August 31, 2014 The Marriage of Ruth & Boaz Ruth 4:1-22
Grace Lutheran Church August 31, 2014 9:30 a.m. Welcome to worship at Grace! May this time of gathering in Christian community bless you and enable you to be a blessing to others. Special welcome to Newcomers in the name of Christ! We pray that our time of worship would give you the chance to offer your prayer and praise, hear anew the Word of God, and receive our Lord s presence in Holy Communion. Enlarged print bulletins and personal assist hearing devices are available. Please see an usher for assistance. Children s bulletins and activity bags are also available. The order of worship, and many of the prayers, can be found in the worship bulletin. Hymns and worship music can be found in the red worship books. Hymns are in the back of the worship book, with the large numbers at the top of the page. Service music is in the front of the worship book, with the small numbers on the bottom of the page. Every Sunday we share Holy Communion. All are welcome to the Lord s Table. When invited by the ushers, please come forward using the center aisle. To receive the bread, hold out your hand, palm up. The minister will place the bread in your hand along with the words "The Body of Christ, given for you." You may respond, "Amen," or "Thanks be to God." Standing at the cup, dip the bread into the wine or juice. The Communion Server will say, "The blood of Christ, shed for you." You may respond "Amen," or "Thanks be to God," before consuming the wine/juice-soaked bread. Then, return to your seat by way of the side aisles. Note: Grape juice (lighter in color) is available as well as wine (darker in color). Gluten-free wafers are available on the table between the servers---after receiving the words of promise, simply take a wafer, dip it into the wine/juice also provided on the table, eat both and return to your seat by way of the side aisles." *Please stand as you are able. 2
Prelude Variations on "Let All Things Now Living" Ore * Gathering Hymn #881 Let All Things Now Living * Greeting P: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. C: And also with you. *Confession and Forgiveness P: With faith in a loving God, we confess our sins before God and one another. (Pause for silence and reflection) P: God of kindness and compassion, C: We are not always quick to claim you as our God. We fail to care for each other with the compassion you have shown us. Forgive our thoughts, words, and actions, and all that we have failed to do or say. Cleanse us from the inside out and make us new. Amen. P: Our God is faithful even when we are not. Today we are forgiven. Today we are cleansed of our sins and made into new beings. Today we follow the Lord, whose compassion never fails. Receive newness of life, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. *Glory to God p.213 (The congregation will sing the refrains, and the liturgist and/or choir will sing the verses) *Prayer of the Day L: God of blessing, C: You blessed your servants Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz with the birth of a son, an ancestor of Jesus. Bless us now as inheritors of Jesus kingdom, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our reigning Lord. Amen. Welcome and Announcements Children s Message 3
Special Music Wie Melodien Brahms Scripture Ruth 4:1-22 Meanwhile, Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there. Just then, the redeemer about whom Boaz had spoken was passing by. He said, Sir, come over here and sit down. So he turned aside and sat down. Then he took ten men from the town s elders and said, Sit down here. And they sat down. Boaz said to the redeemer, Naomi, who has returned from the field of Moab, is selling the portion of the field that belonged to our brother Elimelech. I thought that I should let you know and say, Buy it, in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you won t redeem it, tell me so that I may know. There isn t anyone to redeem it except you, and I m next in line after you. He replied, I will redeem it. Then Boaz said, On the day when you buy the field from Naomi, you also buy Ruth the Moabite, the wife of the dead man, in order to preserve the dead man s name for his inheritance. But the redeemer replied, Then I can t redeem it for myself, without risking damage to my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself. You can have my right of redemption, because I m unable to act as redeemer. In Israel, in former times, this was the practice regarding redemption and exchange to confirm any such matter: a man would take off his sandal and give it to the other person. This was the process of making a transaction binding in Israel. Then the redeemer said to Boaz, Buy it for yourself, and he took off his sandal. Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, Today you are witnesses that I ve bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. And also Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, I ve bought to be my wife, to preserve the dead man s name for his inheritance so that the name of the dead man might not be cut off from his brothers or from the gate of his hometown today you are witnesses. Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, We are witnesses. May the Lord grant that the woman who is coming into your household be like Rachel and like Leah, both of whom built up the house of Israel. May you be fertile in Ephrathah and may you preserve a name in Bethlehem. And may your household be like the household of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah through the children that the Lord will give you from this young woman. So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. 4
He was intimate with her, the Lord let her become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son. The women said to Naomi, May the Lord be blessed, who today hasn t left you without a redeemer. May his name be proclaimed in Israel. He will restore your life and sustain you in your old age. Your daughter-in-law who loves you has given birth to him. She s better for you than seven sons. Naomi took the child and held him to her breast, and she became his guardian. The neighborhood women gave him a name, saying, A son has been born to Naomi. They called his name Obed. He became Jesse s father and David s grandfather. These are the generations of Perez: Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David. L: The Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God. Message *Hymn of the Day #744 Pastor Mary Kaye Ashley Lord, Be Glorified *Prayers of Intercession The liturgist leads the congregation. Each petition concludes: L: Lord in your mercy, C: Hear our prayer. The prayers conclude: P: With gratitude for your faithfulness, we pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. C: Amen Offering & Offertory Take My Life and Let it Be Mahnke *Offering Hymn #829 Refrain Only Have You Thanked the Lord? *Offering Prayer L: Let us pray. Blessed are you, O God, ruler of heaven and earth. Day by day you shower us with blessings. As you have raised us to new life in Christ, give us glad and generous hearts, ready to praise you and to respond to those in need, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. C: Amen. 5
*Offering Hymn #829 Refrain Only Have You Thanked the Lord Holy Communion *Great Thanksgiving P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. P: Lift up your hearts. C: We lift them to the Lord. P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. C: It is right to give our thanks and praise. *Words of Institution *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 Invitation to our Lord s Table Words of invitation to the table will include: P: The feast is ready. The gifts of God for the people of God! C: Thanks be to God! Lamb of God Hymn #195 Distribution of Communion Please see inside front cover of this bulletin for a note on receiving Holy Communion. Distribution Hymn #685 Take My Life, That I may Be 6
* Post Communion Prayer P: God of abundance, with this bread of life and cup of salvation you have united us with Christ, making us one with all your people. Now send us forth in the power of your Spirit, that we may proclaim your redeeming love to the world and continue forever in the risen life of Jesus Christ, our Lord. C: Amen. *Blessing P: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord's face shine on you with grace and mercy. The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. In the name of the Father, the + Son, and the Holy Spirit. C: Amen. *Sending Hymn #823 Praise the Lord! O Heavens *Dismissal L: Go in peace! Share the Good News! C: Thanks be to God! Postlude Prelude in a Classic Style Young ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today s Worship Leaders Presiding Minister: Liturgist: Lay Reader: Acolyte: Communion Servers: Special Music: Greeters: Ushers: Offering Counters Grace Geek Squad: Pastor Mary Kaye Ashley Olaf Malmin Rachel Steingas Josephine Walter Lydia & Jonathan Rose Barb Holtan Thomas & Violet Rose Team F: Norma Walby-Captain-Head usher, Mark Pearson -Captain, Larry Denson, Linda Denson, Wayne Erickson, Peter Hultgren Team B: Colleen Gillis-captain, Julie & Rick Major Bill Kinney 7
Today we welcome Pastor Mary Kaye Ashley, who is providing pulpit supply for us today. We thank her for being with us. We lift our prayers to God in times of thanksgiving and times of need, in times of joy and times of sorrow. We pray for: Sue Brown. In case of an emergency after church office hours and weekends, please contact Pastor Karen Williams at 651-503-8958. Pastor Karen will return to the office on September 2, 2014. In case of any emergency, after church hours and weekends, please contact President Bill Kinney at 651-770-6819. The Church Office will be closed on Monday, September 1, 2014 for the Labor Day holiday. Your September Intouch s are ready to pick up. Those that have requested them electronically or mailed out will receive them either by email or mail. Any left after today will also be mailed. Please make sure to check the box in the Good Shepherd s lounge. Thank you! The Altar flowers today are given by Ken & Sandy Jackson in honor of their 49th wedding anniversary. Please wear your name tag to help Pastor Karen get to know you! The Mission of the Month for August is August Mission of the Month is Union Gospel Mission. This worthwhile organization s mission statement states that Union Gospel Mission is a Christian Ministry dedicated to serving the homeless, poor and addicted in our community. By meeting physical, spiritual, emotional and educational needs, Union Gospel Mission is changing lives. Union Gospel Mission provides many services including safe housing, free dental clinic, a donation center for clothes etc., as well as meals and holiday meals. Please use your multi-purpose blue envelope and check Mission of the month and place in the offering plate or send to the church office. Checks should be made payable to Grace Lutheran Church. Thank you for sharing of your resources with those less fortunate. 8
Please plan on attending worship on Sunday, September 7, 2014, for Pastor Karen s Installation at Grace. Our guest will be Bishop Patricia Lull, from the St. Paul Area Synod, who will be doing the installation of Pastor Karen. Following the service the Church picnic will be held and also the ELCA Day of Service. Please join us for this important day at Grace. Please let Maxine Keller know if you can help grill. On Sunday, September 7th, as a token of our gratitude to have a permanent pastor once again, we will be taking a SECOND OFFERING. Please plan ahead for this so you can give a thank offering this second time. The gifts will be used to complete the window projects, and after that the Window Fund will be closed. Any future gifts will be welcomed to the Building Fund for ongoing maintenance for this large building. RED CROSS BLOOD DRIVE will be here at Grace Monday, September 8 from 1:00-6:00 p.m. As usual we need your help to make this a successful Drive. If you can donate blood, please call Shirley Walby, 735-0955 or Carolyn Hesterberg, 702-1194. We will again have two Double Red Blood Cell machines. Qualifying for 2RBL means your donation can potentially help 2 people with only 1 donation. Give a Pint. Get a Pint. Get a coupon for a free pint of Culver's famous frozen custard. If you can donate bars, be a greeter, work in the kitchen or help with set up/take down, there is a volunteer sign up sheet in the narthex. Please add your name for this worthwhile opportunity! Feed My Starving Children Grace has 25 spots reserved for October 29, 2014 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Eagan site. We will prepare nutritious meals to feed people all over the world. This is a fun and easy project each person will be in charge of adding one or more ingredients to the bags of food, someone for weighing the bags, someone for boxing etc. We will meet at church and carpool especially if Confirmation or Sunday School age kids want to come to this event. Please sign up on the poster in the Good Shepherd Lounge. If needed, we can try to secure more positions. We will meet at Grace and depart at 5:15 p.m. Any questions, please call Sue Atneosen at 651-774-9114. 9
Stewardship Notes Christian stewardship is the practice of systematic and proportionate giving of time, abilities, and material possession, based upon the conviction that hese are trusts from God to be used in his service for the benefit of all mankind in grateful acknowledgement of Christ s redeeming love. Musical Notes When Frances Havergal gave her life to Christ, she gave it totally. She loved to teach Bible classes, visiting, counseling, and singing. She also had the great desire to see others give their all to Christ as well. One time she was staying in a home in London with ten other people. Some of these were unsaved, others were not totally committed to Christ. During her stay she prayed for these folks and after a week her prayer was answered. On that last night she was so excited about the change in her new friends that she could not sleep and instead wrote the words to the hymn, "Take My Life, and Let It Be." Week ending 08/24/2014 General Offering $2,097.00 Mortgage Offering $333.00 Attendance: 113 10
Sunday August 31, 2014-September 7, 2014 Sunday (31) 9:30 a.m. Worship 10:30 a.m. Coffee Hour 12:00 p.m. Good Samaritan Worship Monday (1) Church office closed for Labor Day Tuesday (2) 1:00 p.m. Ruth Circle Wednesday (3) 10:00 a.m. Coffee & Conversation 5:30 p.m. Bells of Grace 6:30 p.m. Joyous Jrs. 7:00 p.m. Sanctuary Choir 7:00 p.m. Youth Meeting Friday (5) 6:00 p.m. Good Samaritan Events Saturday (6) 9:00 a.m. Dixie Land Band Rehearsal Sunday (7) 9;30 a.m. Worship. Rally Day, Installation of Pastor Karen, 10:45 a.m. Church picnic 12:00 p.m. ELCA Day of Service 12:00 p.m. Good Samaritan Worship 11
12 Rev. Karen Williams, Pastor Rhynda Landt, Administrative Associate 1730 Old Hudson Road 651.774.9617 Saint Paul, Minnesota 55106 office@gracelutheranstpaul.org. email