https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXzQWl2tIVY

EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST— Awaiting God’s Good Harvest –  July 23, 2023

ZION EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH – LCMS – 700 Main St.  P.O. Box 220   Clyman, WI  53016

 Pastor Dan 1-(920)-341-2025 –  shepherdatzion@gmail.com

 Bulletin Announcement email: zionclyman@gmail.com

AS WE GATHER – God’s plans are far beyond our understanding.  Even His divine existence sends our minds reeling.  No wonder that Jesus’ disciples, and we who follow them, cannot figure out why He lets His and our spiritual enemies live with us.  But because we have been given faith by the Holy Spirit, and although we cannot understand God’s plans, in the death and resurrection of Christ, our Lord, we trust His divine wisdom.  We have the first fruits of the Spirit and know that the Spirit intercedes for us.  Thus, even in the groans of our prayers, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  In sure hope, we wait for the day when we shall “shine like the sun” in our Father’s kingdom.

Ringing of the Bell and Welcome

 Hymn  “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word”       LSB 655

 Invocation – In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.    Amen

 Confession and Absolution 1 John 1:8–9 –  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.  Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.  We confess, gracious God, that we groan not only because of sin in the world, but our failure to trust You for all that we need.  We have not waited patiently; we have demanded reasons from You; we have sought to excuse ourselves.  Yet You have given us the Spirit, who intercedes for us.  Forgive us, renew us, and lead us to hope not in ourselves but in the resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.  The promises of God are sure; one day creation will be set free from corruption. Your sins were taken to Christ’s cross, where you were redeemed as God’s beloved children.  As a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the X  Son and of the Holy Spirit.     Amen.

Psalm Psalm 119:57–64; antiphon: v. 89 –  Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.   The Lord is my portion; I promise to keep Your words.    I entreat Your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to Your promise.  When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to Your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep Your commandments.  Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget Your law.  At midnight I rise to praise You, because of Your righteous rules.  I am a companion of all who fear You, of those who keep Your precepts.  The earth, O Lord, is full of Your steadfast love; teach me Your statutes!       Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.

Kyrie – In peace, let us pray to the Lord.    Lord, have mercy.  For peace and salvation from God above, let us pray to the Lord.     Lord, have mercy.  For peace in this sin ruined world, growth in the one true Church, and for unity among its members, let us pray to the Lord.     Lord, have mercy.  For this holy house, and for all who worship here, let us pray to the Lord.     Lord, have mercy.  Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.    Amen.

 Hymn of Praise – Gloria in Excelsis  LSB 204

 Prayer of the Day –  O God, so rule and govern our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that, ever mindful of Your final judgment, we may be stirred up to holiness of living here and dwell with You in perfect joy hereafter; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.      Amen.

Old Testament Reading   Isaiah 44:6–8     (No one compares to the one true God.)      “This is what the Lord says–Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.  Who then is like me?  Let him proclaim it.  Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come–yes, let him foretell what will come.  Do not tremble, do not be afraid.  Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?  You are my witnesses.  Is there any God besides me?  No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

Epistle  Romans 8:18–27   (The Holy Spirit intercedes as we wait for all to be restored.)        I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.  The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.  We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved.  But hope that is seen is no hope at all.  Who hopes for what he already has?  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.  In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

Gradual and Verse       Romans 11:33, 36; Matthew 13:35b –   Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!  For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.  To Him be glory forever.  Amen.  Alleluia. I will open My mouth in parables;      I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world. Alleluia.

Holy Gospel     Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43  (The parable of the wheat and weeds)

The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the thirteenth chapter.       Glory to You, O Lord.

 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.  But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.  When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.  “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field?  Where then did the weeds come from?’  “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.  “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’  “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest.  At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'” Vs36-43  Then he left the crowd and went into the house.  His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”  He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.  The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom.  The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil.  The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.  “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.  The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.  They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  He who has ears, let him hear.   This is the Gospel of the Lord.   Praise to You, O Christ.

The Third Article of the Apostles Creed –   In the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed, we confess our faith in the Holy Spirit, who intercedes for us.   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.          What does this mean?   I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.   In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.   In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers.   On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.    This is most certainly true.

 Hymn  “Come, Ye Thankful People Come”         LSB 892

Sermon

Prayers of the Church

 We Gather our Tithes and Offerings

 Service of the Sacrament

Preface   2 Timothy 4:22 –  The Lord be with you.     And also with you.  Lift up your hearts.     We lift them to the Lord.  Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.      It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

Proper Preface – It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who through His death has given us life and will graciously protect us until the coming harvest. Therefore, with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and singing:

Sanctus   LSB 208

Prayer of Thanksgiving – Blessed are You, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have had mercy on those whom You created and sent Your only-begotten Son into our flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior.  With repentant joy we receive the salvation accomplished for us by the all-availing sacrifice of His body and His blood on the cross.  Gathered in the name and the remembrance of Jesus, we beg You, O Lord, to forgive, renew, and strengthen us with Your Word and Spirit. Grant us faithfully to eat His body and drink His blood as He bids us do in His own testament.       Gather us together, we pray, from the ends of the earth to celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end.  Graciously receive our prayers; deliver and preserve us.  To You alone, O Father, be all glory, honor, and worship, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.     Amen

The Words of Our Lord – Consecration of the Elements

Proclamation of Christ     1 Corinthians 11:26; Revelation 22:20 – As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.       Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.   

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.

 Pax Domini – The peace of the Lord be with you always.    Amen.

Agnus Dei  LSB 210

 We Celebrate our Lord’s Supper –  Distribution Hymns:  “Holy Spirit, Light Divine”   LSB 496                “Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness”   LSB 636    “Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me”  LSB 761

Post-Communion Canticle –  Nunc Dimittis LSB 211

Post-Communion Thanksgiving – O God the Father, the fountain and source of all goodness, who in loving-kindness sent Your only-begotten Son into the flesh, we thank You that for His sake You have given us pardon and peace in this Sacrament, and we ask You not to forsake Your children but always to rule our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that we may be enabled constantly to serve You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.         Amen.

Benediction      Numbers 6:24–26 – The blessing of God almighty—the Father, who has adopted You as His own child; the Son, who has given His life for You; and the Holy Spirit, who brings your prayers, thoughts and feelings beyond words, to the throne of grace—be with you and keep you, now and forever.          Amen.

Hymn:  “Christ Be My Leader”                              LSB 861

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 Announcements

From the Board of Stewardship and Evangelism:    Romans 8:18 – “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” It is very easy to get caught up in the present and lose track of our ultimate destiny in the kingdom of God. St. Paul encourages us to keep eternity in mind. This certainly has an application to our support for the Gospel — if we keep our focus on “the glory to be revealed” we will see our tithes and offerings in a new light.

The Pewpoint – THEME OF THE DAY – The Word of the Gospel Bestows the Righteousness of Christ and Brings Forth Faith—— The good Seed, which is “the Son of Man,” Jesus Himself (Matt. 13:37), brings forth a harvest of faith and bears good fruits in “the sons of the kingdom” (Matt. 13:38). Whatever is sown apart from His Word is of the devil, who plants the weeds of unbelief and sin, even among the people of God. Thankfully, the Lord is patient and He does not uproot the weeds, lest the plants also be destroyed. He lets “both grow together until the harvest” (Matt. 13:30), while He continues to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins. Thus, He preserves His Church in righteousness, because He alone is “the King of Israel and his Redeemer” (Is. 44:6). Since all things are in His gracious care and keeping, “fear not, nor be afraid” (Is. 44:8). For “the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God” (Rom. 8:19), and in this hope we also wait with patience. Though we do not yet see it, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness” (Rom. 8:26) and, in truth, “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18).

YES IN CHRIST  —  Saying Yes With Our Treasures – Needed per week to make budget: $3,072                  Sunday Envelopes $1,445   Plate $64   Pew Fund Memorial: Eli Dornfeld $50                                                                General Memorial: Caroline Rennhack $25    Carleen Rettschlag $50

Attendance:  Sunday Service: 41  Communed:    38      Mid-Week Service:  10   Communed:  10

Brothers and sisters in Christ to lift up in prayer!  

• RAIN, RAIN, RAIN – thank you for the Rain to God our Father!
• Those in our congregation who are facing health challenges and are in need of God’s strength, healing and presence.
• Joan, sister of Ron and DeeDee Wille who is dealing with her treatments better.
• We pray for the family of Carleen Rettschlag as she was given her crown of life on Monday July 10^th.

We received another letter from Cindy Zirbel – copies are in the back of church and in the narthex for you to pick up.

There will be quilting on Thursday 7/27 11am from 2pm. All are welcome!

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THESE MEMBERS!!!

Wish a Happy Anniversary to these couples.