First Trinity Lutheran Church

21 July 2024

Ninth Sunday After Pentecost

Ringing of the Bell

– The bell rings as the call to worship, reminding us to discontinue conversation and reverently prepare for worship.

Prelude

Welcome and Announcements

Lutheran Service Book Divine Service Setting One

Stand

645 Built on the Rock LSB 645 sts. 1, 4–5

1 Built on the Rock the Church shall stand
Even when steeples are falling.
Crumbled have spires in ev’ry land;
Bells still are chiming and calling,
Calling the young and old to rest,
But above all the souls distressed,
Longing for rest everlasting.

4 Here stands the font before our eyes,
Telling how God has received us.
The_altar recalls Christ’s sacrifice
And what His Supper here gives us.
Here sound the Scriptures that proclaim
Christ yesterday, today, the same,
And evermore, our Redeemer.

5 Grant, then, O God, Your will be done,
That, when the church bells are ringing,
Many in saving faith may come
Where Christ His message is bringing:
“I know My own; My own know Me.
You, not the world, My face shall see.
My peace I leave with you. Amen.”

Text: Nikolai Fredrik Severin Grundtvig, 1783–1872, abr.; tr. Carl Döving, 1867–1937, alt.
Text: Public domain

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.

Invocation

P In the name of the Father and of the TSon and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

Exhortation

P If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

C But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Silence for reflection on God's Word and for self-examination.

Confession of Sins

P Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.

C Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.

Absolution

P Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the TSon and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

SERVICE OF THE WORD

Gloria in Excelsis 154

P Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on earth.

C Lord God, heavenly king, almighty God and Father:

We worship You, we give You thanks, we praise You for Your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God:

You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.

You are seated at the right hand of the Father; receive our prayer.

For You alone are the Holy One, You alone are the Lord,

You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit,

in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Salutation and Collect of the Day

P The Lord be with you.

C And also with you.

P Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, though we do not deserve Your goodness, still You provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may acknowledge Your gifts, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C Amen.

Sit

Psalm Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads 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 mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

First Reading Jeremiah 23:1–6

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’”

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

Epistle Ephesians 2:11–22

Remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

Stand

Common Alleluia and Verse

C Alleluia.

Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Holy Gospel Mark 6:30–44

P The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the sixth chapter.

C Glory to You, O Lord.

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

P This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C Praise to You, O Christ.

Sit

644 The Church’s One Foundation LSB 644 sts. 1–5

1 The Church’s one foundation
Is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
She is His new creation
By water and the Word.
From heav’n He came and sought her
To be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her,
And for her life He died.

2 Elect from ev’ry nation,
Yet one o’er all the earth;
Her charter of salvation:
One Lord, one faith, one birth.
One holy name she blesses,
Partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses
With ev’ry grace endued.

3 Though with a scornful wonder
The world sees her oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed,
Yet saints their watch are keeping;
Their cry goes up, “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the morn of song.

4 Through toil and tribulation
And tumult of her war
She waits the consummation
Of peace forevermore
Till with the vision glorious
Her longing eyes are blest,
And the great Church victorious
Shall be the Church at rest.

5 Yet she on earth has union
With God, the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion
With those whose rest is won.
O blessèd heav’nly chorus!
Lord, save us by Your grace
That we, like saints before us,
May see You face to face.

Text: Samuel J. Stone, 1839–1900, alt.
Text: Public domain

Sermon Pastor Eric Ash

Pente 9 B July 21, 2024 Jeremiah 23:1-6

Bad Shepherds/Good Sheepdogs

Maybe you were taught this finger play that I learned in the primary grades of Sunday School. This is the church, this is the steeple, open all the doors, and here’s all the people. Today we might ask, “Where ARE all the people?" Where are they?

In the Dorcas Room, and in the church archives, and other places around our building, you can see photographs from back in the day when there were dozens of people in the choir and Men’s Club and such, and hundreds of people in the pews on Sunday. Obviously, that is not the case here today. But our congregation is not alone in this. There has been a steep decline in church membership and worship attendance going on for generations in North America and Western Europe. You know how the Roman Catholic dioceses are closing churches. Several Protestant churches in our area are struggling. What happened?

Affixing blame is only worthwhile if getting to the root cause of our spiritual malaise can make a difference. Diagnosis must be followed by treatment. It is also good to remember that the “good ol’ days” were rarely as good as we remember them. The 1950s may have been the highwater mark of church activity in America. But the decades preceding the 50s may have been like, or even worse than, today.

We also note that marriage and birthrates play a part in church statistics. People in industrialized nations tend to marry less or later, and have less children, than in developing nations. Evangelicals marry younger and more often have more children than mainline Protestants. Asking any group of Lutherans how they became Lutheran, and many will say they married a Lutheran. So, you single and young married people, you know what you have to do. More seriously…

As we try to find the source of the downturn in belief in God and participation in His church, let’s examine some of the usual suspects.

Some people blame science for people turning away for God. They say science can now explain the things we used to attribute to acts of God. Some go as far as saying that science has proved there is no God. Any scientist worth his salt knows that science can neither prove nor disprove the existence of God. Scientific knowledge comes from direct, unbiased observation of the things our senses can perceive, and controlled experimentation. God cannot be studied that way. Some of the world’s greatest scientists have had the insight that a little scientific knowledge leads people away from God, but a lot of scientific knowledge leads people back to God.

Personally, I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist. Science says that there was nothing in the universe. Then for no reason, and in some way, we don’t know how, suddenly there was something. Without any cause, this dense matter exploded and became everything that is. But all that matter was lifeless. Then, again, in a way no one knows and cannot replicate in a laboratory, some of that matter became alive. Through a series of errors and accidents, those living pieces of matter became amoebas and dinosaurs and human beings, although the odds of that happening are so low as to be virtually impossible.

And if all this was true, then life would have no meaning, no purpose, no goal, and what you think is love and morality would be nothing more than random chemicals in your brain playing tricks on you. I don’t know about you, but I can’t buy a myth, a fairy tale, a science fiction story like that. Isn’t it more logical, looking at the world as it is to believe in an all-powerful, intelligent being, who intentionally creates a cosmos with meaning and purpose? We call him God.

Okay, so maybe a misunderstanding of science has stolen some of the gullible and unthinking from the faith. But there are plenty more alleged culprits. Following the heyday of the church in the 1950s, came the turbulent 60s. Think about it young people, your grandparents might have been hippies. We were taught to question, distrust, and disobey all authority, sometimes with good reason. Sadly, that included the church. Some churches obstinately dug in their heels; others jettisoned their beliefs to be relevant and became Flip Wilson’s “The Church of What’s Happening Now.” And on the heels of that were all the financial and sexual scandals in the church. Some of you recall the Jimmy Swaggart, Jimmy Baker, and Robert Tilton debacles. Yet today, there are still TV preachers living in palatial mansions and flying a fleet of private jets, bought with the offerings of hardworking people who bought their lies.

Many people who gave up on the church blame hypocrisy. We get it.

That brings us to the real crux of the problem, the reason the Bible identified for a lack of faith among God’s people: Bad shepherds. In Jeremiah’s prophecy he refers to the political, social, and religious leaders of his day as bad shepherds. Apparently, immorality, corruption, hypocrisy, and bad theology aren’t anything new. What jumps out at me here is that the title pastor comes from the Latin word for shepherd. Being very much aware that Jesus Christ alone is the Good Shepherd, I prefer to refer to myself as an under shepherd or a sheepdog. I’ve shared with you before one of my favorite quotes from Martin Luther: The Devil doesn’t mind if the sheep are well fed – he likes them fat. It’s the barking of the dogs he can’t stand.” I promise I will keep barking.

Speaking of Luther, he had the same problem in his era as we do in ours, bad shepherds, bad pastors, teaching bad theology. We recall Luther’s indictments of the medieval church: The people were baptized heathen. They were baptized but knew nothing of what the church taught. The sacrament was denied to the people. They were either spectators at the mass or given the host only. The people had no access to the Bible in their own language and could not understand what was going on in the mass. So, they didn’t know what the Bible said. And the big one, indulgences. Christ’s free gift of forgiveness was being sold and the offerings of the hardworking peasants were going to enrich Rome.

To correct these issues, Luther and his colleagues enacted some commonsense reforms: More Bible teaching, the people receiving the sacrament in both kinds, Bibles and worship services in the language of the people, and an end to indulgences. Luther and the Reformers never intended to give the church a complete makeover with new ideas. Theirs was a conservative reformation, fine tuning the church’s practice and taking the church back to the truth that had been obscured.

However, there were more radical Reformers, who went far beyond what Luther intended. The radicals rejected good biblical authority. They wanted to burn the church down and build it back better from scratch. It didn’t work. What those bad shepherds did succeed at doing was adulterating the church’s doctrine, which has led to the situation we have today. Many people have unknowingly been seduced by their falsehoods. What are they? Let me begin to get at it this way:

I think I saw the epitome of modern church error on Facebook the other day. It was an ad that said something like: Using the skills we will teach you, you can in just a few minutes a day connect to the Holy Spirit and make your life better in every area. Sound enticing? Would you buy it? Let’s take it apart -- and I mean TAKE IT APART.

The Bible tells us to pray, to be baptized, to receive the Lord’s Supper, to worship with others. It seems that the creator of this program has created other means for us to connect with God that go beyond what scripture teaches, and he will share this wonderful gift with you FOR A PRICE. We know that the Holy Spirit works faith in us when and where he will; we don’t control the Holy Spirit. But now we can have the Holy Spirit as our servant, at our beck and call when we want Him, with these proprietary techniques. This method only takes minutes a day. No more long hours reading and studying the Bible. No more missing sleep to pray. We don’t want to invest too much time on God. For minimal effort, we can earn all the gifts of God’s kingdom. That means we are earning our way into God’s good graces. And that causes blessings in all areas of our lives. Jesus spent a lot of time talking about forgiving others and bearing up under hardship. He said nothing about how to be attractive or successful or popular. But this new teaching will help you with your finances and your love life and generally solve all your problems. And isn’t that what religion is all about, making you happy? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

That is exactly the bilge water that flows out of the teaching of the radical reformers and those who profane Christ and his church today. Once we received holy baptism as an unmerited gift from God, even to a helpless infant, promising us eternal life. Now we are taught that baptism is “an outward sign of an inward change” although the Bible never says that. We have wrestled Baptism away from God and made it something we do, not something he does for us. We no longer believe as John’s gospel tells us that Christ chooses us. We imagine that we are smart enough and good enough to do him the favor of choosing him, as if that was even possible without the Holy Spirit guiding us.

When Luther translated the Bible into the language of the people it was so that everyone could read the truth for themselves. But our access to the Bible has become an opportunity for everyone to read into Scripture whatever pleases them. We used to have unchanging biblical truth; now we have points for debate. The misguided teachings of the bad shepherds have led the sheep for whom the Good Shepherd bled into barren pastures of doubt and poisoned waters of unbelief.

The Bible witnesses that the Lord’s Supper is the true body and blood of Christ given and shed for us. We are told participation in the Holy Communion is not optional. A sacrament believed to be not real but merely symbolic gives rise to belief in a Savior who is not really real but merely symbolic. People’s souls are starving because they have not been fed with mystical yet physical body and blood of Christ.

Would a return to the true teachings of the church bring the people back and add new sheep to the fold? Yes, and no. God’s Word will go out and not come back to Him empty. We believe that. You gathered here are part of that. The one, holy, universal and apostolic church will prevail against the gate of Hell and remain until Christ comes again.

But God’s Word is both law and gospel, and there are those who will not accept the sweet honey of the gospel because they disagree with the sour vinegar of the law. There are those who will believe a comforting lie rather than the confrontational truth. But success in numbers is not the goal of the church. We don’t measure success the way the world does. Our goal is faithfulness to Christ and His Word. May all God’s sheepdogs bark that Word out boldly as Jeremiah did, and may all His sheep receive it gladly, to the upbuilding of God’s Kingdom and the greater glory of His name. Amen.

Stand

Apostles’ Creed

C I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth.

And 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 sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

From thence 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 T everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.

We give thanks to You, heavenly Father, for Your compassion shown in Christ Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep and the righteous Son of David. Keep us trusting at all times in Your right hand, in whom true satisfaction is found. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father, in Jesus’ compassion for the crowd, He provided bread and fish until all had eaten their fill and were satisfied. Give us our daily bread, according to Your will. Help us to use the gifts that You have given us to care for those who are hungry and in need. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Heavenly King, You provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant us good government and faithful rulers, while reminding us always that all provision comes from You. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

We give thanks to You, heavenly Father, for Your constant care and all we need to support this body and life. Attend to those in need among us [especially _____________]. Free them from dismay and fear by the certainty that Christ is their righteousness. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

We give thanks to You, O Lord, that You have made us fellow citizens with the saints in light. Keep us in the true faith for as long as You preserve us in this world, that we would hopefully and eagerly await the day when we stand in Your presence with them; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Sit

Offertory Invitation

The Psalmist wrote, "Ascribe to the Lord the honor due his Name; bring offerings and come into this courts." Therefore, we now make our offerings to God.

The Choir sings the Offertory as the offerings are collected.

Stand

Offertory LSB 192

C Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and uphold me with Thy free spirit. Amen.

Offertory Prayer

Lord God, send your Spirit upon us as we offer you these gifts. Enrich us by your grace, strengthen us with your blessing, and keep us always in your love. Grant this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT

Preface

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 Him thanks and praise.

Proper Preface

P It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who, having created all things, took on human flesh and was born of the virgin Mary. For our sake He died on the cross and rose from the dead to put an end to death, thus fulfilling Your will and gaining for You a holy people. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:

Sanctus

C Holy, holy, holy Lord God of pow’r and might:

Heaven and earth are full of Your glory.

Hosanna. Hosanna.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

The Words of Our Lord

P On the night, in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying, take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same also, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, this cup is the New Testament in my blood, shed for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.

Lord's Prayer Invitation

Let us pray together the prayer that our Lord Jesus taught us. . .

Lord's Prayer

C 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.

Fraction

P Come for all things are now ready, the gifts of God for the people of God.

C Amen.

Agnus Dei

C Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; grant us peace.

Sit

The pastor and those who assist him receive the body and blood of Christ first and then distribute them to those who come to receive, saying:

Distribution 164

The body of Christ, given for you.

Amen.

The blood of Christ, shed for you.

Amen.

Stand

In dismissing the communicants, the following is said:

The Dismissal

P The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen and preserve you in body and soul to life everlasting. Depart Tin peace.

C Amen.

Thank the Lord

C Thank the Lord and sing His praise; tell ev’ryone what He has done.

Let all who seek the Lord rejoice and proudly bear His name.

He recalls His promises and leads His people forth in joy

with shouts of thanksgiving. Alleluia, alleluia.

Post-Communion Prayer

P P: Pour out upon us the spirit of your love, O Lord, and unite the wills of those whom you have fed with one heavenly food; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

C Amen.

Benediction

P The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look upon you with favor and Tgive you peace.

C Amen.

642 O Living Bread from Heaven LSB 642

1 O living Bread from heaven,
How well You feed your guest!
The gifts that You have given
Have filled my heart with rest.
Oh, wondrous food of blessing,
Oh, cup that heals our woes!
My heart, this gift possessing,
With praises overflows.

2 My Lord, You here have led me
To this most holy place
And with Yourself have fed me
The treasures of Your grace;
For You have freely given
What earth could never buy,
The bread of life from heaven,
That now I shall not die.

3 You gave me all I wanted;
This food can death destroy.
And You have freely granted
The cup of endless joy.
My Lord, I do not merit
The favor You have shown,
And all my soul and spirit
Bow down before Your throne.

4 Lord, grant me then, thus strengthened
With heav’nly food, while here
My course on earth is lengthened,
To serve with holy fear.
And when You call my spirit
To leave this world below,
I enter, through Your merit,
Where joys unmingled flow.

Text: Johann Rist, 1607–67; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Text: Public domain

CLOSING RESPONSE

P Go in Peace! Serve the Lord!

C Praise be to God!

Acknowledgments

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.