August 23, 2020 Service – St. Paul's Lutheran Church

Confession and Absolution

644 The Church’s One Foundation LSB 644 sts. 1–5

The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their baptism.

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

C Amen.

P Our help is in the name of the Lord,

C who made heaven and earth.

P If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?

C But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.

P Since we are gathered to hear God’s Word and call upon Him in prayer and praise, let us first consider our unworthiness and confess before God and one another that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, and that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition. Together as His people let us take refuge in the infinite mercy of God, our heavenly Father, seeking His grace for the sake of Christ, and saying: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

C Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen.

P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

Introit Ps. 2:6–7; Ps. 117; antiphon: Ps. 115:18

But we will | bless the Lord*

from this time forth and forevermore. | Praise the Lord!

As for me, I have | set my King*

on Zion, my | holy hill.

I will tell of | the decree:*

The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have be- | gotten you.”

Praise the Lord, all | nations!*

Extol him, all | peoples!

For great is his steadfast | love toward us,*

and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. | Praise the Lord!

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.

Kyrie LSB 204

Gloria in Excelsis LSB 204

Salutation and Collect of the Day

P The Lord be with you.

C And also with you.

P Let us pray.

Almighty God, whom to know is everlasting life, grant us to know Your Son, Jesus, to be the way, the truth, and the life that we may boldly confess Him to be the Christ and steadfastly walk in the way that leads to life eternal; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C Amen.

Sit

Old Testament Reading Isaiah 51:1–6

¹“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,

you who seek the Lord:

look to the rock from which you were hewn,

and to the quarry from which you were dug.

²Look to Abraham your father

and to Sarah who bore you;

for he was but one when I called him,

that I might bless him and multiply him.

³For the Lord comforts Zion;

he comforts all her waste places

and makes her wilderness like Eden,

her desert like the garden of the Lord;

joy and gladness will be found in her,

thanksgiving and the voice of song.

⁴“Give attention to me, my people,

and give ear to me, my nation;

for a law will go out from me,

and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.

⁵My righteousness draws near,

my salvation has gone out,

and my arms will judge the peoples;

the coastlands hope for me,

and for my arm they wait.

⁶Lift up your eyes to the heavens,

and look at the earth beneath;

for the heavens vanish like smoke,

the earth will wear out like a garment,

and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;

but my salvation will be forever,

and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

Epistle Romans 11:33—12:8

³³Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

³⁴“For who has known the mind of the Lord,

or who has been his counselor?”

³⁵“Or who has given a gift to him

that he might be repaid?”

³⁶For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

¹I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

³For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ⁶Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; ⁷if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

Stand

Alleluia and Verse

Holy Gospel Matthew 16:13–20

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

C Glory to You, O Lord.

¹³Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

P This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C Praise to You, O Christ.

Apostles’ Creed LSB 207

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.

Sit

645 Built on the Rock LSB 645

Sermon

Stand

Prayer of the Church

Lord’s Prayer LSB 209

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.

Closing Collect

A Let us pray.

O Gracious Father, You led Your holy apostles to ordain ministers for the proclamation of Your Word and the faithful administration of the Sacraments of Christ. Grant to this congregation the guidance of the Holy Spirit to choose a suitable pastor according to Your will for the blessing of Your Church in this place; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

C Amen.

Benedicamus and Benediction

A Let us bless the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

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.

818 In Thee Is Gladness LSB 818

Announcements

Starting in August the “Sons of Thunder” will be collecting returnable bottles and cans on the last Sunday (next Sunday) of the month. The boys will be at church between services for your convenience to collect the donations. Thank you!

To Our Daughters of Faith – After months of not getting together, I’m excited to let you know that on Saturday, September 12^th, from 2:00-3:30pm, we will be having an outside with social distancing meeting. We will be studying the Fruit of the Spirit “Joy,” making ice cream sundaes, and a time for fellowship and prayer. Please RSVP Judy Byrne. And, of course, invite your friends!!!

Pastor Mongeau will be on vacation beginning Monday, August 24th to Wednesday, September 2nd. There will be NO Bible Study on August 24th or August 31st and NO Wednesday Night Service on August 26th or September 2nd. He will be back in the church office on Thursday, September 3rd. President Timothy Yeadon will be preaching on Sunday, August 30th.