Merciful Savior Lutheran Church

“Holding Forth the Word of Life”

2879 W. Walnut Street, Suite. 110, Rogers, Arkansas 72756

www.mercifulsaviorlutheran.net

www.bible-byte.net

Sunday, July 28, 2024

Worship

LSB #606 “I Lay My Sins on Jesus”

Invocation
(Congregation Stands)
O almighty God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — we come into Your presence to seek Your mercy, to hear Your Word, and to offer up to You our prayers and praises. Hear us for the sake of the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for our sins. Amen.

Psalm 130 A Song of Ascents.
1 Out of the depths have I cried unto You, O LORD. 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! 3 If you, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with You, so that You may be feared. 5 I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope. 6 My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning; indeed, more than those who watch for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. 8 And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

Confession of Sins
P: Let us, therefore, confess our sins unto the LORD our God and look to Him for mercy and forgiveness for the sake of the abundant redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ, who has redeemed us from all our iniquities.
C: Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, we poor sinners confess unto You that we are by nature sinful and unclean and that we have sinned against You in our thoughts, desires, words, and deeds. We, therefore, flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Your grace for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.
P: For the sake of Jesus’ holy life and His atoning sacrifice on the cross, I announce unto you the grace and mercy of God and, in the name and stead of Jesus Christ our Savior, proclaim to you forgiveness for all your sins through faith in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Apostles’ Creed (back cover of LSB)

LSB #908 “Lord, Open Now My Heart to Hear”

Scripture Lesson: John 8:31-47 (Congregation Stands)
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you remain in My word, then you are truly My disciples. 32 You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”
33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s seed and have never been in bondage to anyone. Why do You say, ‘You shall be set free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 Now a slave does not remain in the house forever, but a son remains forever. 36 Therefore if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s seed. But you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I am telling what I have seen with My Father, and you are doing what you have seen with your father.”
39 They answered Him, “Abraham is our father.”
Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You are doing the works of your father.”
Then they said to Him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father: God.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I came from God and proceeded into the world. I did not come of My own authority, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speaking? Because you cannot bear to hear My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God’s words. Therefore, you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

Offering

Prayer (Congregation Stands)
Merciful Father, for the sake of the shed blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ, forgive us for failing to walk by faith in the promises of Your Word. Move us to read and study our Bibles regularly and to come before You with our petitions and praises. Keep us from being overcome by our sinful inclinations and preserve us in the true and saving faith unto life everlasting. Lord, in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
O Christ Jesus, eternal Son of God and our Savior, You gave Your life for ours when You died on the cross and made atonement for our sins. Bless the work of our pastor and congregation, and of faithful pastors, missionaries, and congregations everywhere, so that Your life-giving Word might be proclaimed among us and among the peoples of the world, and those who hear might repent of their sins and look to You and Your cross for pardon and forgiveness. Lord, in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
O Holy Spirit, do not forsake us because of our weakness and disobedience to Your Word. Be patient with us and move us to continually repent of our sins and look in faith to our Savior for mercy. Teach us from Your Word. Strengthen and keep us in the true and saving faith. Lord, in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
O loving and merciful God, our nation and people are living in darkness and are under Your wrath and judgment. Open the eyes and ears of our people and rulers that they might see and hear the truth of Your Word, repent of their evil deeds, and fall down at the feet of Jesus, pleading for pardon and forgiveness and then seeking to walk in Your ways, that Your judgment may be turned away and Your eternal wrath against us be averted. Lord, in Your mercy, Hear our prayer.
O Healer and Preserver of our bodies and souls, as You have promised, we ask You to provide for all our needs and to preserve us from all harm and danger and all evil. We lift up to You those among us who are afflicted. We remember especially today John and Linda, Joyce, Carl, Richard, Harley and his family, John and Karen, __________, and all others we name in our hearts. Have mercy upon us, grant healing to the sick, comfort to the oppressed, and strength for all to endure the troubles and afflictions of this life in the hope of everlasting glory for the sake of Christ Jesus, our Savior. Lord, in Your mercy, Hear our prayer. Amen.

Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13)

Hymn #560 “Drawn to the Cross, Which Thou Hast Blessed”

Lord’s Supper
Holy Communion will be administered during our worship today. In this Supper, Jesus Christ offers and gives us to partake of His body and blood, given and shed for us on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. The Bible calls on us to examine ourselves before partaking of Christ’s Supper — to know whether we are truly sorry for our sins and trust in Jesus’ shed blood for pardon and whether we sincerely desire to amend our sinful ways with the help and aid of the Holy Spirit. Cf. 1 Cor. 11:23ff.; 10:16ff.; 2 Cor. 13:5.

Words of Institution and Distribution
“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night in which He was betrayed, took bread. When He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take and eat. This is My body which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.’
“In the same manner, He took the cup after He had supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” (1 Cor. 11:23-26)

Prayer of Thanksgiving (Congregation Stands)
O Lord Jesus Christ, Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, we thank You for fulfilling all righteousness in our stead and then taking upon Yourself the guilt and punishment for all our sins and making full atonement for us by Your perfect sacrifice on the cross. And we thank and praise You for giving us to partake of Your one holy sacrifice so that we might also partake of the blessings You won for us by Your death and have made sure to us by Your glorious resurrection. Strengthen and keep us in the true and saving faith, and move us to live our lives for You while we await Your glorious return and the joys of Your everlasting kingdom. Amen.

Benediction (Num. 6:24-26)
The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the LORD lift His countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.

LSB #805 “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”

[Scripture is taken from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version, Copyright © 2024, 2017, 2014 by United Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. All rights reserved.]

For pastoral care, please call Pastor Moll at 479-233-0081 or email him at pastor@mercifulsaviorlutheran.net.