Shepherd of Peace

1. Shepherd of Peace Sunday September 8, 2019 http://www.vneconomictimes.com 203 Port Neal Rd Sergeant Bluff, IA 51054 Phone: 712-943-4502 Pastor Ben Perkins pbenmin@outlook.com www.shepherdofpeacechurch.com

2. Hymn of InvocationLSB 809“Great is Thy Faithfulness”

3. V1 ♫ Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father; There is no shadow of turning with Thee. Thou changest not: Thy compassions they fail not; As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be. Refrain ♫ Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided; Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

4. V2 ♫ Summer and winter and spring-time and harvest, Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above Join with all nature in manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. Refrain ♫ Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided; Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

5. V3 ♫ Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside! Refrain ♫ Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided; Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

6. InvocationPlease Stand P In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19b)C Amen

7. Preparation for Confession P In ancient times and various ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, C but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, Jesus Christ. P He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature. C He upholds the universe by the Word of His power.

8. P Therefore we must pay much closer attention to His Word, lest we drift away from it. C For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, P and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, C how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? (Hebrews 2:1-3) P And there is salvation in no other, C for there is no other name under heaven given among men and women by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

9. Confession & Absolution P If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. C But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9) Silence for reflection on God's Word and for self-examination.

10. P Let us then confess our sins to God our Father. C Most holy and righteous God, we confess that our deeds and our very nature are corrupt. P Without Your intervention, we are doomed to be separated from You for eternity. C We cannot love You or our neighbors as You command. We cannot so much as desire You outside of Your lavish grace. For the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, look not upon our unworthiness, but look instead at the righteous robes He keeps putting on us. Listen as he points our way and says, “Father, this one is with me.” Amen.

11. P Christ Jesus, our Lord did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, being born in the likeness of men. He then humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8) P Because He lives, C We shall live also. (John 14:19) P As one ordained and called to administer the means of grace, I forgive you all your sins in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 4:1; Matthew 16:19, John 20:22) P He has become the propitiation for our sins.(1 John 2:2)

12. C Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the Name that is above every name, P So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Matthew 16:19, 28:19; John 20:22-23) C Amen.

13. Salutation and Collect of the Day P The Lord be with you.C ♫ And also with you.P Let us pray. O merciful Lord, You did not spare Your only Son but delivered Him up for us all. Grant us courage and strength to take up the cross and follow Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.C ♫ Amen Please be seated

14. First Reading Deuteronomy 30:15-20 P “Look! I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the Torah of Yahweh Adonai that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

15. P But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

16. P This is the Word of the Lord. C Thanks be to God.

17. Second ReadingPhilemon:1-21 P Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

18. P I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. P Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you - I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus -

19. P I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother -

20. P especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. P So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it - to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ. P Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. P This is the Word of the Lord. C Thanks be to God.

21. P Please stand for the Preparation and the reading of the Holy Gospel.

22. Gospel Preparation P Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. (Matthew 5:1) C “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” (John 12:21) P The Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke the 14th chapter. C Glory to You, O Lord.”(John 12:21)

23. Holy Gospel Luke 14:25-35 P Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?

24. P Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, C ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ P Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

25. P “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Let the ear-having guy hear.” P This is the Gospel of the Lord. C ♫ Praise to You, O Christ.

26. Apostles CreedLord, in the face of danger and uncertainty, amidst fear and doubt, strengthen us in our belief of what You have done. 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;

27. 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 shall 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 everlasting. Amen.Please be seated

28. Sermon HymnLSB 850 “God of Grace & God of Glory”

29. V1 ♫ God of grace and God of glory, On Your people pour Your pow’r; Crown Your ancient Church’s story; Bring its bud to glorious flow’r. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage For the facing of this hour, For the facing of this hour.

30. V2 ♫ Lo, the hosts of evil round us Scorn the Christ, assail His ways! From the fears that long have bound us Free our hearts to faith and praise. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage For the living of these days, For the living of these days.

31. V3 ♫ Cure Your children’s warring madness; Bend our pride to Your control; Shame our wanton, selfish gladness, Rich in things and poor in soul. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, Lest we miss Your kingdom’s goal, Lest we miss Your kingdom’s goal.

32. V4 ♫ Save us from weak resignation To the evils we deplore; Let the gift of Your salvation Be our glory evermore. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,Serving You whom we adore Serving You whom we adore. (Psalm 80, 2 Timothy 1, Romans 13, Luke 12:32)

33. Children’s Message

34. MessagePastor Benjamin Perkins Big Children’s Message

36. P Amen. P Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. C To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. P The peace of God which passes understanding guard your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus. C Amen.

37. Prayer of the Church P Lord Yahweh our God, thank You for Your strong Word; open Your strong Word to us this day. C Increase our knowledge of You and our wisdom and strengthen our faith by Your Word; P Grant that it not return to You empty but accomplish everything for which You have sent it. Be Thou our strength and wisdom and knowledge. C Sanctify us in Your truth. Your Word is truth.

38. P Lord in Your mercy,C Hear our prayer. P Jesus our Shepherd; among us are many souls who are walking through life alone. This makes for a long and difficult journey; God, we pray go with the widowed, the estranged, the abandoned, and those Divorced or separated; be with them every day. C Partner with us to look after them; send Your Spirit to give them strength; prepare and equip them and for each day. P Lord in Your mercy,C Hear our prayer.

39. P Lord, make us an active body and lead us as we instruct all our members. Bring Your people to help with this task. Motivate new members and families to assist with Sunday school and Catechism and our youth. C Bless and teach us as we serve and mentor the young men and women in our midst and build on the strength and knowledge of everyone. P Give us Your vision for education here. C Raise up new workers to offer their gifts for active service to You. Do Your will among us, we pray.

40. P Almighty God, hear our prayers for those who are battling disease and illness, and those who are in recovery and rehabilitating; Silently we also lift up these petitions: silence for personal petitions P Lord in Your mercy, C Hear our prayer. P These things and all others which You would have us ask we offer up in the strong and matchless Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. C Amen.

41. Lord’s PrayerPlease StandLord, remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray: 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.

42. 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.

43. Offering Response P Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, C for God loves a cheerful giver.(2 Corinthians 9:7)

44. P It is the Lord who blesses the work of our hands, gives fruit to our labors, and fills us with the finest wheat. (Psalm 144) Therefore we express our hearts to Him through and by our offerings this day. C Our offerings remind us that all we have and all we are come from God. With gratitude we return a fitting part of the same to Him as an act of thanksgiving. Please be seated

45. Offering Please do us the courtesy of recording your attendance on a card found in the pew back in front of you. Please also let us know of any concerns or needs you have using the notepads found on the aisle.

46. Please Stand P According to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. C Whoever does the will of God abides forever. P As you go out, grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. C To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

47. Benediction P The Lord bless you and keep you. Yahweh make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and + give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-27) C Amen.

48. Closing HymnLSB 922“Go, My Children, with My Blessing”

49. V1 ♫ Go, My children, with My blessing, Never alone. Waking, sleeping, I am with you; You are My own. In My love’s baptismal river I have made you Mine forever. Go, My children, with My blessingyou are My own.

50. V2 ♫ Go, My children, sins forgiven, At peace and pure. Here you learned how much I love you, What I can cure. Here you heard My dear Son’s story; Here you touched Him saw His glory. Go, My children, sins forgiven, At peace and pure.