Welcome
Below you will find prayers, songs, readings, and a message to help you experience worship. You can light a candle to remind yourself of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Whether you are alone or with others, we hope that you can feel each other’s presence, and the presence of God, as we find creative ways to worship together, even though we are not in the same building. One good thing about virtual worship is that if you really like a song, you can listen to it again! Do what you need to do to worship God wherever you are.
Announcements & Call to Worship
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Our call to worship is from Micah 6:8.
God 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?
Let’s pray: It is good to be together, God, on these screens, with these people, together listening for your voice, united by your Spirit. In this time of worship
tell us about your kingdom of kindness so that we can seek it. Show us your justice.
We want to walk with you, humbly, closely, daily.
Opening Song
Rest
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I will rest in the promise of God to be with me, I will rest in the knowledge God cares. Though the world and its troubles confuse and disturb me I will rest in the Lord in my prayers.
For the mercies of God are like showers in springtime. Refreshing as rain in my soul. They are more than the stars or the sands of the oceans, They renew me, God’s love makes me whole.
For God came to the earth in the form of a servant When the Word became flesh in our Lord. And He lived and He died on the cross to redeem me, And He rose to make good on His Word.
For the mercies of God are like showers in springtime. Refreshing as rain in my soul. They are more than the stars or the sands of the oceans, They renew me, God’s love makes me whole.
I will sing of the promise of God to be with me, I will sing with the heavenly throng. For the mercies of God come to me without number, Overwhelm me and fill me with song.
For the mercies of God are like showers in springtime. Refreshing as rain in my soul. They are more than the stars or the sands of the oceans, They renew me, God’s love makes me whole.
Prayer of the Day
You are great, O God, and greatly to be praised. You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. Grant that we may believe in you, call upon you, know you, and serve you, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
Reading
Romans 7:15-25a
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15I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. 17But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. 19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, 23but I see in my physical body another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my body. 24Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25aThanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Children’s Moment
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Gospel and Message
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
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[Jesus said:] 16“To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
7‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.’
18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; 19the Son-of-Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by wise deeds.”
25At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal the Father.
28“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Hymn of the Day
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
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What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry ev’rything to God in prayer! Oh, what peace we often forfeit; oh, what needless pain we bear–all because we do not carry ev’rything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged–take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our ev’ry weakness–take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy-laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge–take it to the Lord in prayer. Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer. In his arms he’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.
Apostles’ Creed
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With the whole church, let us 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.
Prayers
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Called into unity with one another and the whole creation, we pray for the church, our nation, and for all who are in need.
We pray for the church around the globe. Where Christians are assembling for worship, protect them from viral infection. Where Christians are worshiping with print and screen, grant them steadfastness in your word. Strengthen those believers who doubt your goodness. Bless pastors, deacons, and committee members as they serve our congregations in this difficult time. Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for the nations. Keep the world from war. Pave the way for just elections. Protect citizens from the designs of autocratic rulers. Uphold our courts. Guide our national and state governments in finding ways to redress the wrongs of racism and to ensure equality for all. Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who are sick and suffering. Console the fearful, feed the hungry, house the homeless, shelter the run-aways. Heal the many who are newly afflicted with the coronavirus, and guide researchers in discovering a vaccine. Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for infants and young children, that they be carefully tended. We pray for teens, that they keep patience throughout the contagion. We pray for school boards, that they find solutions for the fall semester. We pray for the unemployed, that they find jobs. We pray for medical workers, that they remain healthy. We pray for the aged, especially those in care facilities, that they find companionship in your presence. Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray finally for ourselves. Show us that the yoke of faith is easy; may we find our rest in you. Lord, hear our prayer.
We give thanks for those who have died in faith, and at the end, bring us and all your people into your eternal rest. Lord, hear our prayer.
Receive these prayers, O God, for the sake of him who bore the heavy yoke for us, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
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Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us.
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.
Franciscan Sending
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Read this out loud. If you are with other people, take turns reading the parts out loud.
May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.
May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.
And the Blessing of God, who Creates, Redeems, and Sanctifies, be upon you and all you love and pray for this day, and forevermore. Amen.
Sending Song
Day by Day
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Day by day, your mercies, Lord, attend me, bringing comfort to my anxious soul. Day by day, the blessings, Lord, you send me draw me nearer to my heav’nly goal. Love divine, beyond all mortal measure, brings to naught the burdens of my quest; Savior, lead me to the home I treasure, where at last I’ll find eternal rest.
Day by day, I know you will provide me strength to serve and wisdom to obey; I will seek your loving will to guide me o’er the paths I struggle day by day. I will fear no evil of the morrow, I will trust in your enduring grace. Savior, help me bear life’s pain and sorrow till in glory I behold your face.
Oh, what joy to know that you are near me when my burdens grow too great to bear; oh, what joy to know that you will hear me when I come, O Lord, to you in prayer. Day by day, no matter what betide me, you will hold me ever in your hand. Savior, with your presence here to guide me, I will reach at last the promised land.
Blessing
Go forth into the world to serve God with gladness; be of good courage; hold fast to that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honor all people; love and serve God, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thanks be to God.
Dismissal
Go in peace. Christ is with you. Thanks be to God.
Worship Assistants
Music: Lori, Ian
Message: Pastor Kristin
Readers: Dan, Paul, Inara, Satya
Children’s Moment: Maddy Jo
From Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2005 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #22432. New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Hymns reprinted with permission. CC