TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

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

August 28, 2022

Because of Jesus, We Are in the Front Row for the Banquet

“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,” Jesus proclaims, but “he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). For your hope is in the name of the Lord, who humbled Himself unto death on the cross and was exalted in His resurrection. So, are you humbled by His cross, and “at the resurrection of the just,” He will say to you, “Friend, move up higher” (Luke 14:10, 13–14)? By His grace, the King will honor you “in the presence of a noble,” where your eyes will gaze upon the Prince, His dearly beloved Son (Prov. 25:7). As He has dealt so graciously with you, “do not neglect to do good and to share what you have” (Heb. 13:16), and “do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers” (Heb. 13:2). Humble yourself and exalt your neighbor.

+ Preparation +

OPENING HYMN: #902 -Lord Jesus Christ, Be Present Now

INVOCATION

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

People: Amen.

OPENING SENTENCES Psalm 124:8; 130:3–4

Pastor: Our help is in the name of the Lord,

People: who made heaven and earth.

Pastor: If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

People: But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

Pastor: The Spirit of God calls forth sacrifices pleasing to God: brotherly love, hospitality to strangers, care for all in need, faithfulness in marriage and the family, fearless joy in the Lord, right faith, and right worship. Let us ask God to forgive our sinful neglect of faith’s power to have free course in our life.

People: Almighty God, we confess to You that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed. We have not loved You with our entire being, and we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. Alone we remain without hope, health, or help. Have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen.

Pastor: May the God of peace equip you with everything good that you may do His will. In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, 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 75:1–2, 6, 9; antiphon: v. 7

It is God who executes judgment,
            putting down one and lifting up another.
We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near.
            We recount your wondrous deeds.
At the set time that I appoint
            I will judge with equity.
For not from the east or from the west
            and not from the wilderness comes lifting up.
But I will declare it forever;

I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

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.

It is God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.

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 Jesus, Good Shepherd of the sheep, give to us the power of Your Spirit and equip us with everything good that we may do Your will in lives that are pleasing in Your sight; for You live and reign with the Father and the same Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING Proverbs 25:2–10

(The way of humility)

²It is the glory of God to conceal things,
            but the glory of kings is to search things out.
³As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,
            so the heart of kings is unsearchable.
⁴Take away the dross from the silver,
            and the smith has material for a vessel;
⁵take away the wicked from the presence of the king,
            and his throne will be established in righteousness.
⁶Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence
            or stand in the place of the great,
⁷for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
            than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.
What your eyes have seen
            ⁸do not hastily bring into court,
for what will you do in the end,
            when your neighbor puts you to shame?
⁹Argue your case with your neighbor himself,
            and do not reveal another’s secret,
¹⁰lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,
            and your ill repute have no end.

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 13:1–17

(Sacrifices pleasing to God)

¹Let brotherly love continue. ²Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. ³Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. ⁴Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. ⁵Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁶So we can confidently say,

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

⁷Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. ⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. ⁹Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. ¹⁰We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. ¹¹For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. ¹²So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. ¹³Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. ¹⁴For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. ¹⁵Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. ¹⁶Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

¹⁷Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

ALLELUIA and VERSE Luke 14:11

People: Alleluia. Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL Luke 14:1–14

(Parables of the wedding feast and the great banquet)

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

People: Glory to You, O Lord.

¹One Sabbath, when [Jesus] went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. ²And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. ³And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” ⁴But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. ⁵And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” ⁶And they could not reply to these things.

⁷Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, ⁸“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, ⁹and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. ¹⁰But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. ¹¹For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

¹²He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. ¹³But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to You, O Christ.

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.

HYMN: #842 – Son of God, Eternal Savior

SERMON:

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

After each petition:

Pastor: … Lord, in Your mercy:

People: hear our prayer.

At conclusion:

Pastor: Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy, through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

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 Lord of grace and mercy, teach us by Your Holy Spirit to follow the example of Your Son in true humility, that we may withstand the temptations of the devil and with pure hearts and minds avoid ungodly pride; through the same Jesus Christ, 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.

TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST – Online Church at Home Bulletin