Prelude
Announcements
Call to Worship based on Psalm 68
Let the righteous be joyful.
People of God: Let the righteous be jubilant with joy.
Sing to God.
People of God: Sing praises to God’s name.
God protects the orphans and the widows.
People of God: God gives the desolate a home to live in.
God leads the prisoners to prosperity.
People of God: God bears us up daily.
God is our salvation.
People of God: Awesome is God in the holy sanctuary.
God gives power and strength to God’s people.
People of God: Blessed be God who protects us and saves us. Amen
Confession and Forgiveness based on Psalm 51
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit, a broken heart filled with regret and remorse. This heart God will not despise. We are a broken people. Trusting in God’s mending ways, let us confess our sins before God and one another:
Silence for reflection
Let us pray. Have mercy on us, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy, blot out our transgressions.
People of God: Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity and cleanse us from our sin. For we know our transgressions, and our sin is ever before us.
Against you, you alone, have we sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.
People of God: Indeed, we were born guilty, sinners when our mothers conceived us. You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach us wisdom in our secret hearts.
Purge us with hyssop, and we shall be clean; wash us, and we shall be whiter than snow. Let us hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from our sins, and blot out all our iniquities.
People of God: Create in us a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within us. Do not cast us away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from us. Restore to us the joy of your salvation, and sustain in us a willing spirit.
O Lord, open our lips, and our mouths will declare your praise. The Lord creates in us clean hearts; God puts new and right spirits within us. We are not cast away from the presence of the Holy One, and the Holy Spirit is not taken from us. In Christ, we are restored to the joy of God’s salvation; and by God’s grace, our spirits are remade to follow God’s will.
People of God: Thanks be to God!
Gathering Hymn ELW #785 When Peace Like a River
Prayer of the Day
Assisting Minister: Let us pray. We praise you, O God, for the life of your faithful servant Barnabas, who, seeking not his own renown but the well-being of your church, gave generously of his life and possessions for the relief of the poor and the spread of the gospel. Grant that we may follow his example and by our actions give glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever. People of God: Amen
Readings
Acts 4:32-37, Acts 11:19-26
Assisting Minister: Shortly after the Holy Spirit blew into the world on the first Christian Pentecost, those who believed in Jesus formed the first Christian community, the first church. Everyone in that community shared what they owned or sold their possessions to help their fellow believers who were in need. We first learn about Barnabas in the 4th chapter of the book of Acts. He would go on to become one of the first Christian missionaries and would be known for his generosity, his encouragement, and his courage in facing adversity.
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, and they spoke the word to no one except Jews. But among them were some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord. News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion; for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called “Christians.” The word of the Lord. People of God: Thanks be to God.
Sermon Rev. Sarah Wilson
Hymn They’ll Know we are Christians by our Love
Prayers of the People
Assisting Minister: Trusting in God’s abundant mercy, let us offer our prayers for a world in need.
A brief silence.
Assisting Minister: We pray, O God, for the church. Unite us with any on the margins, that the whole world recognizes that your mercy is greater than our human capacity to restrict it. God, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: We pray, O God, for creation. Tend forests and fields and safeguard all cattle, birds, and wild animals. Preserve lakes, rivers, and oceans, and send rains to water the earth. Revive lands recovering from natural disasters. God, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: We pray, O God, for the nations. Awaken in our leaders compassion for people who have too often felt forgotten or neglected, and inspire policy solutions that promote equity and inclusion. God, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: We pray, O God, for all who are in need. Accompany anyone enduring chronic illness, any who suffer in secret, and those grieving a loved one’s death. Send healing for all who plead for relief from sickness or pain, especially Rori, the Dunker family, the Seredick family, Terri’s family, Tricia’s family, Susan, Grace, Alice, Gus, Faith, Denise, Leslie, Norma, Brian, Scott, Jessica, Alicia, Jeanne, Barb, Cecil (See-sil), Stan, Marlene, Ryleigh, Dylan, Sandy, Hopie (Hope-y), the Bredemus (bread-a-mus) family, Allen, Bunny, the Vogt (vote) family, Patricia, Michael, Nicholas and his family, Beth, Betty, Tom, Kara (car-a), Kara’s family, and those we name silently or aloud <pause>. God, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Assisting Minister: We pray, O God, for the eradication of racial hatred. On this week when we commemorate the Emanuel Nine, we implore you to cast out the demons of white supremacy that make us believe lies about ourselves and our neighbors. God, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Please offer your own prayers of joy or concern, ending with “God, in your mercy,”
We respond with “hear our prayer.”
Assisting Minister: We give thanks, O God, for Barnabas and all the saints. Renew our faith that you can do what you have promised and raise us, with all our beloved dead, to new life. God, in your mercy, People of God: hear our prayer.
Receive our prayers and answer us, O God, in the name of Jesus Christ.
People of God: Amen.
Children’s Sermon Rev Sarah Wilson
The Peace (Please share peace by waving or showing the peace sign.
The peace of Christ be with you always.
People of God: And also with you.
Offering
Let us pray. God of field and forest, sea and sky, you are the giver of all good things. Sustain us with these gifts of your creation, and multiply your graciousness in us, that the world may be fed with your love, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. People of God: Amen
Communion
The Lord be with you.
People of God: And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
People of God: We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People of God: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread and gave thanks; he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me. Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.
And now let us pray with confidence in the words that Jesus taught us:
People of God: 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
Invitation to Communion
Assisting Minister: All people are called to Christ’s table. Come, eat what is good.
For our at-home worshippers, you may take communion using these words:
The body of Christ, given for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
Communion Songs
ELW #641 All are Welcome
ELW #656 Blest be the Tie That Binds
ELW #471 Let Us Break Bread Together
ELW #481 Come to the Table
Table Blessing
And now may the body and blood of our ☩ Lord, Jesus Christ, strengthen you and keep you in his grace. People of God: Amen
Prayer after Communion
Assisting Minister: Let us pray. We thank you, generous God, for the refreshment we have received at your banquet table. Send us now to spread your generosity into all the world, through the one who is our dearest treasure, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. People of God: Amen
Blessing
The God who calls across the cosmos and who lovingly speaks encouragement into our hearts ☩ bless, keep, and sustain you now and to the end of the age. People of God: Amen
Sending Hymn
ELW#532 Gather Us In
Dismissal
Assisting Minister: Go in Peace. Be the encouragement this world needs. People of God: Thanks be to God.
Thank you to those serving us today
Pastor: Rev. Sarah Wilson
Worship Assistant: Debbie Ramirez
Acolyte: Kyle Drews
Music: Gloria Peetz ~ Song Leader: Catherine Cox
Altar Guild: Phyllis Blumke
Usher/Greeter: Andy Taylor & Bob Kubas
Sound Board: Phyllis Blumke
Producer: Mark Gates ~ Graphics: Dawna Gates
Counters: Marianne Barstow & Denise Ulaszek
From sundaysandseasons.com. Copyright © 2023 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved
Confession and Forgiveness based on the work of Amy Loving, posted on The Worship Closet