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Service of the Word
Day of Thanksgiving
Tuesday, November 23, 2021, 7:30 p.m.
OPENING MUSIC For the Fruit of
All Creation
– Paul Manz
Now Thank We All Our God- I. G.F. Kauffman
II. Piet Post
III. Paul Manz
X HYMN For the Fruit of All
Creation
1 For
the fruit of all creation,
thanks
be to God.
For
his gifts to ev’ry nation,
thanks
be to God.
For
the plowing, sowing, reaping,
silent
growth while we are sleeping,
future
needs in earth’s safekeeping,
thanks
be to God.
2 In
the just reward of labor,
God’s
will is done.
In
the help we give our neighbor,
God’s
will is done.
In
our worldwide task of caring
for
the hungry and despairing,
in
the harvests we are sharing,
God’s
will is done.
3 For
the harvests of the Spirit,
thanks
be to God.
For
the good we all inherit,
thanks
be to God.
For
the wonders that astound us,
for
the truths that still confound us,
most
of all, that love has found us,
thanks
be to God.
Text: F. Pratt Green, 1903-2000
© 1970 Hope Publishing Co. All rights reserved.
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the
universe,
for in your
wisdom you have formed us.
You feed the hungry and clothe the naked.
We bless
you and praise your name forever.
You set free those who are bound.
We bless
you and praise your name forever.
You raise up those whose courage falters.
We bless
you and praise your name forever.
You provide for our every need.
Accept our
grateful praises.
You have called us from all peoples.
We rejoice
and bless your name forever.
You bless your people with peace.
We bless
you and praise your loving grace.
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the
universe,
for in your wisdom you have formed us.
God has made us his people through our Baptism into
Christ.
Living together in trust and hope, we confess our
faith.
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He
was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and
born of the virgin Mary.
He
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was
crucified, died, and was buried.
He
descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again.
He
ascended into heaven,
and
is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He
will come again to judge the living and the dead.
the
holy catholic Church,
the
communion of saints,
the
forgiveness of sins,
the
resurrection of the body,
and
the life everlasting. Amen
CANTICLE I Will Sing the
Story of Your Love
Leader: I will sing the story of your love, O
Lord,
and proclaim your faithfulness forever.
People: I will sing the story of your love, O Lord,
and proclaim your faithfulness forever.
L In
this place shall be heard again the sounds of joy and gladness,
the
voice of the bridegroom and the bride.
and proclaim your faithfulness forever.
L Here
they offer praise and thanksgiving in the house of the Lord,
and
we hear their voices shouting,
“Praise
the Lord of hosts, for he is good, for his love endures forever.”
People: I will sing the story of your love, O Lord,
and proclaim your faithfulness forever.
L Give
thanks to him and bless his name;
the
Lord is good, his love is everlasting,
and
his faithfulness endures to all generations,
and
his faithfulness endures to all generations.
People: I will sing the story of your love, O Lord,
and proclaim your faithfulness forever.
The Lord be with you.
And also
with you.
Almighty God, our Father,
your generous goodness comes to us new every day. By the work of your Spirit lead us to
acknowledge your goodness, give thanks for your benefits, and serve you in
willing obedience; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
Sit
READING Joel
2:21-27
21Do not fear, O soil;
be glad and rejoice,
for the Lord has done great
things!
22Do not fear, you animals of the field,
for the pastures of the wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit,
the fig tree and vine give their full yield.
23O children of Zion, be glad
and rejoice in the Lord your
God;
for he has given the early rain for your vindication,
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the later rain, as before.
24The threshing floors shall be full of grain,
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25I will repay you for the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent against you.
26You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord
your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
27You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I, the Lord, am your
God and there is no other.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
READING Matthew
6:25-33
[Jesus said,] 25“Therefore I tell you, do not
worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your
body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than
clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap
nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of
more value than they? 27And can any of you by worrying add a single
hour to your span of life? 28And why do you worry about clothing?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29yet
I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30But
if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is
thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
31Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’
or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32For it is the
Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows
that you need all these things. 33But strive first for the kingdom
of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as
well.”
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
SERMON ‘Gift Or Entitlement?’ The Rev. Robert W. Strobel
Stand
XHYMN We
Praise You, O God
in grateful devotion
our tribute we bring.
We lay it before you;
we kneel and adore you;
we bless your holy
name; glad praises we sing.
2 We worship you, God of
our fathers, we bless you;
through trial and tempest
our guide you have been.
When perils o’ertake
us, you will not forsake us,
and with your help, O
Lord, our struggles we win.
3 With voices united our
praises we offer
and gladly our songs
of thanksgiving we raise.
With you, Lord,
beside us, your strong arm will guide us.
To you, our great
redeemer, forever be praise!
Text: Julia C. Cory, 1882-1963, alt. Tune: KREMSER, A. Valerius, 1626
PRAYERS
Let us pray.
Almighty and everlasting God, you are worthy to be
held in reverence by all the mortal race. We give you thanks for the innumerable
blessings which, despite our unworthiness, you have showered upon us. Lord, in
your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We praise you especially that you have preserved
for us in their purity your saving Word and the sacred ordinances of your house.
Grant and preserve to your Church throughout the world purity of doctrine and
faithful pastors who shall preach your Word with power, and help all who hear
rightly to understand and firmly to believe your Word of truth. Lord, in your
mercy,
hear our prayer.
Protect and defend your people in time of
tribulation and danger, that we, in communion with your Church and in unity
with all Christian people, may fight the good fight of faith and in the end
receive the fullness of salvation. Lord, in your mercy,
hear
our prayer.
Upon all the nations of the earth bestow your
grace. Especially we ask you to bless our land and all its inhabitants and all
who are in authority. Cause your glory to dwell among us, and let mercy and
truth, justice and peace everywhere prevail. We commend to your care all our
schools, that virtue and useful knowledge may be nourished and the wholesome
fruits of life may abound. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
In your mercy defend us from all calamities by fire
and water, from war and pestilence, from scarcity and famine. Protect and
prosper all who labor, and cause all useful arts to flourish among us. Show
yourself to be the helper of the sick and needy, the comforter of the forsaken
and distressed. Lord, in your mercy,
hear
our prayer.
Accept, we pray, our bodies and souls, our hearts
and minds, our talents and powers, together with our gifts, as our offering of
praise. We name now, aloud and in silence, those who need our prayers.
Special supplications, intercessions, and
thanksgivings.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear
our prayer.
And as we are strangers and pilgrims on earth, help
us to prepare for the world to come, doing the work which you have given us to
do while it is day, before that night comes when no one can work. And, when our
last hour shall come, support us by your power and receive us into your
everlasting kingdom, where, with your Son our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy
Spirit, you live and reign, God forever.
Amen
As our Savior has taught
us, we are bold to say:
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
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 give you
peace.
Amen
XHYMN
Now Thank
We All Our God
with hearts and hands
and voices,
who wondrous things
has done,
in whom his world
rejoices;
who, from our
mothers’ arms,
has blest us on our
way
with countless gifts
of love,
and still is ours
today.
2 Oh, may this bounteous
God
through all our life
be near us,
with ever joyful
hearts
and blessed peace to
cheer us,
and keep us in his
grace,
and guide us when
perplexed,
and free us from all
harm
in this world and the
next.
3 All praise and thanks
to God
the Father now be
given,
the Son, and him who
reigns
with them in highest
heaven,
the one eternal God,
whom earth and heav’n
adore;
for thus it was, is
now,
and shall be
evermore.
Text:
Martin Rinkhart, 1586-1649; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1829-1878
Please put your Thanksgiving
offering envelopes in the plate at the rear of the church.
