Manuscript for the online service on Trinity 10

 Online Service for August 16, 2020

 

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

C    Amen.

 

Introit                                                                           Psalm 55

I call to God, and he | hears my voice;*

    he redeems my soul in | safety.
Cast your burden | on the Lord,*
    and he will sus- | tain you.
Give ear to my prayer, | O God,*
    and hide not yourself from my plea for | mercy!
My heart is in anguish with- | in me;*
    the terrors of death have fallen up- | on me.
Fear and trembling come up- | on me,*
    and horror over- | whelms me.
But I | call to God,*
    and the Lord will | save me.
Glory be to the Father and | to the Son*
    and to the Holy | Spirit;
as it was in the be- | ginning,*
    is now, and will be forever. | Amen.
I call to God, and he | hears my voice;*
    he redeems my soul in | safety.
Cast your burden | on the Lord,*
    and he will sus- | tain you.

 

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.

 

Collect of the Day

 

P    Let us pray.

O God, You declare Your almighty power above all in showing mercy and pity. Mercifully grant us such a measure of Your grace that we may obtain Your gracious promises and be made partakers of Your heavenly treasures; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

 C    Amen.

 

Old Testament Reading                                                                    Jeremiah 7:1–11

    1The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2“Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Lord. 3Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. 4Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’

    5“For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, 6if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, 7then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever.

    8“Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. 9Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, 10and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations? 11Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord.”

 

A    This is the Word of the Lord.

C    Thanks be to God.

 

Epistle                                                                                                      Romans 9:30—10:4

    30What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33as it is written,

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
    and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

    1Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

 

A    This is the Word of the Lord.

C    Thanks be to God.

 

Holy Gospel                     

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

    41When [Jesus] drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

    45And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 46saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”

    47And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, 48but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

 

P    This is the Gospel of the Lord.

 

Apostles’ Creed

 Sermon

 Jesus said, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.” Luke 19:46

 God created us. Now, He wants to keep in touch with us. It pleases our heavenly Father, to hear from us and talk with us.

 He has a history of coming from heaven, stooping down from heaven, into this world and into the lives of his loved ones, so He can talk to them and hear them as they pray to him. He was there with his people and there for his people in the Tabernacle on the peninsula of Sinai. He was there for his loved ones in the temple of Jerusalem. He came and was present with all humanity in the manger at Bethlehem and He was present for all people on the cross of Golgotha. He comes down and is present in the water of baptism and the bread and the wine. He delights to be there for His dear children. This is not because He gets lonely and needy up in heaven. But rather, God is love. It is His nature to love. He establishes fellowship with His loved ones so that they can hear Him and He can hear them.

 In Jeremiah’s time, this love and this fellowship of his presence was located at the temple in Jerusalem. The Lord had King Solomon build a temple in Jerusalem where his glory could dwell. It was a beautiful structure, a wonder of the world. Massive white granite stones formed the walls. Cedars of Lebanon provided wood for the ceiling and inner structures. Gold and jewels trimmed it all. It was an inviting home for the Old Testament believers to come, to hear the word of the Lord, to offer their sacrifices and to pray, in this glorious house of prayer.

 But as the centuries went on, people began to forget why they were there. They were there because of God’s gracious invitation. God wanted them there, so He could be in communion with His loved ones. But the folks came and went and kept going through the motions, but their hearts were far from their Lord.

 The Lord asks His people, “9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations?”

 The true worship of God is impossible without repentance. So when we come into the Divine Service we begin with the confession of sins. And even more basically, when we come into the Christian faith we start with baptism for the forgiveness of sins. Only then, after repentance and the forgiveness of our sins,  are we ready to stand in God’s presence, hear His instruction, and offer Him our prayers and praise.

 Jesus, in His last days on earth, came into the temple of Jerusalem. He saw the business going on there and declared that what was written in Jeremiah was true again. They were making the House of Prayer into a den of robbers.

 There is a clear lesson to those who come to the House of the Lord without repentance and faith. Simply put, this won’t always be here for you. Jesus said, “They will not leave one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:44) That old temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans just a few years later.

 The Lord abandoned his temple, because his people had abandoned their faithful worship there. But mercifully He doesn’t abandon us all completely. He made a new temple. The new temple is not built with stones of granite, lumber and gold. The new temple is in the flesh of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. St. Paul talks about this in Romans 9 and quotes an Old Testament promise. “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

 

Central to the Old Testament faith was the presence of God in the temple. Central now to the New Testament faith we have, is the flesh of Christ, where God is present for us. Our faith allows us to trust that when we go through the motions of coming to church, singing the hymns and liturgy, hearing the word of Christ, eating the bread and drinking the wine, we are in the presence of our God. He is stooping down from His throne on high, to come near to us, to have communion with us, to love us.

 In Psalm 92 we pray this way,

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
    to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
    and your faithfulness by night,

 This is our worship and Christian life, having come to know in Jesus that the Lord Almighty has come to us, to be with us, to love us, we worship Him. We give thanks and sing praises. We worship him in his house when we can. We worship him in the morning and by night, whenever we call on Him in prayer, sing praises in our hearts, declaring his steadfast love and faithfulness.

Amen.

 

Prayer of the Church

P    Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.

 Gracious heavenly Father, keep us, Your baptized children, as the apple of Your eye and hide us in the shadow of Your wings. Turn us from all false doctrine, whereby Your holy name is blasphemed and profaned. Give ear to our prayers for mercy, and forgive our sins for the sake of Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. Lord, in Your mercy,

C    hear our prayer.

 P    Defend Your Church throughout the world, O Lord. Give strength to our brothers and sisters in Christ who experience persecution, and turn the hearts of our enemies, that they would be brought to repentance and faith and joined to the fellowship of all believers. Lord, in Your mercy,

C    hear our prayer.

 

P    Give us hearts to recognize that all that we have comes from Your gracious provisions, and keep us faithful when we have more than we need, that we would be generous in our tithes and offerings and in our assistance of those who need help. Lord, in Your mercy,

C    hear our prayer.

 

P    Bless the relief agencies of our Synod and all other groups who provide relief and aid to those in need. Let compassion and mercy be their guiding light, and give wisdom and discernment to those who administer these agencies, that their use of resources would be wise and beneficial. Lord, in Your mercy,

C    hear our prayer.

 

P    Bless President Trump; Governor Reynolds; all those who make and administer our laws; and all judges, that they might serve our country faithfully and make decisions with wisdom. Defend all who serve in our military, and give courage to both them and their families. Lord, in Your mercy,

C    hear our prayer.

 

P    Support and strengthen those who are sick or suffering [including _____________]. In the midst of their trials, keep them always focused upon Christ and the everlasting hope they have in Him, and, if it be Your will, restore them to physical health and strength. Lord, in Your mercy,

C    hear our prayer.

 

P    Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

C    Amen.

 

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.

 

 

Benediction

P    The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look upon you with favor and T give you peace.

C    Amen.

 

427 In the Cross of Christ I Glory

1      In the cross of Christ I glory,
    Tow’ring o’er the wrecks of time.
All the light of sacred story
    Gathers round its head sublime.

 

2      When the woes of life o’ertake me,
    Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me;
    Lo, it glows with peace and joy.

 

3      When the sun of bliss is beaming
    Light and love upon my way,
From the cross the radiance streaming
    Adds more luster to the day.

 

4      Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure
    By the cross are sanctified;
Peace is there that knows no measure,
    Joys that through all time abide.

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.