CALL TO WORSHIP - PSALM 65:1, 9-13
You are to be praised, O God, in Zion; to you shall vows be fulfilled.
To you, the one who answers prayer, to you all flesh shall come.
You visit the earth and water it abundantly; you make it very plenteous;
the river of God is full of water. You prepare the grain, for so you provide for the earth.
You drench the furrows and smooth out the ridges;
with heavy rain you soften the ground and bless its increase.
You crown the year with your goodness, and your paths overflow with plenty.
May the fields of the wilderness be rich for grazing, and the hills be clothed with joy.
May the meadows cover themselves with flocks, and the valleys cloak themselves with grain;
let them shout for joy and sing!
GATHERING SONG “Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty" 533
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
Blessed be the holy Trinity, + one God who gives us a new birth into a living hope,
who raises us with Christ from death who fills us with the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let us repent of our sin and claim the promise of God.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Living God, we confess before you and one another our futile ways,
our pursuit of perishable things, our own part in crucifying the Lord Jesus.
Forgive us, O God; renew the face of the earth; and give us the assurance that you have rescued us from the power of sin and made us alive in the Spirit forever. Amen.
Christ suffered for sins once for all in order to bring you to God. Now you are God's people; now you have received mercy. In the name of the risen + Lord Jesus I declare to you that your sins are forgiven. Lay aside guilt, put away shame, for you are chosen and precious in God's sight. Live in the marvelous light of Christ Amen.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray. 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. Amen.
THE FIRST LESSON: Isaiah 55:10–13
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the LORD for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.
THE SECOND LESSON: Romans 8:1–11
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For 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, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For 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. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For 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, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But 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. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If 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.
Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL HYMN “Lord, Let My Heart Be Good Soil” #512
THE GOSPEL FOR THE DAY: Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23
The holy gospel according to Saint Matthew. Glory to you, O Lord.
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!" Hear then the parable of the sower. When 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. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet 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. As 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. But 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."
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON “Listen!” Pastor Phil Wold
HYMN OF THE DAY “Open Your Ears O Faithful People” #519
THE APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's 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 to the dead.
On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of
the Father, and he will come 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.
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
THE SIGN OF PEACE IS SHARED
The peace of Christ be with you always. And also with you.
THE OFFERING AND OFFERING PRAYER
Let us pray. Blessed are you, O God, maker of all things. Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts: our selves, our time, and our possessions. Use us, and what we have gathered, in feeding the world with your love, through the one who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
THE LORD'S PRAYER
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
BLESSING
SENDING SONG “How Firm a Foundation” # 796
SENDING
Go in peace. Share the harvest.
Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE "Light Dawns on a Weary World" 726
I thought I would post this beautiful song as a postlude today. God Bless. PRW
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