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Sunday, June 20, 2021

Fourth Sunday of Pentecost

Now the Feast and Celebration with Communion

GATHERING

Introduction

We continue our series of Sundays with the theme, “Relying on the transforming power of God.” For most of those Sundays, we will focus on the Apostle Paul’s letter known as Second Corinthians, written to the church in the city of Corinth. For many of us, this is not a familiar book in the Bible, and yet it is filled with many treasures, hope-filled verses and theological images exploring the ways in which human hearts can be touched and re-shaped by God’s love in Jesus. As we gather at the Lord’s Table, we receive the mercy of God in Christ our Lord, “broken and shed for you,” and we are sent from our Communion to be signs of God’s mercy for the world.

Prelude

Welcome and Announcements

(Please Stand)

Gathering Hymn: (cranberry) #413 Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty!

1. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!

Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.

Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!

God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

2. Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,

casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;

cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,

which wert and art, and evermore shalt be.

3. Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,

though the eye of sinfulness thy glory may not see,

only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,

perfect in pow’r, in love and purity.

4. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!

All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea.

Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!

God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

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Prayer of the Day

P: O God, you are the source of life and the ground of our being. By the power of your Spirit bring

healing to this wounded world and raise us to the new life of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior

and Lord.

C: Amen

Hymn (cranberry) #167 Now the Feast and Celebration

~Refrain~

Now the feast and celebration, all of creation sings for joy to the God of life and love and freedom; praise and glory forever more.

1. Now is the feast of the Lamb once slain, whose blood has freed and united us to be one great people of God.

~Refrain~

2. Power and riches, wisdom and might, all honor and glory to Christ forever.

~Refrain~

3. For God has come too dwell with us, to make us people of God; to make all things new.

~Refrain~

(Please be seated)

WE HEAR GOD'S WORD

First Reading: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17, 3:1-6a

The Apostle Paul uses two images for the power of the gospel: 1) it is like a pleasant-smelling fra-grance 2) it is like a letter, communicating the welcoming love and abundant life of God in his Son, Jesus. God makes us competent to be ministers of gospel.

14But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. 15For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16to the one a fra-grance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17For we are not peddlers of God's word like so many; but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.

1Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Surely, we do not need, as some do, letters of rec-ommendation to you or from you, do we? 2You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; 3and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5Not that we are competent of our-selves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, 6who has made us compe-tent to be ministers of a new covenant.

R The Word of God, word of life.

C Thanks be to God.

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(please stand)

Gospel Acclamation (cranberry) pg 14

Alleluia, Alleluia. Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia!

P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the nineth chapter.

C Glory to you, O Lord.

Gospel: Matthew 9:9-13

Jesus was criticized for eating with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus reminds us that mercy is to be at the heart of our faith in God.

9As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. 10And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”

P: The Gospel of the Lord

C: Praise to you, O Christ

D:

(Please be seated)

Children’s Message – see our St. John Facebook page

Message Living letters of Christ Pastor John Omans

Message Song (cranberry) #588 There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy

1. There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea; there’s a kindness in God’s justice which is more than liberty.

There is no place where earth’s sorrows are more felt than up in heav’n. There is no place where earth’s failings have such kindly judgement giv’n.

2. There is welcome for the sinner, and a promised grace made good; there is mercy with the Savior; there is healing in his blood.

There is grace enough for thousands of new worlds as great as this; there is room for fresh creations in that upper home of bliss.

3. For the love of God is broader than the measures of our mind; and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.

But we make this love too narrow by false limits of our own; and we magnify its strictness with a zeal God will not own.

4. ‘Tis not all we owe to Jesus; it is something more than all: greater good because of evil, larger mercy through the fall.

Make our love, O God, more faithful; let us take you at your word, and our lives will be thanksgiving for the goodness of the Lord.

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(Please Stand)

NICENE CREED

We believe in one God,

The Father, the Almighty,

Maker of heaven and earth,

Of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

The only Son of God,

Eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, Light from Light,

True God from true God,

Begotten, not made,

Of one Being with the Father;

Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation

He came down from heaven,

Was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary

And became truly human.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

He suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again

In accordance with the scriptures;

He ascended into heaven

And is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,

and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

Who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

Who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,

Who was spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

And the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Prayers

P: Lord, in your mercy

C: Hear our prayer

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Peace

P The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C And also with you.

P We share Christ's peace with each other.

Offering Invitation (spoken by Pastor)

(please be seated)

(Offering may be placed in offering plates near exits)

THANKSGIVING

Stewardship Minute

“These are the gifts of God for the people of God” – gifts of mercy and love, gifts of life and breath, gifts of movement and voices and abilities, gifts of provision and abundance and ‘more than enough.’ As we say today in our offering prayer: “All creation is God’s.” It means that God is the source of all things good – all that we have and all that we are. We are sent forth this morning, as we are each week, to share all that God has given us and all that God has entrusted to our care, for sake of the world. Thanks be to God!

Offering Prayer

P: God of goodness and growth, all creation is yours, and your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens. Water and word, wine, and bread: these are signs of your abundant grace. Nourish us through these gifts, that we might proclaim your steadfast love in our communities and in the world, through Jesus Christ, our strength, and our song.

C: Amen.

The Great Thanksgiving

Sing

Presider: The Lord be with you Congregation : And also with you.

Presider: Lift up your hearts. Congregation: We lift them to the Lord.

Presider: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Congregation: It is right to give God thanks and praise.

P: It is our duty and delight…. We praise your name and join their unending hymn:

Sanctus (cranberry) page 191 Holy, Holy, Holy

Sing

Holy, holy, holy are you, God of power and might

Heaven and earth are filled with your glory.

Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is the One who comes in your name.

Hosanna in the highest, hosanna in the highest!

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Words of Institution

P: You are indeed holy, gracious and merciful God; everything is filled with your glory. We

give you thanks for your promise and presence which have sustained the faithful in this and

every generation. Above all, we give you thanks for Jesus, born of Mary, who in word and

deed announced your gentle rule of justice, reconciliation and peace.

On the night of his betrayal our Lord Jesus took bread and gave thanks; broke it, and gave

it to his disciples, saying:

Take and eat: this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.

After supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying:

This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness

of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me. Remembering his command to love one anoth-

er, his life and death, his resurrection and ascension we pray for his coming again, even as

we cry: Amen! Come Lord, Jesus!

Sing

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

P: Send now, we pray, your Holy Spirit, that all of your promises may come to us and your

whole creation. Amen! Come, Holy Spirit!

Sing

Amen. Come, Holy Spirit.

Amen. Come, Holy Spirit.

P: This we pray through Jesus Christ, our Savior and our friend

Sing

Through Christ, with Christ, in Christ, in the unity of the Spirit,

All glory and honor is yours, O God, now and forever. Amen.

P Make us bold, merciful God, to address you as our Abba as we pray.

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The Lord’s Prayer

C 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.

Communion

(All baptized Christians are invited to come to the Lord's Table. All Children who haven't had in-

struction are invited to come for a blessing. They're asked to fold their hands. Children who are

receiving communion please extend your hands. Grape juice is available. Please say “grape juice”

to the server).

Gluten Free wafers are available upon request.

COVID-19 instructions: Please come down the center aisle, pulpit side first, then lectern side.

Please maintain social distancing. Receive the bread and wine and proceed to the side aisle,

where you may remove your mask and eat/drink the bread and wine. For those with mobility

issues, the bread and wine will be available at a side station near the side aisle.

Lamb of God

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Invitation to Communion

P These are the gifts of God for the people of God.

Please come to the table, all is ready.

Hymns During Communion

Hymns (cranberry) #781 Children of the Heavenly Father

1. Children of the heav’nly Father safely in his bosom gather;

nestling bird nor star in heaven such a refuge e’er was given.

2. God his own doth tend and nourish, in his holy courts they flourish.

From all evil things he spares them, in his mighty arms he bears them.

3. Neither life nor death shall ever from the Lord his children sever;

unto them his grace he showeth, and their sorrows all he knoweth.

4. Though he giveth or he taketh, God his children ne’er forsaketh:

his the loving purpose solely to preserve them pure and holy.

Hymns (cranberry) #879 For the Beauty of the Earth

1. For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies,

for the love which from our birth over and around us lies:

~Refrain~

Christ, our God, to thee we raise this our sacrifice of praise.

2. For the wonder of each hour of the day and of the night,

hill and vale and tree and flow’r, sun and moon and stars of light:

~Refrain~

3. For the joy of ear and eye, for the heart and mind's delight,

for the mystic harmony linking sense to sound and sight:

~Refrain~

4. For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child,

friends on earth and friends above; for all gentle thoughts and mild:

~Refrain~

5. For each perfect gift of thine, peace on earth and joy in heav’n;

for thyself, best gift divine, to our world so freely giv’n:

~Refrain~

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Hymn (cranberry) #640 Our Father, by Whose Name

1. Our Father, by whose name all parenthood is known,

in love divine you claim each fam’ly as your own.

Bless mothers, fathers, guarding well, with constant love as

sentinel, the homes in which your people dwell.

2. O Christ, yourself a child within an earthly home,

with heart still undefiled to full adulthood come:

our children bless inn ev’ry place that they may all be-hold your face and,

knowing you, may grow in grace.

3. O Holy Spirit, bind our hearts in unity

and teach us how to find the love from self set free;

in all our hearts such love increase that ev’ry home, by

this release, may be the dwelling place of peace.

Post Communion Blessing and Prayer

P: God of the welcome table, in this meal we have feasted on your goodness and have been united by your presence among us. Empower us to go forth sustained by these gifts so that we may share your neighborly love with all, through Jesus Christ, the giver of abundant life.

C: Amen.

Blessing

P: Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. God, the creator, +Jesus, the Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the comforter, bless you and keep you in eternal love.

C: Amen.

(Please stand)

Sending Hymn (cranberry) #726 Light Dawns on a Weary World

1. Light dawns on a weary world when eyes begin to see all people’s dignity.

Light dawns on a weary world: the promised day of justice comes.

~Refrain~

The trees shall clap their hands; the dry lands, gush with springs;

the hills and mountains shall break forth with singing!

We shall go out in joy, and be led forth in peace,

as all the world in wonder echoes shalom.

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2. Love grows in a weary world when hungry hearts find bread and children’s dreams are fed.

Love grows in a weary world: the promised feast off plenty comes.

~Refrain~

The trees shall clap their hands; the dry lands, gush with springs;

the hills and mountains shall break forth with singing!

We shall go out in joy, and be led forth in peace,

as all the world in wonder echoes shalom.

3. Hope blooms in a weary world when creatures, once forlorn, find wilderness reborn.

Hope blooms in a weary world: the promised green of Eden comes.

~Refrain~

Sending

P: Go in peace. Christ is with you.

C: Thanks be to God.

Postlude

PLEASE WAIT FOR USHERS TO EXIT YOU OUT OF PEWS.

Leaders in the Service

Pastor: John Omans

Organist: Al Tonn

Ushers: Mary Conway & Julie Pederson

Communion Prep: Linda Sandborg, Marsha Vollbrecht

Communion Bread Makers: Marcia Bartz & Rhonda Behsmann

Acolyte: Mia Mitchell

Reader: Bruce Boyce

Council Person: Sue Michaels

Videographer: Gyles Randall

Facebook Live:

Thank you to all these members of St. John for offering their time and talents

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