Prelude Come Thou Font of Every Blessing
arr. by James Kasen
“Bind my wandering heart to Thee. | Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love; | Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.” - Robert Robinson 1758
Welcome & Announcements
*A Confessional Litany and Lament Commemorating the Nine Who Were Slain at Mother Emanuel AME Church
They were doing what we are called to…Now we are grieved, once again in pain, burning and anguished, lamenting the horror of evil unleashed. And so we cry out,
Have mercy, O God, have mercy on us.
Sorrow and heartache have come to us. Death and mourning have visited us. We feel far from you, O God, and distant from one another. And so we cry out,
Have mercy, O God, have mercy on us.
Evil besets us in our land…And so we cry out,
Have mercy, O God, have mercy on us.
The privileged of our nation have benefited from practices…And so we cry out,
Have mercy, O God, have mercy on us.
Tribalism has led to the denial of your presence, O God…live out of “white privilege,” denying the fullness of your presence in all people. And so we cry out,
Have mercy, O God, have mercy on us.
Assaults born of greed and murder…And so we cry out,
Have mercy, O God, have mercy on us.
Open our eyes, O God, open our hearts. Open our ears, O God, open our minds…And so we cry out,
Have mercy, O God, have mercy on us.
With the help of your mercy and grace...May it be so. And the people said, “Amen.”Amen.
Gathering Hymn Why Should I Feel Discouraged (His Eye Is On The Sparrow)
*Prayer of the Day
Holy and righteous God, you created us in your image. Grant us grace to contend fearlessly against evil and to make no peace with oppression. Help us, like those of generations before us who resisted the evil of slavery and human bondage in any form and any manner of oppression. Help us to use our freedoms to bring justice among people and nations everywhere, to the glory of your Holy name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Confessing Racism on Juneteenth: A Lament for the Church
congregation seated
As church, we confess the sin of racism and condemn racist rhetoric and the ideology of white supremacy.
God, have mercy. God, have mercy.
As church, we confess, repent, and repudiate the times when this church has been silent in the face of racial injustice. God, have mercy. God, have mercy.
Racism is deeply ingrained within the ELCA, a predominantly white church… God, have mercy. God, have mercy.
As church, we declare that the enslavement of black bodies and the removal of indigenous peoples established racism in the United States, a truth this nation and this church have yet to fully embrace. God, have mercy. God, have mercy.
Rooted in slavery, racism is manifested…God, have mercy.
God, have mercy.
As church we lament the institutional racism of discriminatory treatment …God, have mercy. God, have mercy.
Confessions are empty promises without meaningful actions...We trust that God can make all things new. Amen.
Old Testament Reading Jeremiah 20:7-13
7 O Lord, you have enticed me, and I was enticed; you have overpowered me, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me. 8 For whenever I speak, I must cry out; I must shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. 9 If I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. 10 For I hear many whispering: “Terror is all around! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” All my close friends are watching for me to stumble. “Perhaps he can be enticed, and we can prevail against him
and take our revenge on him.” 11 But the Lord is with me like a terrifying warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. 12 O Lord of hosts, you test the righteous; you see the heart and the mind; let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have committed my cause. 13 Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.
Word of God, Word of Life. Thanks be to God.
Psalm 69
7 Surely, for your sake I have suf- | fered reproach,
and shame has cov- | ered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to | my own kindred,
an alien to my | mother’s children.
9 Zeal for your house has eat- | en me up;
the scorn of those who scorn you has fall- | en upon me.
10 I humbled my- | self with fasting,
but that was turned to | my reproach. R
11 I put on | sackcloth also,
and became a by- | word among them.
12 Those who sit at the gate mur- | mur against me,
and the drunkards make | songs about me.
13 But as for me, this is my prayer to you, at the time you have | set, O Lord:
“In your great mercy, O God, answer me with your un- | failing help.
14 Save me from the mire; do not | let me sink;
let me be rescued from those who hate me and out of | the deep waters. R
15 Let not the torrent of waters wash over me, neither let the deep swal- | low me up;
do not let the pit shut its | mouth upon me.
16 Answer me, O Lord, for your | love is kind;
in your great compassion, | turn to me.
17 Hide not your face | from your servant;
be swift and answer me, for I am | in distress.
18 Draw near to me | and redeem me;
because of my enemies de- | liver me. R
The Epistle Lesson Romans 6:1b-11
1b Should we continue in sin in order that grace may increase? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, so we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For whoever has died is freed from sin. 8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Word of God, Word of Life. Thanks be to God.
*Gospel Acclamation
*Gospel Matthew 10:24-39 Glory to you O Lord
Jesus said to the twelve: 24 “A disciple is not above the teacher nor a slave above the master; 25 it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!
26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered and nothing secret that will not become known. 27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32 “Everyone, therefore, who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, 36 and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. 37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon Pastor Kurt Christenson
*Hymn of the Day How Firm a Foundation
*Prayers of Intercession
Response to each petition: God of grace, hear 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
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Offering Music
Andante How Firm a Foundation
Arr. by Hal Hobson
*Offering Prayer
Loving God, we offer at your table the gifts of our hearts. Help us take heart in you and share freely of your love, so that all creation can taste your abundance. We ask this in the name of Jesus, through the Spirit abiding with us now and forever. Amen.
*The Great Thanksgiving
*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;…who on this day overcame death and the grave, and by his glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life. 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
You are indeed holy, gracious and merciful God; everything is filled with your glory…
…Remembering his command to love one another, his life and death, his glorious resurrection and ascension, we pray for his coming again even as we cry:
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Send now, we pray, your Holy Spirit, that all of your promises may come to us and your whole creation. Amen. Come, Holy Spirit. Amen. Come, Holy Spirit.
This we pray through Jesus Christ, our Savior and our friend.
*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 verses 1,3, and final
Communion Distribution
Communion Hymn
Come with Me for the Journey Is Long
Text and music: South African traditional
Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant us peace)
*Communion Blessing and Prayer
Compassionate God, through the gifts of bread and wine our hearts are filled with the abundance of your love. Strengthen us that we, through this holy meal, may share your love freely, as you have shared with us. We ask this in the name of Jesus, through the Spirit nourishing us now and forever. Amen.
*Sending Hymn Lift Every Voice and Sing
*A Sending/Charge to the People
“Go out into the world in peace; have courage; hold onto what is good; return no one evil for evil; strengthen the faint hearted; support the weak, and help the suffering; honor all people; love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Dismissal
Heaven has come near. Go, share the good news!
Thanks be to God.
Postlude Reprise Lift Every Voice and Sing
Music- J. Rosamond Johnson 1873-1954
