SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2024 9th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
CHRIST THE KING LUTHERAN CHURCH
PASTOR: Rev. Harry M. Krolus
CHURCH: 410-356-3400 CELL: 410-707-7663
Church email: ctklclcms@yahoo.com
Church Web Site: ctklchurch.org
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WELCOME to everyone who is worshiping with us today. We are glad that you are here! We pray that your worship experience here at Christ The King is spiritually uplifting and rewarding. If you are visiting, please sign our guest book and introduce yourself to Pastor Harry.
(Please turn off all electronic devices before worship begins; or, if you are using a Bible app to enhance your worship experience or to use PayPal, please enable the do not disturb function on your phone.)
WORDS OF WELCOME
THE HANDSHAKE OF CHRISTIAN PEACE
THE INVOCATION
L. We begin our worship this day in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C. Amen.
THE CALL TO WORSHIP
L. We celebrate your world, Divine Creator.
C. The sun and moon, the live oak and the bird of paradise, the drops of water, the clear sky and the cleansing wind.
L. We celebrate your order, Divine Planner.
C. Summer, winter, spring and fall, night and day, month and year-- a time for everything.
L. We celebrate your truth, Divine Wisdom.
C. Carried by sages, prophets, martyrs and poets, and fully revealed in Jesus of Nazareth.
L. We celebrate your kindness, Divine Friend.
C. Lifting up the fallen, embracing us in our weakness, surrounding us with beauty.
L. We celebrate your presence, Divine Companion.
C. A song in our hearts and hope in our steps, joy in our soul and peace in our words.
OPENING HYMN: 908 “Lord, Open Now My Heart To Hear”
THE CONFESSION OF SINS
L. Rejoicing in the knowledge that God seeks to save and not punish, we confess our sins together before God our merciful Father.
ALL: 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 and failed to do what is good. For this I deserve your punishment both now and in eternity. But I am truly sorry for my sins, and trusting in my Savior Jesus Christ, I pray: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.
L. God, our heavenly Father, has been merciful to us and has given his only Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Therefore, we know for certainty, that when we truly repent of our sins, God will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
C. Amen.
THE PSALM FOR THE DAY: Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will 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 love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
THE NICENE CREED
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth and of all that is seen and unseen.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered death and was buried; On the third day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven, And is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. I believe one holy Christian and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
THE LESSONS FOR THE DAY
THE FIRST LESSON: Jeremiah 23:1-6
“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the LORD. “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the LORD. “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.
THE SECOND LESSON: Ephesians 2:11-22
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men) — remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
THE GOSPEL LESSON: Mark 6:30-44
The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take eight months of a man’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
“How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five — and two fish.”
Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.
HYMN: 707 “Oh, That The Lord Would Guide My Ways”
THE MESSAGE:
THE OFFERING
AN OFFERING SONG (783)
Take my life, that I may be consecrated, Lord, to thee;
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect, and use every pow’r as thou shalt choose.
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS
THE PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
L. Almighty God, we lift up our hearts in gratitude to you, and for all your loving kindness we bless your holy name.
For life and health, for love and friendship, and for the goodness and mercy that have followed us all the days of our life
C. We praise you, O God.
L. For the wonder and beauty of the world; and for all things true and honorable, just and pure, lovely and gracious
C. We praise you, O God.
L. For the gift of Jesus Christ, your only-begotten Son; for the grace and truth which came by him; and for his obedience unto death, even death on a cross
C. We praise you, O God.
L. For his glorious resurrection and ascension to your right hand, and for his kingdom and glory and everlasting dominion
C. We praise you, O God.
L. For the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, the Lord and Giver of life; for your holy Church throughout the world; for all the means of grace; and for the fellowship of the redeemed in heaven and on earth
C. We praise you, O God.
L. For all those who are sick or sorrowing; for those whom we now name before you and for those we name in our hearts; that you would bring healing, strength, comfort, and peace in accordance with your good and gracious will.
(Personal prayers are now brought before the Lord.)
L. Heavenly Father ...
C. We trust in your abundant mercy, O God.
L. For all the blessings of this life, the small as well as seemingly more significant
C. We thank you, O God.
ALL: Glory, thanksgiving, and praise be to you, O Father Almighty through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
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.
THE BLESSING
L. May our gracious God who has given us rebirth in holy baptism bless us in all that we do, and may he guide us in all of his ways.
C. Amen.
CLOSING HYMN: 921 “On What Has Now Been Sown”
