Prelude Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Words and music by Fred Rogers
I have always wanted to have a neighbor just like you!
I've always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you.
Welcome & Announcements
*Confession & Forgiveness
Gracious God, we thank you for making one human family of all the peoples of the earth and for creating all the wonderful diversity of cultures.
Enrich our lives by ever-widening circles of fellowship and show us your presence in those who differ most from us.
From the bondage of racism that denies the humanity of every human being and the prejudices within us that deny the dignity of those who are oppressed, Lord set us free: Lord, have mercy.
From racism that blinds oppressors to the destruction caused by the spirit and practice of racial injustice, Christ set us free: Christ, have mercy.
From the racism that will not recognize the work of your Spirit in other cultures: Lord set us free: Lord, have mercy.
Forgive those of us who have been silent and apathetic in the face of racial intolerance and bigotry, both overt and subtle, public and private.
And take away the arrogance and hatred that infect our hearts.
Break down the walls that separate us.
And help us to find that unity that is the fruit of righteousness and will enable us to become your beloved community.
May we celebrate our unity, made whole in our diversity.
Forgive us for our inability to let our “old selves” die to the world.
We acknowledge that we participate in structures that are inherently racist, and yet we so often do nothing to remedy it. Show us we fail when we judge others according to the color of their flesh. God, who is rich in mercy, loves us even when we were dead in sin, and made us alive together with Christ.
By grace you have been saved. In the name of +Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Almighty God strengthen you with power through the Holy Spirit, that Christ may live in your hearts through faith.
Amen.
*Gathering Hymn Let Streams of Living Justice Flow
*Prayer of the Day
Holy God, you confound the world’s wisdom in giving your kingdom to the lowly and the pure in heart. Give us such a hunger and thirst for justice, and perseverance in striving for peace, that in our words and deeds the world may see the life of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
Old Testament Reading Micah 6:1-8
1 Hear what the Lord says: Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. 2 Hear, you mountains, the case of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has a case against his people, and he will contend with Israel. 3 “O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me! 4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5 O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised, what Balaam son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the Lord.” 6 “With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” 8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?
Word of God, Word of Life. Thanks be to God.
Psalm 15 (read responsively)
1 Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? Who may abide upon your holy hill?
2 Those who lead a blameless life and do what is right, who speak the truth from their heart;
3 they do not slander with the tongue, they do no evil to their friends; they do not cast discredit up- on a neighbor.
4 In their sight the wicked are rejected, but they honor those who fear the Lord. They have sworn upon their health and do not take back their word.
5 They do not give their money in hope of gain, nor do they take bribes against the innocent. Those who do these things shall never be overthrown.
The Epistle Lesson 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
18 The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of the proclamation, to save those who believe. 22 For Jews ask for signs and Greeks desire wisdom, 23 but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to gentiles, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
26 Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to abolish things that are, 29 so that no one might boast in the presence of God. 30 In contrast, God is why you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Word of God, Word of Life. Thanks be to God.
*Gospel Acclamation
Rejoice | and be glad,* for your reward is | great in heaven. (Matt. 5:12)
*Gospel Matthew 5:1-12 Glory to you O Lord
1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he began to speak and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon Pastor Kurt Christenson
*Hymn of the Day Wade in the Water
*Prayers of Intercession
Response to each petition: Merciful God, receive our prayer.
*Apostle’s Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s 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 to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
*Exchange of Peace
The peace of the Lord be with you. And also with you.
Offering Give online using the QR code
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Text “Give” to (866) 870-5222
Offering Music Beyond A Dream David Yantis
If you looked beyond a dream to a land where all men stood with pride defending their right to be free, and you found beyond a dream there were those with their hearts born of hope, while struggling had found unity, why, then, can’t that land be ours?
- Offering Prayer
Let us pray: God of majesty, no eye has seen, no ear has heard what you have prepared for those who love you, yet in this meal you reveal the wideness of your mercy. Use what we have gathered to feed us with the reign of God come near, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
*The Great Thanksgiving
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise.
*Preface
It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our Savior Jesus Christ. By the leading of a star he was shown forth to all nations; in the waters of the Jordan you proclaimed him your beloved Son; and in the miracle of water turned to wine he revealed your glory. And so, with all the choirs of angels,
with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven,we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
*Sanctus
*Eucharistic Prayer
On the night our Lord Jesus was betrayed, …
Remembering, then, his death and resurrection, we take this bread and cup, giving you thanks that you have made us worthy to stand before you and to serve you as your priestly people. Send your Spirit upon these gifts of your church; gather into one all who share this bread and wine; fill us with your Holy Spirit to establish our faith in truth, that we may praise and glorify you through your Son Jesus Christ; through whom all glory and honor are yours, almighty Father, with the Holy Spirit, in your holy church, both now and forever.
Amen.
*The Lord’s Prayer
Lord, remember us in your Kingdom and teach us to pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.
Agnus Dei
Communion Distribution
Communion Hymn What Does the Lord Require of You?
*Communion Blessing and Prayer
Radiant God, we have seen your glory in the face of Jesus Christ. In the sacrament of his body and blood you have drawn us to your heart. Send us from this table with delight, that our lives may reflect the beauty of your love, and bear witness to all we have seen and heard, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
*Sending Hymn The Spirit Sends Us Forth to Serve
*Blessing & Dismissal
May the triune God, who has put a new song in your mouth and tuned your heart for praise bless you now and forever. Amen.
Go in peace. Do justice. Love mercy. Thanks be to God.
Postlude Beautiful Savior arr. Composite by Bill Engel with
David Cherwien and Diane Bish
