July 5, 2026 11:15 A.M.
Welcome!
Introduction
The mystery of God’s ways is sometimes hidden from the wise and intelligent. The prophet describes an everlasting realm that contrasts with earthly nations, one marked by peace, humility, and freedom. Jesus associates with those excluded from the religious community. Like Paul, we struggle with selfish desires; we lament flawed systems; and we seek God’s mercy and forgiveness. We gather around word, water, and meal by Christ’s invitation: “Come to me, all you that are weary.” Here we find rest for our souls and hope for life in beloved community.
(please stand for our opening song)
Hymn: Before You, Lord, We Bow ELW 893
Confession and Forgiveness
P: Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, source of hope in every nation, rest for the weary, glory and peace to the ends of the earth. C: Amen.
P: Let us bring every burden to God.
Silence is kept for reflection.
P God of all mercy,
C: we have sinned against you, our neighbors, and your creation. Within ourselves and our communities, our desire to do what is good is at war with the evil that dwells in us. We lament the evil that holds us captive. We repent of the evil we have done, and the evil done on our behalf. Rescue us, forgive us, and restore us for lives of compassion and courage through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
P: All-merciful, Almighty God forgive you all your sins through the grace of ☩ Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit’s power strengthen you in doing what is good.
Amen.
Prayer of the Day
You are great, O God, and greatly to be praised. You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. Grant that we may believe in you, call upon you, know you, and serve you, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
(Please be seated for the readings)
First Reading: Zechariah 9:9-12
The coming messianic king will inaugurate an era of disarmament and prosperity. Because of God’s covenant with Israel, the people are designated as “prisoners of hope.”
R: 9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations;
his dominion shall be from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. 12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.
…This is the Word of the Lord
C: Thanks be to God
Psalmody: Psalm 145:8-14
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion. (Ps. 145:8)
8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 Lord, you are good to all, and your compassion is over all your works.
10 All your works shall praise you, O Lord, and your faithful ones shall bless you.
11 They shall tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your power,
12 that all people may know of your power and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; your dominion endures throughout all ages. You, Lord, are faithful in all your words, and loving in all your works.
14 The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up those who are bowed down.
Second Reading: Romans 7:15-25a
Life captive to sin is a catch-22 existence in which we know good but do not do it and do things we know to be wrong. Through Jesus Christ, God has set us free from such a futile existence.
R: 15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. 17 But in fact it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that the good does not dwell within me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do the good lies close at hand, but not the ability. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me.
21 So I find it to be a law that, when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, 23 but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched person that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25a Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
…This is the Word of the Lord
C: Thanks be to God
Gospel: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
Jesus chides people who find fault with both his ministry and that of John the Baptist. He thanks God that wisdom and intelligence are not needed to receive what God has to offer.
R: [Jesus spoke to the crowd saying:] 16 “To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, 17 ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’
18 “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; 19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”
25 At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
…This is the Gospel of the Lord
C: Praise to you, oh Christ
Hymn: O Beautiful for Spacious Skies ELW 888
| SERMON w/ Pastor John Kearns | (please stand) |
Apostles’ Creed
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 everlasting. Amen.
Prayers of Intercession
Trusting in God’s steadfast love for all God has made, let us pray for the church, the world, and all of creation.
A brief silence.
Gathering God, send your Spirit on the church you have called out from every nation. Knit us together into one body and heal the divisions we have caused. Overcome our timidity to witness and act in the public square when your purpose is being thwarted. Bless rostered and lay leaders with clarity and courage as they center your people in the gospel. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
All your works praise you, O God. From the Arctic to the Caribbean, from the Atlantic to the western islands, these lands and waters have sustained its peoples over many centuries. As we take our part in creation’s praise, revive our wonder at what you have fashioned, and enliven our will to ensure its health for future generations. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Holy Trinity, you show us the splendor of diversity and the beauty of unity in your own divine life. We come from many nations with many languages; make us a united people that delights in our many different gifts. As the United States of America marks its declaration of independence, give those whom we have entrusted with authority the spirit of wisdom, and curb every abuse of that trust, so that both here and abroad, justice, humility, and peace may flourish. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
You are the Mother of exiles, O God. Extend your arms to all who are tired, who live with poverty, the tempest-tossed, all who yearn to breathe free. Embrace people seeking refuge; those incarcerated, detained, or disappeared; and neighbors fearing those they once trusted. Give healing and hope to people in any oppression and need, especially these we name before you now (a brief silence). God of grace,
hear our prayer.
We remember before you those who have died in every generation: Jan Hus, executed for protesting the ecclesial system; Benedict, teacher of a prayerful life; and those who have died ensuring the freedoms of this country: people in the armed services, peace officers, advocates, and activists. Gather us, together with those who have gone before us, and with saints of every tribe and nation, into the holy city you have prepared. God of grace,
hear our prayer.
Into your mercy, O God, we entrust our restless hearts and all our cares, through Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.
(stand)
The Sharing of the Peace:
P: The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C: And also with you.
P: We Greet one another with the Peace of Christ
Hymn: God Bless Our Native Land ELW 891
Communion
P: Blessed are you, O God, for waves of grain and harvesters, fruitful vines and winepresses, for our labor and our rest, for the gifts of your hand in this land.
Transform us and what we offer into the banquet of your compassion, serving your love without limits through Jesus Christ, our Savior. C: Amen.
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.
P: It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places
give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God. You reveal your glory as the glory of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: equal in majesty, undivided in splendor, one Lord, one God, ever to be adored in your eternal glory. And so, with all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
P: In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread and gave thanks; 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.
P: 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.
P: For as often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
C: Christ has died: Christ is risen: Christ will come again.
P: To you, O God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory in your holy church, now and forever. C: Amen.
P: Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
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.
Invitation to Communion
P: Citizens of the commonwealth of heaven: Taste and know that God is good to all.
(sit)
Distribution & video
Post-Communion Prayer
P: We thank you, God of heaven and earth, that you fill our deepest need with the very gift of Jesus Christ, broken and poured out for us. Pour us out into a broken world. Channel our common life toward the common good, following the way our Savior leads us now and forever.
C: Amen.
Blessing
P: The Author of life, the Word of salvation, the Breath of new birth, ☩ one God, bless you and equip you for living and serving, today and every day.
C: Amen.
Announcements
| Birthdays July 11 – Beth Wiltse | Weekly Calendar Wednesday 10am – Bible Study at Immanuel 5:30 – Council Meeting 6 pm – prayer gathering Rummage Sale preview Thursday 9 am – Quilting Friday & Saturday – Rummage Sale Next Sunday – luncheon |
CLOSING HYMN: My Country, ‘Tis of Thee LBW 566, vs. 1 & 4
Dismissal
P: Go in peace. Seek liberty and justice for all.
C: Thanks be to God.