TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

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October 10, 2021

Christ Jesus Is the One and Only Good by Whom You Inherit Eternal Life

The Lord is the Author and Giver of life, as well as a consuming fire of judgment against all “who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate” (Amos 5:12). “Seek the Lord and live,” therefore, by hating what is evil, loving what is good and doing what is just and right, according to His Word. “And so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you” (Amos 5:6, 14–15). Understand that “no one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). The life that you are called to live is found neither in your “great possessions,” nor in your good works, but only in Christ Jesus. Let go of “all that you have” and follow Him, even unto death, and “you will have treasure in heaven” (Mark 10:21–22). Do not harden your heart against His voice, nor turn away from Him, lest you “fall away from the living God.” Rather, hear and heed His call, cling to His Word, and “exhort one another every day,” that you may remain steadfast in Christ and “firm to the end” (Heb. 3:12–15).

+ PREPARATION +

OPENING HYMN: #915 – Today Your Mercy Calls Us

INVOCATION

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

People: Amen.

OPENING SENTENCES Psalm 123:1, 3a; 124:8; 126:3

Pastor: To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens!

People: Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us.

Pastor: Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

People: The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

Pastor: Let us humble ourselves before God, confess our sins to Him, and ask His gracious forgiveness.

People: We now confess to God Almighty, before the whole company of heaven and before one another, that we are sinful human beings by nature and by deed. We have not always put God first. We have used His holy name in ways that do not honor Him. We have been careless in our devotion and have not always honored those in authority over us. We have done violence to others in word and deed and have not always kept our thoughts, words, and deeds pure and honorable. We have taken what is not ours and have spoken that which is not helpful or true. We have wished for that which is not rightfully ours and have not put the best construction on all things and on all people. We pray God to have mercy on us, to forgive us all our sins, and to bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Pastor: The almighty and merciful Lord grant us pardon, forgiveness, and remission of all our sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I 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 90:12–17 (spoken responsively by verse)

¹²So teach us to number our days

that we may get a heart of wisdom.

¹³Return, O Lord! How long?

Have pity on your servants!

¹⁴Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

¹⁵Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

and for as many years as we have seen evil.

¹⁶Let your work be shown to your servants,

and your glorious power to their children.

¹⁷Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

and establish the work of our hands upon us;

yes, establish the work of our hands!

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.
Summon our hardness of heart, Lord God, that we may love all whom You love. Continue transforming our lives into invitations that summon people to the love of Christ, so that Your full blessing would come to all for whom He died, through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING Amos 5:6–7, 10–15

(Seek the Lord and live.)

⁶Seek the Lord and live,
            lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
            and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,
⁷O you who turn justice to wormwood
            and cast down righteousness to the earth! . . .

¹⁰They hate him who reproves in the gate,
            and they abhor him who speaks the truth.
¹¹Therefore because you trample on the poor
            and you exact taxes of grain from him,
you have built houses of hewn stone,
            but you shall not dwell in them;
you have planted pleasant vineyards,
            but you shall not drink their wine.
¹²For I know how many are your transgressions
            and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe,
            and turn aside the needy in the gate.
¹³Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time,
            for it is an evil time.
¹⁴Seek good, and not evil,
            that you may live;
and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you,
            as you have said.
¹⁵Hate evil, and love good,
            and establish justice in the gate;
it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
            will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL Psalm 91:11; 103:1

He will command His angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and all that is within me, bless His holy name!

EPISTLE Hebrews 3:12–19

(A warning against the danger of evils in life)

¹²Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. ¹³But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. ¹⁵As it is said,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

¹⁶For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? ¹⁷And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? ¹⁹So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

VERSE Galatians 6:2

Alleluia. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL Mark 10:17–22

(Jesus has a conversation with a rich young man.)

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

People: Glory to You, O Lord.

¹⁷As [Jesus] was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” ²¹And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ²²Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to You, O Christ.

**HYMN OF THE DAY: #575 – *My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less***

SERMON: What are you looking for?

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

After each petition:

Pastor: … Lord, in Your mercy:

People: hear our prayer.

At conclusion:

Pastor: … through 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.
Lord Jesus Christ, whose grace always precedes and follows us, help us to forsake all trust in earthly gain and to find in You our heavenly treasure; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

BENEDICTION Numbers 6:24–26

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! Serve the Lord!

People: Thanks be to God.

TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST – Online Church at Home Service Bulletin