by the Church here and around the world. Grant them opportunity to rely on Your gracious promises, heavenly Father. Hear my prayer, O Lord:

People: My soul longs for Your salvation; I hope in Your word.

Pastor: “Joseph made mention of the exodus of the Israelites,” even while they were enslaved in Egypt.

Let us pray for people who are deprived of justice, who are addicted to drugs and live in destructive communities, and all who are without hope of change. Renew in them, O Lord, a trust in Your promises, and give them relief and change as fits Your gracious plans for them. Hear my prayer, O Lord:

People: My soul longs for Your salvation; I hope in Your word.

Pastor: Moses “was hidden for three months by his parents.”

Support and guide the social agencies and extended families of all those who care for the young and the old, the poor and the sick, whether as professional health care workers or individuals intent on meeting the needs of the less fortunate. Grant them a sense of purpose and calling as they serve You and the people around them in love. Hear my prayer, O Lord:

People: My soul longs for Your salvation; I hope in Your word.

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.
Merciful Lord, cleanse and defend Your Church by the sacrifice of Christ. United with Him in Holy Baptism, give us grace to receive with thanksgiving the fruits of His redeeming work and daily follow in His way; 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.

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.

TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST – Online Church at Home Bulletin