June 13, 2021 Service – St. Paul's Lutheran Church

Confession and Absolution

901 Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty LSB 901

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, call upon Him in prayer and praise, and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fellowship of this altar, 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. 92:12–15; antiphon: Ps. 92:1

It is good to give thanks | to the Lord,*

to sing praises to your name, | O Most High.

The righteous flourish like the | palm tree*

and grow like a cedar in | Lebanon.

They are planted in the house | of the Lord;*

they flourish in the courts | of our God.

They still bear fruit in | old age;*

they are ever full of | sap and green,

to declare that the Lord is | upright;*

he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness | in him.

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.

Blessed Lord, since You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C Amen.

Sit

Old Testament Reading Ezekiel 17:22–24

²²Thus says the Lord God: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. ²³On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. ²⁴And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.”

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

Epistle 2 Corinthians 5:1–10

¹For we know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ²For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, ³if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. ⁴For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

⁶So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, ⁷for we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

Stand

Alleluia and Verse

Holy Gospel Mark 4:26–34

P The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the fourth chapter.

C Glory to You, O Lord.

²⁶And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. ²⁷He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. ²⁸The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. ²⁹But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

³⁰And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? ³¹It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, ³²yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

³³With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. ³⁴He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

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

577 Almighty God, Your Word Is Cast LSB 577

Sermon: “The Insignificant Mustard Seed” Mark 4:26-34

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.

Offering – placed on the altar.

Closing Collect

A Let us pray.

Lord Jesus Christ, You instituted the office of the public ministry and instructed Your Church to call ministers of Your Word. Having prayed for the guidance of Your Holy Spirit, we have called a pastor,

the Rev. Jared Adam Cooksey, to proclaim Your saving Gospel among us. Assist him to recognize the needs of this congregation and the welfare of Your kingdom and, if it be Your will, grant that he accept the call to serve among us. Hear us for Your own sake, as You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

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.

921 On What Has Now Been Sown LSB 921