8 Pentecost July 18

GATHERING SONG “For the Fruit of All Creation” # 679

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS

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

Amen

In Christ's dying and rising, we are reborn; we are no longer dead in our sin.

Let us return to the shepherd and guardian of our souls, confessing our sin.

Silence for reflection and self-examination.

Almighty God,

we confess before you our preference for things that pass away,

our silence in the face of injustice, our reluctance to accept the freedom of forgiveness.

Make us whole again; renew in us the grace of baptism;

and set our minds on the things that are above.

“All the prophets testify about Jesus that everyone who believes in him

receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

God, who loves you dearly, forgives you all your sin,

raises you to new life in Jesus Christ, and renews you by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Let us pray.

O God, powerful and compassionate, you shepherd your people, faithfully feeding and protecting us. Heal each of us, and make us a whole people, that we may embody the justice and peace of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

SACRAMENT OF HOLY BAPTISM Josephine Dietz Aurelie Dudrey pg. 227

Welcome

Let us welcome the newly baptized.

We welcome you into the body of Christ and into the mission we share;

Join us in giving thanks and praise to God and bearing God’s creative and

redeeming word to all the world.

THE PEACE IS SHARED

The peace of Christ be with you always. And also with you.

THE FIRST LESSON: Jeremiah 23:1–6

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”

PSALM 23

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil; for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

THE SECOND LESSON: Ephesians 2:4-10, 14, 19-22

God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ —by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God — not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.

THE GOSPEL FOR THE DAY: Mark 6:30–34, 53–56

The holy gospel according to Saint Mark. Glory to you, O Lord.

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.

SERMON “He Had Compassion for Them” Pastor Phil Wold

HYMN OF THE DAY “Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service” # 712

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

THE OFFERING AND OFFERTORY

OFFERING PRAYER

Let us pray.

Risen Christ, receive these gifts, with our hopes, dreams, and prayers.

Reveal yourself to us in the breaking of the bread,

that our eyes may be opened to see your presence among us,

and our lives filled with the new life of your resurrection.

Amen

THE LORD'S PRAYER

BLESSING

SENDING SONG “We Praise You O God” # 870

SENDING

Go in peace. Share the good news. Alleluia, alleluia!

Thanks be to God. Alleluia, alleluia!

POSTLUDE

Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #26385.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.