The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday – August 25, 2024
also the Fifteenth Sunday of the Pentecost Season
Good King Josiah
Finding and Relying on God’s Word
There’s a story about a man who loved old books. He met an acquaintance who told him that he had just thrown away a Bible that had been stored in the attic of his ancestral home for generations. “I couldn’t read it, because it was in German,” the friend explained. “I think somebody named Guten-something had printed it.” “Not Gutenberg!!!!” the book lover exclaimed in horror. “Why that Bible was one of the first books ever printed…..a Gutenberg copy just sold for over two million dollars!” However, his friend remained unimpressed and unperturbed. “Well, mine wouldn’t have brought much more than a dollar. It was all marked up. Some guy named Luther had scribbled all over it in German.”
The man didn’t have an appreciation of what he had. Neither did the Jewish people in our Old Testament Lesson/Sermon Text for today. They had “lost” the Word of God, not only by not listening to it and by refusing to obey it (because they preferred idolatry to the worship of the true God), but also by so thoroughly neglecting the Scriptures that they physically lost (in the inner recesses of the Temple) the one copy they had of it….and no one cared!
No one cared, that is……Until Josiah’s reformation took place…..and, in particular, until Josiah ordered a renovation of the Temple in Jerusalem as a part of his reforming work. It was during that renovation that the Scriptures were re-discovered. And, once they were found, Josiah knew what to do. (And so should you and I every day!). Josiah demonstrated repentance over the nation’s collective failure to know and follow God’s Word….and He put God’s Word into practice in his own life and in the lives of the people of Judah to the very best of his God-given abilities, so that his and their faith in and faithfulness to the LORD could grow….Can we do any less today?
Josiah’s remarkable and impressive story is told in two places in the Bible, primarily in our Old Testament Lesson/Sermon Text, 2 Kings 22-23 and 2 Chronicles 34-35. When you read both accounts of his life, the details are similar but reading both will give you a more complete perspective on his life of faith and faithfulness before the LORD.
One of the most important lessons we can learn from Josiah was that he started right and finished right. Our Sermon text tells us this about Josiah’s character and his commitment to the LORD: “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed the ways of his father David completely, not turning aside to the right or the left.” I love that description about Josiah. Now, if this was all the Bible ever told us about Josiah, that would be more than enough to confirm for us that he was truly a believer in God and an heir of everlasting life in heaven. What was so impressive about this man was his dedication to following God with ALL his heart. And it was a desire that existed in him already at the tender age of eight years old, when he ascended to Judah’s throne, due to the death of his unbelieving father, Amon. And although Josiah passed away at what we would call the young age of thirty-nine, God’s Word tells us that he never wavered in his commitment to the LORD. Spiritually-speaking, he didn’t just start out well; he finished well!
Second……Josiah’s heart was inclined to the Word of God. He used it! He believed it! He lived it! One of the most important parts of Josiah’s story has to do with his response when the lost Book of God’s Law was finally found in the temple and subsequently read to him. This happened when he was twenty-six years old. 2 Kings 22:11 tell us how he responded: “When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. Josiah’s response was one of robe-ripping repentance, and it was all because he had been confronted with the truth of God’s Word. It made him aware of how far off the bullseye of faithfulness to the LORD he and the entire nation of Judah actually were. He was trying to be godly…..but was doing it without all God’s guidelines.
How do you react when you’re confronted daily with those thoughts, opinions, words, or behaviors that are contrary to what God requires from you in His Word? Personally, I have a genuine fear that the “Christian church” today is progressively moving in a direction away from true repentance……where instead of our being people who mourn, grieve, weep, and repent over sin, too many people – who call themselves Christians – have become far too comfortable trying to find excuses or reasons to justify those sins and then continue to commit them. This was not at all the kind of attitude that filled Josiah’s heart when he first listened to the Law of God. There were no excuses whatsoever…..Josiah repented and, as God-enabled him, he worked from that point forward to conform his thoughts, words and actions to God’s will as expressed in His Holy Word. We would all do well to immerse ourselves in God’s Word on a daily basis…..and our faith would be blessed immensely, just as Josiah’s was .
And, finally, Josiah’s repentance inspired a reformation in Judah. God’s Word led Josiah and his people to a real repentance, which resulted in a vastly more godly change in their behavior. Now, even before the lost Word of God was rediscovered in the Temple, Josiah was a believer in the one true God, which he proved by the reforms he had undertaken, including by the renovation of the temple – where the Word of God was rediscovered. And yet, when he was confronted with the totality of God’s Word, Josiah recognized that there was so much more that He needed to do and believe……so much more change that had to take place in his heart and life, so that he could be more faithful to God’s (instead of his own) will. It was the Law of God that convicted Josiah of his sin and moved him to repent….the same Law of God that you and I need to know and to follow, and that can lead us to regularly repent of all our sins and be more faithful to our LORD every day of our lives. Josiah’s repentance and his commitment to greater obedience and faithfulness motivated him not only to change his own ways, but also to change the ways of the nation of Judah.
As I think about who Josiah was, there is so much more that we could say about him. However, as you prepare to worship the LORD this morning, I want you to leave with this thought: Josiah is proof you can remain faithful to God throughout your life, no matter what is going on around you. It would be easy for us to attribute Josiah’s faithfulness to what he learned from his father, Amon. Regrettably, Amon wasn’t faithful to God, and neither was Josiah’s grandfather, King Manasseh. Yet their godless, bad example didn’t adversely influence, or deter Josiah from his faith in the Savior-God. By God’s grace Josiah believed in the true God, relied on His Word, and faithfully served the LORD all the days of his life.
Finally, even if any and everyone else in our lives should fall away……as God enables us, and as we stay connected to His Word, the LORD will ensure that you and I remain faithful to Him, trusting in Christ Jesus alone, perfect, crucified, risen, reigning, and returning for us. And as we do, we can be sure that one day, we’ll be able to meet Josiah in heaven and join him – as well as all heaven’s Saints and God’s angels – in worshiping and praising the one, true God of our salvation for all eternity.
Today’s Other Scripture Lessons and Readings
Our Psalm Reading for this morning comes from the same Psalm as our Children’s Lesson, Psalm 119. It’s the longest chapter in the Bible, and from one end to the other it speaks about the Word of God, about its value in the life of the believer, and of every believer’s commitment to upholding and obeying what God teaches us there. In our Children’s Lesson, we’ll talk about the reliability of God’s Word as a Spiritual guide for us through the darkness of this world and into eternal glory, through faith in Christ our Savior.
In our Gospel Lesson for today we find Jesus, early in His public ministry, visiting the temple in Jerusalem. He was appalled by the unSpiritual, disrespectful activity taking place there. The Temple had been turned from a house of worship into a business center. In righteous indignation, He overturned the tables of the moneylenders and drove out the livestock they were selling. He emphasized that the Temple was supposed to be house of prayer and worship. In that sense, his activity that day followed somewhat in the pattern of Josiah, who also sought to cleanse the Temple and restore it to its original purpose as a place of worship, sacrifice and prayer to the LORD.
Our Summer Service/Sermon Series
In mid-June, with the story of Lot’s awful choice (Genesis 13), we began a summer-long worship and sermon series on “Lesser Known Stories and Lessons from the Bible.” Over the Sundays that have followed, we looked at the story of Jethro’s Fatherly Advice to Moses (Exodus 18) to handle his weariness by focusing on praising God, and also by asking others to help him. Next we considered “the Story of the 12 Spies, and How the Majority is Often Wrong” (Numbers 13-14). Since then we looked at Korah’s Failed Coup against Moses and the LORD (Numbers 16); Baalam’s Talking Donkey (Numbers 22); The Day the Sun Stood Still (Joshua 10); An Example of God’s Grace in David’s dealings with Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9); A Little Girl’s Witness to Naaman Brings About Amazing Blessings (2 Kings 5); and (last Sunday) the Story of Elisha’s Guardian Angels (2 Kings 6).
Today we’re considering the story of Good King Josiah, and how that Eight Year Old Led a Religious Reformation in Judah (2 Kings 22-23). In the weeks left for this sermon/service series, we’ll study Belteshazzar’s Mysterious Hand-Writing On The Wall (Daniel 5); Paul’s Bold Message on Mars Hill (Acts 17); and, The Man Who Fell Asleep in Church – and Died (Acts 20).
The portions of God’s Word used in this worship flyer have been taken from The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version Copyright 2019, The Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission Music and lyrics, as needed, are used with permission via OneLicense.net #A712831
Pre-Service Prayer O Lord God, Almighty Creator, from Whom every good and perfect gift comes, You have bountifully blessed me across the course of my life. You have preserved me in Your Word. You have provided for my bodily needs. You have protected me from spiritual harm and have kept me in the true Christian faith. For your abundant goodness to me, I humbly praise and thank You. In the days and years that might lie ahead for me, I implore You to continue to bless me with Your abiding presence, Your Fatherly protection, and Your guidance in all areas of my life. I submit myself to Your gracious will, with the confidence that You will use me, as Your humble servant, in whatever ways will serve to further Your glory and Your kingdom. Bless and enrich my faith as I hear Your Word today, and receive my heart-felt praises and generous, first-fruits offerings, in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ, Your Son, my Savior and Lord. It is in His name that I pray. Amen.
Prayer upon entering the sanctuary Pre-service Music
We Praise Our God
Welcome and Introduction to Worship
The Invocation
We make our beginning
In the name of the Father
Who created and preserves this world and every one of us,
and Who gave His Son into death for us
and raised Him in glory on the third day;
And of the Son,
Who became fully human in order to be our Savior-Substitute,
Who laid down His life only to take it up again on the third day,
Who rules over all things from heaven for the good of His Church,
and Who will return in glory on the Last Day to deliver that Church;
And of the Holy Spirit
through Whom Christ was made alive,
Who has worked and sustains saving faith in our hearts,
Who lives in us now through the Word,
and Who will one day give life to our mortal bodies.
Amen.
The Preparatory Psalm Psalm 119:33-40
P: Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes. Then I will guard it to the end.
C: Give me understanding, and I will guard your law. + I will keep it with all my heart.
P: Make me walk on the path of your commandments, for I take pleasure in it.
C: Direct my heart toward your testimonies + and not toward material gain.
P: Keep my eyes from looking at worthless things. Give me life
according to your ways.
C: Confirm your sayings to your servant, + so that you may be feared.
P: Take away my disgrace which I dread, for your judgments are good.
C: How I long for your precepts! + Give me life in your righteousness.
after which the Congregation will be seated for
The Opening Hymn Hymn 221 “Blessed Jesus, At Your Word”
1 Blessed Jesus, at your Word We are gathered all to hear you.
Let our hearts and souls be stirred Now to seek and love and fear you,
By your teachings, sweet and holy, Drawn from earth to love you solely.
2 All our knowledge, sense, and sight Lie in deepest darkness shrouded
Till your Spirit breaks our night With the beams of truth unclouded.
You alone to God can win us; You must work all good within us.
3 Gracious Savior, good and kind, Light from Light, from God proceeding,
Open now our heart and mind; Help us by your Spirit’s pleading.
Hear the cry your people raises; Hear and bless our prayers and praises.
4 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Praise to you and adoration!
Grant that we your Word may trust, Confident of our salvation,
While we here below must wander, Till we sing your praises yonder.
Following the hymn, the Congregation will rise
We Make Confession Of Our Sins To God
Pastor God, our Heavenly Father, invites us to come into His presence and to worship Him with humble and penitent hearts. Therefore, let us now turn to Him, acknowledging our sinfulness and seeking His forgiveness for all our sins.
Congregation Holy and merciful Father, I confess that I am by nature sinful and that I have disobeyed You in my thoughts, words, and actions; I have done what is evil in Your sight and have failed to do what is
good. For this I know that I deserve Your punishment, both now and for eternity. But I am truly sorry for all my sins, and trusting in the perfect life and innocent death of my Savior, Jesus Christ, I plead: God have mercy on me, a sinner.
Pastor Our gracious Lord and Master has shown us His mercy: He has given His one and only Son to save us from all our sins. And now, carrying out my office as a called servant of Christ, and according to His command
and authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. May the peace of God rest upon all of you. Amen.
In joyful response to this reassurance of God’s love and forgiveness for us in Christ, please join me now as we sing the praises of our gracious and majestic Lord:
“Majesty” written by Jack Hayford, Rocksmith Music,
used with permission, CCLI # 1366699
Majesty, worship His majesty.
Unto Jesus, be all glory, honor and praise.
Majesty….Kingdom authority, flow from His throne,
unto His own, His anthem raise.
So exalt – lift up on high, the name of Jesus.
Magnify, come glorify, Christ Jesus the King.
Majesty, worship His majesty. Jesus Who died.
Now glorified. King of all Kings.
The Prayer For This Morning
O Almighty God, + Only You can change us + from people whose affections and actions are selfish and evil, + into people who want to love and do the things which You command. + Please give us all the faith to confidently believe + what You promise us in Your Word; + so that, in the face of the many changes that take place + in this world in which we live, + our hearts and souls will remain firmly fixed + on You and Your Word, + in which alone, now and always, + we can find true and lasting joy. + All this we humbly ask in the name + and through the merits + of Jesus Christ, Your Son our Lord, + Who lives and rules with You and the Holy Spirit, + as the one, true God – now and forever. + Amen.
After which the Congregation will be seated
We Hear God’s Word
The Old Testament Lesson 2 Kings 22-23
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he ruled for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s
name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He walked in all the ways of his father David. He did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
3 In King Josiah’s eighteenth year, the king sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah son of Meshullam, to the House of the Lord, saying, 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him weigh out the entire amount of silver which has been brought to the House of the Lord, which the gatekeepers have received from the people. 5 It is to be given to those who are appointed to supervise the work on the House of the Lord. They are to give it to those who are working in the House of the Lord to repair the damage to the temple. 6 Give it to the craftsmen, builders, and stonemasons so they can buy wood and quarried stone to repair the damage. 7 But no accounting is to be demanded for the silver which is given to them, because they are acting honestly.”
8 Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the House of the Lord.” Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan, and he read it. 9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported: “Your servants have paid out the silver which was found in the temple, and they have given it to those who are appointed to supervise the work on the Lord’s house.”
10 Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a scroll.” Then Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.
11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. 12 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the servant of the king: 13 “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all of Judah concerning the words of this book, which has been found. For the Lord’s wrath which is burning against us is great, because our fathers did not listen to the words of this book and do everything which was recorded for us.”
14 Then Hilkiah the priest, with Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah, went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, who was the son of Tikvah, who was the son of Harhas, the keeper of the vestments. She was living in Jerusalem in the Second District.
15 She gave them this message: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. Tell the man who sent you to me that 16 this is what the Lord says: Look! I am bringing disaster on this place and on its inhabitants, everything written in the book which they read before the king of Judah, 17 because they have forsaken me and have burned incense and offerings to other gods, so that they provoked me to anger with all the works of their hands. My anger will be poured out on this place. It will not be quenched.
18 This is what you will say to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord: “The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken the words which you have heard. 19 But because your heart was repentant and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants—that it would be desolate and cursed—and you have torn your clothes and have wept before me, I, even I, have heard you, says the Lord. 20 Therefore, be aware of this! I will gather you to your fathers. You will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I will bring upon this place and its inhabitants.”
They brought this message back to the king.
23:1 Then the king summoned all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 The king went up to the House of the Lord, and every man of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets and all the people from the least to the greatest, went with him. In their hearing he read all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the House of the Lord.
3 Then the king stood before the pillar and made a covenant in the presence of the Lord to follow the Lord, to keep his commandments, his testimony, and his statutes with all his heart, and with all his soul to uphold the words of this covenant, which were written in this book. Then all the people affirmed this covenant.
4 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the lower-ranking priests, and the gatekeepers that they should remove from the temple of the Lord all the articles which had been made for Baal, for Asherah, and for the whole army of the heavens. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley, and he took the ashes to Bethel. 5 He removed the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense at the high places in the cities of Judah and in the area around Jerusalem, those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to the whole army of the heavens. 6 He took the Asherah pole from the House of the Lord to the Kidron Valley, outside of Jerusalem. He burned it there. He crushed it to dust and scattered the dust on the graves of the common people. 7 He tore down the houses of the male shrine prostitutes, which were in the House of the Lord, where women were weaving hangings for Asherah.
8 Then he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had been burning incense, from Gibeah to Beersheba. He tore down the high places by the gates, which were at the entrance to the Gate of Joshua, who was the official over the city. This gate was to the left of the main gate to the city. 9 The priests from the high places could not go up to the Lord’s altar in Jerusalem, but they were allowed to eat unleavened bread in the midst of their brothers.
10 He defiled Tophet, which was in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, so that no one could make his son or daughter pass through the fire for Molek. 11 He removed the horses, which the kings of Judah had set up for the sun, from the entrance to the Lord’s house. They were near the office of Nathan Melek, the high official, which was in the temple courtyard. Then he burned the chariots of the sun.
12 The king tore down the altars that were on the roof of the chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courtyards of the House of the Lord. He smashed them and threw the dust into the Kidron Valley. 13 The king defiled the high places which were east of Jerusalem on the south end of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon king of Israel had made for Ashtarte, the detestable goddess of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and for Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 He smashed the sacred memorial stones to bits, and he cut down the Asherah poles. Then he filled their sites with human bones.
15 Even the altar which was in Bethel, the high place which Jeroboam son of Nebat had made, which caused Israel to sin—he pulled down even that altar and its high place. Then he burned the high place. He ground the Asherah pole to powder and burned it.
16 Then Josiah turned and saw the graves that were there on the hill. He sent men and took the bones from the graves and burned them on the altar. So he defiled it in fulfillment of the word of the Lord, which the man of God ?proclaimed, when Jeroboam stood by the altar at the feast.
Then he turned and raised his eyes to the tomb of the man of God? who proclaimed these things, 17 and he asked, “What is that gravestone which I see over there?”
The men of the city told him, “It is the grave of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you are doing against the altar of Bethel.”
18 Then he said, “Leave him alone. Let no one disturb his bones.” So they spared his bones along with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria. 19 Josiah removed all the shrines of the high places which the kings of Israel had made in the cities of Samaria, which provoked the Lord to anger. He did to them just as he did in Bethel. 20 On the altars he slaughtered all the priests of the high places who were present there, and he burned human bones on the altars. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
21 Then the king commanded all the people, “Observe the Passover to the Lord your God just as it is written in the Book of the Covenant.” 22 For they had not observed a Passover like this during the days of the judges who led Israel or during the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. 23 But in King Josiah’s eighteenth year, this Passover to the Lord was observed in Jerusalem. 24 Josiah destroyed the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the filthy idols, and all the detestable idols which were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, in order to comply with the words of the law, which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had found in the House of the Lord.
25 Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, according to all the Law of Moses, and after him no one like him arose. 26 But even so, the Lord did not turn from his great wrath which burned against Judah because of all the offenses with which Manasseh had provoked him. 27 So the Lord said, “I will also remove Judah from my presence just as I removed Israel. I will reject Jerusalem, the city I chose, and the house about which I said, ‘My Name will be there.’”
28 As for the rest of Josiah’s acts and everything he did, are they not written in the annals of the kings of Judah?
29 In his days, Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, went to join the king of Assyria for war at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went to meet Neco in battle, but Neco killed King Josiah at Megiddo when he faced him. 30 His servants transported his body from Megiddo to Jerusalem in a chariot, and they buried him in his own tomb.
After this, the Congregation will rise for
Today’s Gospel Lesson John 2:12-19
13 The Jewish Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers sitting at tables. 15 He made a whip of cords and drove everyone out of the temple courts, along with the sheep and oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those selling doves he said, “Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a place of business!”
17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
18 So the Jews responded, “What sign are you going to show us to prove you can do these things?”
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.”
20 The Jews said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple! And you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When Jesus was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this. Then they believed the Scripture and what Jesus had said.
The Apostles’ Creed
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 Ghost; Born of the Virgin Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate; Was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The Holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints; The forgiveness of sins; The resurrection of the body; And the life everlasting. Amen.
After which the Congregation may be seated for
The Children’s Lesson Psalm 119:105
Your words are a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.
God’s Word Is Our Light In Life
Sermon Hymn Hymn 293 “God’s Word Is Our Great Heritage”
God’s Word is our great heritage
And shall be ours forever;
To spread its light from age to age
Shall be our chief endeavor.
Through life it guides our way;
In death it is our stay.
Lord, grant, while worlds endure,
We keep its teachings pure
Throughout all generations.
The Greeting
Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge
of God, and of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sermon Text 2 Kings 22:1-2; 23:25
Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he ruled for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah from Bozkath. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He walked in all the ways of his father David. He did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
…… 23:25 Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, according to all the Law of Moses, and after him no one like him arose.
Good King Josiah and the Word of God
following the sermon the Congregation will REMAIN SEATED for
The Post-Sermon Blessing
To Him Who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Savior, be glory, majesty, power, and authority now and forever. Amen.
We Present our Offerings to the Lord
Offerings will be received this morning through offering plates passed among those who have gathered here for worship. However, for those viewing this service online, we offer you the following suggestions for providing God with Your thank-offerings through our ministry:
1) You can mail a check (no cash, please) to our church address
(415 N. 6th Place, Lowell, AR 72745); or
2) You can donate through our website: www.gracelutherannwa.com
Our Offerings of Love to our Lord
after the offerings are brought forward, the Congregation will rise as
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We Offer Our Prayers to the Lord
Included in our prayers this morning are Prayers of Intercession
for Tim Pfortmiller, who is contending with the affliction of cancer;
for
Ruth Strackbein (Cynthia Tragasz’s mother) who is in hospice care;
and
A Prayer of Thanksgiving for Bill and Mary Book, whose
wedding anniversary is this Thursday
Today’s General Prayer
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 for ever and ever. Amen.
The Conclusion of our Worship Today
The Benediction
P: Brothers and sisters, go in peace. Live in harmony with one another. Serve the Lord in gladness.
The LORD bless you and keep you
The LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
The LORD look upon you with favor, and give you His peace. Amen.
The Closing Hymn Hymn 279 “O Word of God Incarnate”
1 O Word of God incarnate, O Wisdom from on high,
O Truth unchanged, unchanging, O Light of our dark sky,
We praise you for the radiance That from the hallowed page,
A lantern to our footsteps, Shines on from age to age.
2 The Church from you, dear Master, Received the gift divine,
And still that light is lifted O’er all the earth to shine.
It is the chart and compass That, all life’s journey through,
Mid mists and rocks and quicksands Still guides, O Christ, to you.
3 Oh, make your Church, dear Savior, A lamp of burnished gold
To bear before the nations Your true light, as of old.
Oh, teach your wand’ring pilgrims By this their path to trace
Till, clouds and darkness ended, They see you face to face.
Silent Prayer, Announcements, Post-Service Music
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