Download Morning Devotion - Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran

Service of the Word
WELCOME in the NAME of the LORD of LIFE!
A warm welcome to everyone who has joined us for worship, especially our guests! If you have any
questions, please don’t hesitate to ask the usher. We are here to serve your needs.
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Today’s order of worship is printed for you in this worship folder.
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If you are in need of restrooms, they are located down the hallway and to the right.
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If you’re visiting today, please sign our guest book located on the back table.
 We invite everyone to stay after the service for friendship time! Enjoy some refreshments.
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HYMN
528 “Christ Is Our Cornerstone”
Stand
GREETING
M: The grace of our Lord (†) Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit be with you.
C: And also with you.
CONFESSION OF SINS
M: We have come into the presence of God, who created us to love and serve him as his dear
children. But we have disobeyed him and deserve only his wrath and punishment.
Therefore, let us confess our sins to him and plead for his mercy.
C: Merciful Father in heaven, I am altogether sinful from birth. In countless ways I have
sinned against you and do not deserve to be called your child. But trusting in Jesus, my
Savior, I pray: Have mercy on me according to your unfailing love. Cleanse me from my
sin, and take away my guilt.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
M: Let us pray.
O God, the strength of all who trust in you, mercifully hear our prayers. Be gracious to us in
our weakness and give us strength to keep your commandments in all we say and do;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
M: God, our heavenly Father, has forgiven all your sins. By the perfect life and innocent death
of our Lord Jesus Christ, he has removed your guilt forever. You are his own dear child. May
God give you strength to live according to his will.
C: Amen.
C: Amen.
PRAISE
FIRST LESSON
Be seated
M: In the peace of forgiveness, let us praise the Lord.
Hosea 5:15 – 6:6
“Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt.
And they will seek my face; in their misery they will earnestly seek me.”
“Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us;
he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.
After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.
Let us acknowledge the LORD;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises, he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth.”
and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,”
and,
“A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”
They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God,
that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful
light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not
received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (NIV)
“What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears.
Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
I killed you with the words of my mouth;
my judgments flashed like lightning upon you.
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings.” (NIV)
PSALM OF THE DAY
VERSE OF THE DAY
119c
M: Oh, how I love your law!
C: I meditate on it all day long.
M: I have more insight than all my teachers,
C: for I meditate on your statutes.
M: I have more understanding than the elders,
C: for I obey your precepts.
M: I have kept my feet from every evil path
C: so that I might obey your Word.
M: I have not departed from your laws,
C: for you yourself have taught me.
Stand
M: How sweet are your words to my taste,
C: sweeter than honey to my mouth!
SECOND LESSON
GOSPEL
1 Peter 2:4 – 10
As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to
him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood,
offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone,
Matthew 9:9 – 13
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s
booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners”
came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his
disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go
and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the
righteous, but sinners.” (NIV)
M: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
OFFERING
To our guests: we freely give to the Lord because of what he has given to us.
If you would like, you may join us in giving thanks to the Lord, also.
Stand
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Be seated
HYMN OF THE DAY
386 “Now I Have Found the Firm Foundation”
SERMON
1 Peter 2:4 – 10
Finding Your True Value!
Stand
APOSTLES’ CREED
C: I believe in God, the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
I believe 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.
The third day he rose again from the dead
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will 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.
Be seated
M: Eternal God and Father, we give you thanks for the blessings we share as members of your
holy Church, for your gracious Word and sacraments, for opportunities to worship and to
grow in faith and knowledge, for occasions to serve and be served, for fellowship with
believers in our congregation and in our synod.
C: Help us to rejoice in these blessings, dear Lord, and to use them faithfully.
M: Jesus Christ, Lord of the Church, you give grace to your people by calling us to be your
witnesses in the world. Open our eyes to see the great and noble mission that lies before
us. In the hurting eyes of the lonely, in the pained eyes of the sick, and in the searching eyes
of the lost, help us to see your face, O Jesus, and to serve others as we would serve you.
C: Awaken us to the opportunities you give to proclaim your message of love.
M: Holy Spirit, giver of life, through Word and sacrament bestow on us the wisdom and power
we need to witness clearly and to act boldly. Help us to speak the truth in love, to give the
reason for the hope we have, and to conduct ourselves with gentleness and respect.
C: Set our hearts on fire as we work and witness for Christ.
M: Hear us, Lord, as we pray for a family member, an acquaintance, a neighbor, or a friend who
does not believe in you, or whose faith is weak or troubled.
Silent prayer.
M: Bless the Church with men and women who are willing to proclaim your Word in places
where we cannot go. Keep them and their loved ones in your care, and let nothing hinder
their work. By the power of the gospel, restore their spirits each day, so that they do not
lose heart as they serve us and others.
C: Move us to support them with our sincere prayers and generous offerings.
M: Wherever your Word is proclaimed, O Lord, grant it success. Let your kingdom come to us
and others, so that we and many more might join the assembly of saints and angels to sing
your praise forever.
C: Savior of all, hear our prayer and help us in our mission. Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
C: Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
Come worship Christ!
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever. Amen.
by whose life & death we inherit
eternal life & a new mind-set,
given by God & sealed by Spirit!
WORSHIP 10:00 A.M.
SPIRITUAL GROWTH HOUR
11:15 A.M.
(www.shepherdofthehillslutheran.net)
THANK YOU!
We thank Jim Hall for serving us as an usher this morning. We thank Amy Hall for providing
flowers to beautify our worship and refreshments after service. Next week: Mike Besaw &
Debra Hofland.
Be seated
HYMN
529 “Built on the Rock”
Stand
PRAYER
M: O Lord God, our heavenly Father, pour out the Holy Spirit on your faithful people. Keep us
strong in your grace and truth, protect and comfort us in all temptation, and bestow on us
your saving peace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
BLESSING
M: Brothers and sisters, go in peace. Live in harmony with one another. Serve the Lord with
gladness.
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look on you with favor and (†) give you peace.
C: Amen.
HYMN
259 “When All Your Mercies, O My God”
We thank Vicar Chris Ewings for leading us in worship and Bible study this morning in Pastor
Faught’s absence. His wife’s name is Cara, and they have two children – a daughter and a son:
Aurora (2 yrs. Old) and Elijah (1 yr. old). Vicar Ewings and his family travel this morning from
Falls Church, Virginia, where he currently serves at Grace Lutheran Church, before returning this
August to Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary for his final year.
COME & GROW!
What made you happy yesterday? (Or I should ask first: Were you happy yesterday?) In answer
you and I often grab for something – a pleasant experience, a fulfilled expectation, e.g. – within
our reach that makes us happy. I’ll even admit that after running a couple miles around the
neighborhood I feel pretty good – happy that I survived – no matter how red my face looks or
how much my clothes drip with sweat. But you begin to notice something about our happiness:
a lot of times it depends on what’s happening at the moment and how we regard it. But, if you
didn’t like what happened yesterday or the day before, were you still happy? At the time he
wrote Philippians, the apostle Paul was under house arrest, which entailed among other things a
chain to a Roman soldier – not so free freedom. And yet, not in spite of but because of these
circumstances Paul was happy (!). He still had joy in Christ, which made all the difference. (Look
at verse seven in chapter one.) Our joy will remain constant throughout life, too, if it’s found in
Christ, because he’s the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
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Presiding Minister
MIDI
Vicar Chris Ewings
Allison Hofland
A LOOK AHEAD
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Mon., Jul. 4 – Independence Day
Tue., Jul. 5 – Volleyball at 6:00pm (Clearbrook Park)
Sun., Jul. 10 – Worship & 19 Minute Bible study, beginning at 10:00am