Manuscript of the Online Service and Message for June 28

+ June 28, 2020 +

INVOCATION

P    In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C    Amen.

Psalm 103:1–13

1Bless the Lord, O my soul,
   and all that is within me,
   bless his holy name!
2Bless the Lord, O my soul,
   and forget not all his benefits,
3who forgives all your iniquity,
   who heals all your diseases,
4who redeems your life from the pit,
   who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5who satisfies you with good
   so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6The Lord works righteousness
   and justice for all who are oppressed.
7He made known his ways to Moses,
   his acts to the people of Israel.
8The Lord is merciful and gracious,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9He will not always chide,
   nor will he keep his anger forever.
10He does not deal with us according to our sins,
   nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
   so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12as far as the east is from the west,
   so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13As a father shows compassion to his children,
   so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

GLORIA IN EXCELSIS                                                                                                                              LSB 204

C    1 To God on high be glory

    And peace to all the earth;

    Goodwill from God in heaven

    Proclaimed at Jesus’ birth!

    We praise and bless You, Father;

    Your holy name, we sing—

    Our thanks for Your great glory,

    Lord God, our heav’nly King.

2 To You, O sole-begotten,

    The Father’s Son, we pray;

    O Lamb of God, our Savior,

    You take our sins away.

    Have mercy on us, Jesus;

    Receive our heartfelt cry,

    Where You in pow’r are seated

    At God’s right hand on high—

3 For You alone are holy;

    You only are the Lord.

    Forever and forever,

    Be worshiped and adored;

    You with the Holy Spirit

    Alone are Lord Most High,

    In God the Father’s glory.

    “Amen!” our glad reply.

P    Let us pray.

O God, the protector of all who trust in You, without whom nothing is strong and nothing is holy, multiply Your mercy on us that, with You as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

 C   Amen.

HOLY GOSPEL

P    The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the fifteenth chapter.

C    Glory to You, O Lord.

   1Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear [Jesus]. 2And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

   3So he told them this parable: 4“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

   8“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

P    This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C    Praise to You, O Christ.

APOSTLES’ CREED

C    I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

     maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His 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 into hell.

     The third day He rose again from the dead.

     He ascended into heaven

     and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

     From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

     the holy Christian Church,

          the communion of saints,

     the forgiveness of sins,

     the resurrection of the body,

     and the life T everlasting. Amen.

SERMON

Luke 15:7

So Jesus says there is joy in heaven. May God forgive us for our lack of joy here on earth. We have struggles, suffering and pain. We have disappointments, regrets and frustrations. We have sin and death. But the thing is, we let all that get to us. We let life here on earth suck away our joy. Let’s keep remembering, let’s keep reminding each other what Jesus says, “There’s joy in heaven.”

God is in heaven. We are on earth. Heaven is so far away that we can’t see it from here. Heaven is so close that God sees us clearly, constantly. He knows everything about you. He has counted the hairs on your head.

That idea may seem incredible. What does God care about little ole me? The way Jesus tells it, God is very interested in people. Especially people like you. God is very interested in sinners like you. O sinner, that’s what you need to get out of this Gospel lesson today. God is interested in you. He’s pulling for you.

Now, when I call you a sinner, it’s not that I want to insult you. I’m simply identifying you, in terms of God’s word. It’s the way you should identify yourself. For your own good, for your own salvation, you need to identify yourself as the one who would be lost without the help of the Lord. You’re the lost one and your dear Jesus found you, picked you up, carried you, because He loved you.

These little parables that Jesus is telling here in Luke 15 are supposed to make you admit that you are the lost one. You are the straying sheep who has lost its way. You are the lost coin that has fallen from where you were meant to be, fallen from your special place -- dropped from the hand of your Lord and Master.

Because of your sins of thought, word and deed -- what you have done and what you have left undone -- because of that, you are that one sheep out of a hundred who has gotten where you shouldn’t be. You are the lost sheep, you are the lost coin and it’s your fault.

Now, you don’t have to admit that. Lots of people don’t. Lots of very good, upstanding, very religious and proper people would never admit that about themselves. The Pharisees and the Scribes were not about to admit their own sins, even as they were so ghastly appalled by the sinfulness of others.

So you can be like them. You don’t have to admit your sins, You don’t need to try and imagine that you are the lost sheep, in need of some special care. Then you don’t need to bother yourself with any of this. You don’t need the cross of Jesus or His resurrection. You don’t need His baptism or absolution. You don’t need His feeding, His guiding, His protecting. And you certainly don’t need His joy in heaven over some sinner who repents.

There are others who need all that. The miscreants on the streets; the dirty, loud ruffians who cause trouble; those who don’t know well enough to stay out of trouble. If it’s that kind of people who seem to be the lost, and this is about them, then there’s nothing here for you.

But if you know that you are flesh and blood, if you know that are mortal, if you know your weaknesses, and inabilities, your guilt and your shame, if you’ve seen what it’s like to live as if it didn’t matter whether you were lost or found, if you want to say nothing more than “Lord, have mercy on me. Christ, have mercy on me. Lord, have mercy on me a sinner.” Then Jesus has a word for you.

There’s joy in heaven, says Jesus. And He gives a very specific reason for the joy: One sinner, any sinner, repents. There’s joy when the lost is found, when the stray is brought back home, when the doubter believes, when the sinner is forgiven.

Up there in heaven. Down here on earth. God is in heaven. We are here on earth. Except for Jesus. He’s different. He’s the only one who has come down from heaven and lived on earth. The angles in heaven will from time to time come down for a moment, to give a message, or fight a demon, or help us from danger. But Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High, is the only one who came from heaven, to dwell and to abide on this earthly sphere. He came here, because here is where the sinners are. He was anointed to save sinners, you and all sinners. And so He came here, with some news about what is going on in heaven.

There’s joy in heaven. And Your Lord Jesus, wants you to partake with Him and the angels in that eternal joy.

There’s joy in heaven, says Jesus. Every time a sinner repents and believes God’s forgiveness. There is joy in heaven. True joy. Real joy. Sinfulness is not as enjoyable as it is cracked up to be. That’s often the temptation, isn’t it? It’s like you and I got the short end of the stick. Everyone else is having fun. We are in the doldrums of boring, tedious work and life. We have to love God and love our neighbor. Meanwhile all the sinners are eating and drinking and laughing it up. The temptation to sin is that there’s more fun in darkness than in light. More enjoyment will come out of evil than good. Doing our righteous duty will always be a burden, sin is exciting and fun. Oh, what silly lies our human nature will fall for.

The shepherd who is good at his job, has the determination to leave all else behind and go find the one lost sheep. The dear woman who is missing a silver coin will be relentless in her search until she has found it. Jesus the Son of God in heaven has come for you with relentless determination to rescue you. All He wanted was to pull you out of the mess you were in and get you back home. He would not rest if you were lost in the temptations and sins of human nature and life on this earth. He would not sit back and let you perish in the lostness of death. He came to us and found us.

Now He continually guides His people, His flock. He treasures you. He from heaven has joy about you who repent and believe in Him. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

Pastor:     Let us pray.

Almighty and eternal God, worthy to be held in reverence by all the children of men, we give you humble and hearty thanks for the countless blessings which without any merit or worthiness on our part you have bestowed on us.

We praise you especially that you have preserved for us your saving Word and the holy sacraments.  And we implore you, O Lord, to grant and preserve to your holy Church throughout the world purity of doctrine and faithful pastors to preach your Word with power.  Help all who hear the Word rightly to understand and truly to believe it.  Send laborers into your harvest, and open the door of faith to those who do not know you.  In mercy remember the enemies of your Church and grant them repentance to life.  Protect and defend your Church in all tribulation and danger.  Strengthen us and all fellow Christians to set our hope fully on the grace revealed in Christ, and help us to fight the good fight of faith that in the end we may receive the salvation of our souls.

Bestow your grace on all nations of the earth.  Bless especially our country and its inhabitants and all who are in authority.  Let your glory dwell in our land that mercy and truth, righteousness and peace may everywhere abound.  We commend to you the care of all our schools and ask you to grant that our children may grow in useful knowledge and Christian virtue and bring forth wholesome fruits of life.

Graciously defend us from all calamity by fire and water, from war and pestilence, from scarcity and famine, and from every other evil.  Protect and prosper everyone in his rightful calling, and let all useful arts flourish among us.  Be the God and Father of the widow and the fatherless, the helper of the sick and needy, and the comforter of the forsaken and distressed.

As we are strangers and pilgrims on earth, help us by true faith and a godly life to prepare for the world to come, doing the work you have given us to do while it is day, before the night comes when no one can work.  And when our last hour comes, support us by your power, and receive us into your heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People:    Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER

BENEDICTION

524 HOW SWEET THE NAME OF JESUS SOUNDS

1     How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
    In a believer’s ear!
It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds,
    And drives away our fear.

2     It makes the wounded spirit whole
    And calms the heart’s unrest;
’Tis manna to the hungry soul
    And to the weary, rest.

3     Dear name! The rock on which I build,
    My shield and hiding place;
My never-failing treasury filled
    With boundless stores of grace.

4     O Jesus, shepherd, guardian, friend,
    My Prophet, Priest, and King,
My Lord, my life, my way, my end,
    Accept the praise I bring.

5     How weak the effort of my heart,
    How cold my warmest thought!
But when I see Thee as Thou art,
    I’ll praise Thee as I ought.

6     Till then I would Thy love proclaim
    With ev’ry fleeting breath;
And may the music of Thy name
    Refresh my soul in death!

Text: Public domain

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Divine Service, Setting Four from Lutheran Service Book

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV^® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2018 Concordia Publishing House.