3461 Merle Ave Modesto, CA 95355 (209) 551-0563 www.stpetermodesto.org W Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost OCTOBER 23, 2016 PUT THE SAVIOR FIRST ABOVE ALL ELSE elcome! Thank you for joining us for worship this morning. We gather for worship so that we can receive from God the good news of what Jesus has done for us. Jesus is at the center of our faith and our lives. Without him we have nothing. With him we have everything. Welcome Worshiper Cards are located in the book racks. Please fill one out and place it in the offering plate later in the service. Restrooms are located in the entryway. Two Nursery-Rooms are available in the entryway for parents with small children. Footnotes throughout the worship folder help explain the different parts of the service. PRAYER BEFORE WORSHIP Holy God, make your presence known to us today. We come to you as we are, called to be saints, holy ones, but so often less than our calling. Help us this hour to let go of those sins to which we cling. Help us to know that our selfworth does not depend so much on our ability to hold on to our lives, as on your power to release ourselves into your hands. Amen. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Flowers adorning our altar this morning are given to the glory of God by Marlene Miller in thankfulness for God s many blessings. Minister: Fred Piepenbrink Pianist: Karen Adams The following were reprinted under OneLicense.net #A-706579: Psalm 119b Richard Proulx. 1986 GIA Publications, Inc., Chicago, IL. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Artwork by Ian M. Welch. Copyright 2015 Ian M. Welch. All Rights Reserved. paramentics.com Scripture is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NIV, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
OPENING HYMN All Glory Be to God Alone Christian Worship #262 CALL TO WORSHIP M(inister): The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you. C(ongregation): 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. ABSOLUTION 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. 1
PRAYER AND PRAISE M: In the peace of forgiveness, let us praise the Lord: PRAYER OF THE DAY M: Let us pray. God, our refuge and strength, have mercy on your Church, as we come in prayer before you. Answer us not in judgment on our sins, but in peace and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: Amen. 2
THE WORD OF GOD THE FIRST LESSON Deuteronomy 10:12-22 Fear and serve the Lord with all your heart and soul. AND NOW, O ISRAEL, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the LORD s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? 14 To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. 15 Yet the LORD set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today. 16 Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. 19 And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. 20 Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. 21 He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. 22 Your forefathers who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky. 3
PSALM OF THE DAY The Psalm will be sung in unison. Psalm 119b Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Refrain Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your Word. Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared. How I long for your precepts! Preserve my life in your righteousness. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Refrain 4
THE SECOND LESSON 1 John 2:15-17 John warns the faithful not to love the world, because it leaves no room to love the Father. DO NOT LOVE THE WORLD OR ANYTHING IN THE WORLD. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For everything in the world the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. THE VERSE OF THE DAY 2 Timothy 4:18 Alleluia. The Lord will rescue me from every evil and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. Alleluia. 5
THE GOSPEL LESSON Luke 18:18-27 A CERTAIN RULER ASKED HIM, Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? 19 Why do you call me good? Jesus answered. No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother. 21 All these I have kept since I was a boy, he said. 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. 23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. 26 Those who heard this asked, Who then can be saved? 27 Jesus replied, What is impossible with men is possible with God. THE HYMN OF THE DAY Brothers, Sisters, Let Us Gladly Christian Worship #484 6
THE SERMON Matthew 6:33 Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. A Motto for Christian Living THE APOSTLE S CREED 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. THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER THE OFFERING The members of St. Peter congregation have joined together to do the Lord s work in this community and around the world. Visitors need not feel obligated to participate in this offering which supports our ministry. Jesus said, Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. (Matthew 10:32) When we speak the creed (usually the Apostle s or Nicene Creeds), we are joining together to publically confess our faith in Christ. This confession unites us with Christians around the world and those saints who have gone before us. 7
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH Spoken by the Minister 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. HYMN Take My Life and Let It Be Christian Worship #469 PRAYER AND BLESSING 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 trials, 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. 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. 8
CLOSING HYMN When Jesus Came From Nazareth Christian Worship Supplement #772 9