HOLY CROSS LUTHERAN CHURCH
SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY OF TRINITY
Sunday, September 26, 2021, 8:00 a.m.

Prelude

Greeting And Moment Of Fellowship

Entrance Hymn
Please stand for the last verse of the hymn.

Jesus, Refuge of the Weary

Tune and text: Public domain

P	In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C	Amen.

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.

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.

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 T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C	Amen.

Service of the Word

Introit	

P Righteous are you, | O Lord,*
C and right are your | just decrees.
P Deal with your servant according to your | steadfast love,*
C and teach me your | statutes.
P Blessèd are those whose way is | blameless,*
C who walk in the law | of the Lord!
P Blessèd are those who keep his testi- | monies,*
C who seek him with their | whole heart.
P Oh that my ways may be | steadfast*
C in keeping your | statutes!
P Then I shall not be | put to shame,*
C having my eyes fixed on all your com- | mandments.
P Glory be to the Father and | to the Son*
C and to the Holy | Spirit;
P as it was in the be- | ginning,*
C is now, and will be forever. | Amen.
P Righteous are you, | O Lord,*
C and right are your | just decrees.
P Deal with your servant according to your | steadfast love,*
C and teach me your | statutes.

Kyrie	

Gloria in Excelsis	

Salutation and Collect of the Day	
P	The Lord be with you.
C	And also with you.

P	Let us pray.
Lord, we implore You, grant Your people grace to withstand the temptations of the devil and with pure hearts and minds to follow You, the only God; 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

Old Testament Reading	Exodus 15:1–10
	1Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying,
“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
	the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
2The Lord is my strength and my song,
	and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
	my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
3The Lord is a man of war;
	the Lord is his name.
4“Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
	and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
5The floods covered them;
	they went down into the depths like a stone.
6Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,
	your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
7In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
	you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.
8At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
	the floods stood up in a heap;
	the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
9The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,
	I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
	I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’
10You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;
	they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

A	This is the Word of the Lord.
C	Thanks be to God.

Epistle	Ephesians 4:1–6
	1I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

A	This is the Word of the Lord.
C	Thanks be to God.

Stand

Alleluia and Verse	

Holy Gospel	
P	The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the fourteenth chapter.

	1One Sabbath, when [Jesus] went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. 2And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. 3And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 4But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. 5And he said to them, “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6And they could not reply to these things.
	7Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

P	This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Sit

In His Temple Now Behold Him

Tune and text: Public domain

Sermon

Stand

Nicene Creed
C	I believe in one God,
     the Father Almighty,
     maker of heaven and earth
          and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
     the only-begotten Son of God,
     begotten of His Father before all worlds,
     God of God, Light of Light,
     very God of very God,
     begotten, not made,
     being of one substance with the Father,
     by whom all things were made;
     who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
     and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
     and was made man;
     and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
     He suffered and was buried.
     And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures
          and ascended into heaven
     and sits at the right hand of the Father.
     And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead,
     whose kingdom will have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit,
     the Lord and giver of life,
     who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
     who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,
     who spoke by the prophets.
     And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church,
     I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,
     and I look for the resurrection of the dead
     and the life T of the world to come. Amen.

Prayer of the Church
Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
After each portion of the prayers:
P	 Lord, in your mercy,
C	 hear our prayer.

The prayers conclude:
P	 Into your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C	Amen

Sit

Offering

Stand

Offertory	

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.

Benediction	

Fight the Good Fight

Text and tune: Public domain

Words of Departure
P	  Go in peace and serve the Lord!
C	 Thanks be to God!