Worship Order – Service of Holy Communion ~ 9:15am

September 6, 2026 ~ 15th Sunday after Pentecost

 

Prelude

Announcements

Brief Order for Confession and Forgiveness

P   In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C   Amen
P   Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
C   Amen
P   If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Silence to recall the sins that afflict us in conscience

P   Most merciful God,
C   we confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen
P   In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for you, and for his sake God forgives you all your sins. To those who believe in Jesus Christ he gives the power to become the children of God and bestows on them the Holy Spirit.
C   Amen

Opening Hymn                  O Holy Spirit, Root of Life, WOV 688

Apostolic Greeting           (2 Corinthians 13:14)

Kyrie                                                    p. 78 LBW

Hymn of Praise                  p. 80 LBW                           

Prayer of the Day

God of grace, through your Son you have reconciled the creation to yourself. Still, we continue to find ways to divide and destroy the unity you intend for us. Preserve your church that, assured of Christ’s presence among us, we may exemplify the peace and reconciliation that can only come from you; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Children’s Sermon

1^st Scripture Lesson          Ezekiel 33:7-9

⁷“So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. ⁸If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. ⁹But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.”

The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

Psalm 32:1-7

¹Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

²Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

⁴For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

⁵I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

⁶Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;

surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.

⁷You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.

2^nd Scripture Lesson         Romans 13:1-10

¹Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ²Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, ⁴for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. ⁶For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ⁷Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. ⁸Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation        p.  83 LBW

Gospel   Matthew 18:1-20

The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the 18^th Chapter.
C: Glory to you, O Lord.

¹At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, ⁶but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. ⁷Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! ⁸And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire. ¹⁰See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. ¹²What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. ¹⁵If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ¹⁶But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ¹⁹Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. ²⁰For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

The Gospel of the Lord

C: Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

Hymn of Day                                                      I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light, WOV 649

Baptism of Maycie Mae Godiska

Prayers of God’s People                                 p. 85 LBW

Offering

Offertory                             The Doxology  (564)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, Ye heav’nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

Offertory Prayer                                               p. 87 LBW

The Great Thanksgiving                                p. 88 LBW

Proper Preface

Sanctus                                                                p. 89 LBW

Eucharistic Prayer & Christ’s Words of Institution 

The Lord’s Prayer & Invitation

Agnus Dei (Lamb of God)                              p. 92 LBW

Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;
Grant us peace, grant us peace.

Distribution of Communion
                                                                                Take My Life, that I May Be, LBW 406

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, LBW 484

Post Communion Blessing & Prayer         

Benediction                                                        p. 95 LBW

Closing Hymn                                                     When All Your Mercies, O My God, LBW 264

Dismissal                                                             p. 95 LBW

Postlude