Worship Service
Sunday, July 16, 2023, at 10 a.m.
WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS
INVOCATION
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the † Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
Pastor: Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
People: Amen.
Pastor: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(Silence for reflection and self-examination)
Pastor: Most merciful God,
People: We confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.
Pastor: In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for you, and for his sake God forgives you all your sins. To those who believe in Jesus Christ he gives the power to become the children of God and bestows on them the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
GREETING
Pastor: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
People: And also with you.
OPENING HYMN There is Power
Verse 1
Where two or more are gathered in His name
He is there, oh
For all who come who run to Him in faith
He is there
Chorus
There is power in the name of Jesus. There is power, power in His name
There is power, in the name of Jesus. There is power, power in His name
Verse 2
No fear, no lie, can stand against us now. He is here, whoa
The Word has come, to silence every doubt. He is here (Chorus)
Bridge
One name, one name can save. One name, breaks every chain
One name, always. One name, Jesus. One name, one name remains
One name, we will proclaim. One name, always. One name (Chorus)
CCLI Song #7026322 – Lincoln Brewster / Mia Fields; © Integrity’s Praise! Music; For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. CCLI License # 384330
KYRIE
HYMN OF PRAISE
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Lay Leader: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Lay Leader: 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.
People: Amen.
CHILDREN’S CHURCH DISMISSAL
FIRST LESSON Romans 8:1-11
1There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3For 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, 4so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5For 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. 6To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7For 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, 8and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9But 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. 10But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Lay Leader: The word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
VERSE
GOSPEL LESSON Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, beginning with the thirteenth chapter.
People: Glory to you, O Lord.
1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9Let anyone with ears listen!”
18“Hear then the parable of the sower. 19When 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. 20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet 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. 22As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23But 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.”
Pastor: The Gospel of the Lord
People: Praise to you, O Christ.
THE MESSAGE Pastor Abera Hellemo
SONG OF THE DAY Here I Am Lord
Verse 1
These are the days of Elijah; Declaring the word of the Lord.
And these are the days of Your servant Moses; Righteousness being restored.
And though these are the days of great trials; Of famine and darkness and sword,
Still we are the voice in the desert crying; Prepare ye the way of the Lord!
Chorus
Behold He comes, riding on the clouds, Shining like the sun at the trumpet’s call
Lift your voice, it’s the year of Jubilee. And out of Zion’s hill, salvation comes.
Verse 2
And these are the days of Ezekiel, The dry bones becoming flesh
And these are the days of Your servant, David, Rebuilding a temple of praise;
And these are the days of the harvest, The fields are as white in Your world,
And we are the laborers in Your vineyard, Declaring the Word of the Lord. (Chorus)
Bridge
There’s no God like Jehovah! There’s no God like Jehovah!
There’s no God like Jehovah! There’s no God like Jehovah! (Repeat)(Chorus)
CCLI Song # 1537904 – Robin Mark; © 1996 –Song Solutions Daybreak; For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com; CCLI License # 384330
THE APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again 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 OF THE PEOPLE
Each prayer petition will end with –
Lay Leader: Lord in your mercy
People: Hear our prayer.
PEACE
Lay Leader: The peace of the Lord be with you always.
People: And also with you.
Praise Band Unbroken Promise
OFFERTORY PRAYER
Lay Leader: Let us pray. Merciful Father,
People: We offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us—ourselves, our time, and our possessions, signs of your gracious love. Receive them for the sake of him who offered himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
DIALOGUE
Pastor: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Pastor: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them to the Lord.
Pastor: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give him thanks and praise.
PREFACE
Pastor: It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places offer thanks and praise to you, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everliving God. But chiefly we are bound to praise you for the glorious resurrection of our Lord; for he is the true Passover Lamb who gave himself to take away our sin, who by his death has destroyed death, and by his rising has brought us to eternal life. And so, with Mary Magdalene and Peter and all the witnesses of the resurrection, with earth and sea and all their creatures, and with angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
THANKSGIVING
Pastor: Blessed are you, Lord of heaven and earth. In mercy for our fallen world you gave your only Son, that all those who believe in him should not perish, but have eternal life. We give thanks to you for the salvation you have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Send now your Holy Spirit into our hearts, that we may receive our Lord with a living faith as he comes to us in his holy supper.
People: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
WORDS OF INSTITUTION
Pastor: In the night in which he was betrayed, 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.
Again, 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.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Pastor: Lord, remember us in your kingdom, and teach us to pray:
People: 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 DISTRIBUTION:
At All Saints, we practice open communion. If you believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and have been baptized, you are invited to commune. If you are worshiping from home and wish to receive communion from the Pastor, please contact the office at 817-483–1631.
POST-COMMUNION BLESSING
Pastor: The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in his grace.
People: Amen.
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER
Lay Leader: We give you thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us through the healing power of this gift of life; and we pray that in your mercy you would strengthen us, through this gift, in faith toward you and in fervent love toward one another; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.
People: Amen.
BLESSING
Pastor: Almighty God, Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever.
People: Amen.
CLOSING HYMN Your Grace is Enough
Verse 1
Great is your faithfulness oh God,
You wrestle with the sinner’s restless heart
You lead us by still waters into mercy,
And nothing can keep us apart.
Pre-Chorus
So remember your people, remember your children
Remember your promise, oh God. (Chorus 1)
Chorus 1
Your grace is enough; Your grace is enough
Your grace is enough for me.
Verse 2
Great is your love and justice God of Jacob,
You use the weak to lead the strong.
You lead us in the song of Your salvation,
And all your people sing along. (Pre-chorus)(Chorus 1)(Chorus 2)
Chorus 2
Yeah your grace is enough, heaven reaches out to us,
Your grace is enough for me
God I sing, Your grace is enough, I’m covered in Your love,
Your grace is enough for me. For me.
CCLI Song # 4477029 – Matt Maher; © 2003 spiritandsong.com; Thankyou Music; For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com. CCLI License # 384330
SENDING
Pastor: Go in peace. Serve the Lord!
People: Thanks be to God.
Prayer Requests
Praying for Pastor Abera for the release of pressure in his eyes.
Thank God for listening to our prayers and helping in our times of need.
Prayers for the Livingston family who mourn the passing of Sherry’s mom Betty
Prayers for Karla for her mood, patience and perseverance as she fights to come back from a difficult diagnosis and surgery
Prayers for Tran, Barb, Lydia, Steve, James, Colin, Cleo
Prayers of recovery for Glen after knee replacement surgery
Prayers for Leonard who had a stroke
Prayers for Verda who is diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer
Prayers for continued healing & recovery, mental & emotional uplifting for Laurie Becker-Kirk who is battling leukemia.
Prayers for the Stephenson family who mourn the passing of Les
Prayers for Jen & Jake who mourn the passing of their mother Barbara
Prayers for the Becker and Maddox families who mourn Pete’s passing
Praise and thanksgiving for Wayne’s cancer remission
Pray for peace in Ukraine
Our Weekly Bulletin is available online at All Saints Connection.