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St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran ChurchSUNDAY September 6, 2020

To our Church FamilyWe’re Glad You’re Here.

WELCOME

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Today's Hymns from the Tower                 Church Carillon The Westminster StrikeAnnouncementsPrelude: Adagio Cantabile from Piano Sonata Op. 13 (Pathétique) Ludwig Van Beethoven

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESSThe assembly stands. All may make the sign of the cross, the sign that is marked at baptism, as the presiding minister begins.In the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son, and of the Holy Spirit.Amen.

Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.

Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.Silence is kept for reflection.Gracious God,have mercy on us. We confess that we have turned from you and given ourselves into the power of sin. We are truly sorry and humbly repent. In your compassion forgive us our sins, known and unknown, things we have done and things we have failed to do. Turn us again to you, and uphold us by your Spirit, so that we may live and serve you in newness of life through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.Amen.

In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son, and of the Holy Spirit.Amen.

GATHERING HYMN Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee ELW 836

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GREETING

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.And also with you.

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KYRIE

For peace in the world, for the health of the church, for the unity of all;for this holy house, for all who worship and praise,let us pray to the Lord, let us pray to the Lord. Refrain

That we may live out your impassioned response to the hungry and the poor;that we may live out truth and justice and grace,let us pray to the Lord, let us pray to the Lord. Refrain

For peace in our hearts, for peace in our homes, for friends and family;for life and for love, for our work and our play,let us pray to the Lord, let us pray to the Lord. Refrain

For your Spirit to guide; that you center our lives in the water and the Word;that you nourish our souls with your body and blood,let us pray to the Lord, let us pray to the Lord. Refrain

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Let us prayO Lord God, enliven and preserve your church with your perpetual mercy. Without your help, we mortals will fail; remove far from us everything that is harmful, and lead us toward all that gives life and salvation, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.Amen.

First Reading: Ezekiel 33:7-117So you, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 8If I say to the wicked, “O wicked ones, you shall surely die,” and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at your hand. 9But if you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, and they do not turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life.

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  10Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have said: “Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?” 11Say to them, As I live, says the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?

The Word of the LordThanks be to God.

Second Reading: Romans 13:8-148Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.  11Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; 13let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

The Word of the LordThanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION 

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Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20

The holy gospel according to Matthew, the 16th chapterGlory to you, O Lord.

[Jesus said to the disciples:] 15“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. 16But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

The gospel of the Lord.Praise to you, O Christ.

SERMON The Rev. Mark Kreemer

HYMN OF THE DAY Leaning on the Everlasting Arms ELW 774

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PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

Drawn together in the compassion of God, we pray for the church, the world, and all those in need.

After each petition the following response is given:Lord, in your mercy,hear our prayer.

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All these things and whatever else you see that we need, we entrust to your mercy; through Christ our Lord.Amen.

SHARING OF THE PEACE

The peace of Christ be with you always.And also with you.

OFFERING

Offertory Anthem: Organ Meditation on The Old Rugged Cross Alan Jackson

DIALOGUE

The Lord be with you.And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.It is right to give our thanks and praise.

THANKSGIVING AT THE TABLEHoly God, our Maker, Redeemer, and Healer, in the harmonious world of your creation, the plants and animals, the seas and stars were whole and well in your praise.

When sin had scarred the world, you sent your Son to heal our ills and to form us again into one.

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.

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.

Remembering, therefore, his acts of healing, his body given up, and his victory over death, we await that day when all the peoples of the earth will come to the river to enjoy the tree of life.

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Send your Spirit upon us and this meal: as grains scattered on the hillside become one bread, so let your Church be gathered from the ends of the earth, that all may be fed with the Bread of life, your Son.

Through him all glory and honor is yours, Almighty Father, with the Holy Spirit, in your holy Church, both now and forever.Amen

LORD’S PRAYER

Make us bold, O merciful God, to address you as our Abba as we pray:

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.

SENDING HYMN Go, My Children, with My Blessing ELW 543

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BLESSING

May the Lord bless you and keep you.May the Lord’s face shine upon you and be gracious to you.May the Lord look upon you with favor and give you peaceAmen.

DISMISSAL

Go in peace. Live in love as Christ loved us.Thanks be to God.

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Postlude: Finale from Partida on ‘Ode to Joy’ Ludwig Van BeethovenArr. Charles Callahan

Music Notes*Today, we experience in worship the music of Ludwig Van Beethoven, as we open and close our service with his timeless “Ode to Joy” theme and prepare for worship with one of his most timeless works.*

Ludwig Van Beethoven is recognized as one of the most influential composers in history. Beethoven’s music is some of the most performed throughout the world. German-born at the dawn of Western Music’s ‘Classical era’ (1770), he was well ahead of his time as a composer, conveying passion and emotion not experienced before his time. Beethoven’s music is aggressive and powerful, even in moments of peace and tenderness. He writes in thick orchestration (many instruments), and revolutionized the complexity of music composition for future generations of composers.

Beethoven’s father was an abusive alcoholic who expected perfection in all things from his son, especially music. Biographers share that his highly intoxicated father would wake him in the middle of the night and demand that he practice the Piano-forte (today called Piano) until it was dawn and time to go to school. Beethoven himself credits these frequent and intense practice sessions as critical to his understanding of music.

Notably, Beethoven went deaf well into his composing life. Despite this significant setback that challenged him greatly and affected him deeply, he continued to compose some of his most famous works during this time, including his ninth symphony, home of the Ode to Joy theme and chorus within the final movement. The work inspired the hymn that we sing in gathering today, as well as many anthems and instrumental work arrangements.

The ‘Path é tique’ Piano Sonata perfectly highlights Beethoven’s compositional style, including rapid, complex and aggressive repetitive episodes, complimented with the slow and elegant middle movement that we hear in our prelude today. The stunning melody, arranged and complimented in several different ways, sings beautifully as it is accompanied by simply placed motives. Many say that this movement was inspired by one of Mozart’s piano sonatas. Many consider this music as some of the most beautiful ever written.

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Hymns, Liturgies, and Live stream permissions granted by the following:

Music in today’s Liturgy in covered by:"Permission to podcast / stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE, License #A-734490. All rights reserved

GATHERING HYMN Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee ELW 836Public Domain

HYMN OF THE DAY Leaning on the Everlasting Arms ELW 774Public Domain

SENDING HYMN Go, My Children, with My Blessing ELW 543"Permission to podcast / stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE, License #A-734490. All rights reserved

"Permission to podcast / stream the music in this service obtained from CCLI, License #20472231 All rights reserved.”

Altar Flowers:

The altar flower today were given by Sue Ambrosic in memory of Joe’s Birthday.

In our prayers today we will remember

Jeannie Tidwell, Marcia Wright, Renee Brown, Chris Collard, Chuck Evans, Josh Keller, Bob Cocklin, Dr Donald Zimmerman Nancy Straughn, Martha Scott, Judy Hall, Don and Wanda Evans, Catherine Richards, Bob Keefer, Linda Klein, Sara Hughes, Chrissy Sturtz, Donna Viles, Betty Ayers, Jean Dexter, Janet Duke, Betty George, Marjorie Hill, Bob Kirsch, Dan Landig, Anna Langenfeld, Daniel Leone, Darlene Lewis, Angela Sutter, Amy White, Maria Lictenberger, Diane Brant, Karen Lunkwitz, Dave Paul, Ron Meimer, Jim Mullen, Hazel Draper, Jennifer Mays, Alice Ferguson, Cheryl Shaw