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PRELUDE
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
TEMPLE TALK: Vision Team Members,
Kristine Brzozowski & Donna Clark
RINGING OF THE BELL
Please stand as you are able.
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
Blessed be the holy Trinity, one God, whose compassion endures
forever. Amen.
Let us confess our sin to God.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Compassionate God, we confess to you all our sins. Our burden
is heavy, and we cannot free ourselves. In your mercy, call us
back to you. Your yoke is easy and your burden is light. Restore
us to dwell in your peace. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying
heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” In the name of God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, your sins are forgiven. Rest in God’s
love. Amen.
GATHERING HYMN “God of the Fertile Fields”
GREETING
The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the
communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
And also with you.
KYRIE
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray. Almighty God, we thank you for planting in us the
seed of your word. By your Holy Spirit help us to receive it with
joy, live according to it, and grow in faith and hope and love,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
Please be seated.
WORD
FIRST READING Isaiah 55:10-13
God’s word to Israel’s exiles is as sure and effective as never-failing
precipitation. Their return to the Holy Land in a new exodus is
cheered on by singing mountains and by trees that clap their hands.
10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12 For you shall go out in joy
and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall burst into song,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle,
and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,
for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.
PSALM 65 Psalm 65: 1-2, 7-13
1 You are to be praised, O God, in Zion;
to you shall vows be fulfilled.
2 To you, the one who answers prayer,
to you all flesh shall come.
Refrain
7 You still the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves, and the clamor of the peoples.
8 Those who dwell at the ends of the earth will tremble at
your marvelous signs;
you make the dawn and the dusk to sing for joy.
9 You visit the earth and water it abundantly; you make it very
plenteous; the river of God is full of water.
You prepare the grain, for so you provide for the earth.
10 You drench the furrows and smooth out the ridges;
with heavy rain you soften the ground and bless its increase.
Refrain
11 You crown the year with your goodness,
and your paths over-flow with plenty.
12 May the fields of the wilderness be rich for grazing,
and the hills be clothed with joy.
13 May the meadows cover themselves with flocks, and the valleys
cloak them- selves with grain; let them shout for joy and sing.
Refrain
SECOND READING Romans 8:1-11
There is no condemnation for those who live in Christ. God sent
Christ to accomplish what the law was unable to do: condemn sin
and free us from its death-dealing ways. The Spirit now empowers
proper actions and values in our lives and gives us the promise of
resurrected life.
1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you
free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For God has done what the
law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in
the likeness of sinful flesh and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in
the flesh, 4 so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in
us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the
things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their
minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 To set the mind on the flesh is
death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For this
reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not
submit to God’s law—indeed, it cannot, 8 and those who are in the
flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit
of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ
does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, then the body is
dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in
you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your
mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.
CHILDREN’S SERMON Pastor Chris Steubing
Please stand as you are able for the gospel reading.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
GOSPEL Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
The holy gospel according to Matthew.
Glory to you, O Lord.
In Matthew’s gospel, both Jesus and his disciples “sow the seed” of
God’s word by proclaiming the good news that “the kingdom of
heaven is near.” Now, in a memorable parable, Jesus explains why
this good news produces different results in those who hear.
1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the
sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat
and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he
told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out
to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds
came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where
they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they
had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched,
and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell
among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold,
some sixty, some thirty. 9 If you have ears, hear!”
18 “Hear, then, the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the
word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes
and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown
on the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one
who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet such
a person has no root but endures only for a while, and when trouble
or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately
falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the
one who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the lure of
wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23 But as for what was
sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands
it, who indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold,
in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ
SERMON Pastor Chris Steubing
HYMN OF THE DAY “Lord, Let My Heart Be Good Soil” Hymn #512
Please stand as you are able.
THE APOSTLES’ CREED
Together with the whole church, we confess our faith:
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.
THE PRAYERS
...God of grace, hear our prayer.
SHARING THE PEACE
The peace of Christ be with you always.
And also with you.
Let us share the peace with one another.
OFFERING
OFFERING MUSIC “Light Dawns on a Weary World” Choir Anthem
Please stand as you are able as the offering is brought forward.
OFFERING PRAYER
Let us pray. Blessed are you, O God, maker of all things.
Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts:
our selves, our time, and our possessions. Use us, and what we
have gathered, in feeding the world with your love, through the
one who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer (Sung)
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 debts, as we forgive
our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
BENEDICTION
Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and
forever.
SENDING HYMN “Sent Forth by God’s Blessing” Hymn #547
DISMISSAL
Heaven has come near. Go, share the good news!
Thanks be to God. Alleluia!
POSTLUDE
Church Staff and today’s worship leaders:
Pastor—Rev. Chris Steubing
Visitation Pastor—Rev. Judi Miller
Our Reader—Julie Champion
Our Liturgist—Claire Roberts
Organist/Pianist—Jimmy Cheung
Choir and Hand Bell Director—Wendy Kuenemann
Children & Youth Ministry Intern—Ameya Steubing
Office Administrator—Trista Stubblefield
Liturgy and songs reprinted by permission of One License.net License # - A-744251. “God of the Fertile Fields” Text: Georgia Harkness, Music:
Felice de Giardini, Text © 1955, ren3 1983 The Hymn Society, admin Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream, IL 60188. “Light Dawns on a
Weary World” Arr. Bradley Ellingboe, 2017 GIA Publications. Mary Louise Bringle-Words. William P. Rowen- Tune.
Calendar In July
July 13th, 20th & 27th—Church office closes at 12:30 PM on Mondays this month
July 17th, 24th & 31st— 9:00 AM Fun & Faith Fridays!