Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 6, 2020 The Order of Worship at 11:00 am To mitigate spread of COVID-19 in our community, on-site activities— including worship services—have been cancelled. Many activities continue, but in different formats: ZOOM for interactive small groups and classes, togo meals for the Food Ministry, and streaming worship services and music from the archives. Our gathering policies will continue to respond to changes in the best public health data available to us. Worship will be Livestreamed from Redeemer with only leaders present. Throughout worship, participants will be masked even as they speak and sing, and each will remain in an area designated for them alone. Similar protections will probably be required when we are able gradually to open worship further, but for now we are glad return to the familiarity of Redeemer and the musical and technical options it provides us. Thanks to all of the lectors and musicians who have led us during the past weeks as we worshiped from home. Please use the links available on the viewing page to let us know that you are worshiping from home, to offer any prayer requests, to let us know if you need help or are available to help a neighbor, and to continue to give to support the ministries that continue, socially distant for the common good. As always, we pray that worship at Redeemer is a blessing for you, even as your participation blesses us, even though we are not together in person. As you are comfortable, we encourage you to sing the hymns and to sing or speak the congregational portions of the liturgy in bold type. This bulletin contains content protected by copyright and is provided only for you to participate in worship. Please delete or destroy any physical or digital copy of the material following the service.
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PRELUDE
Allegretto from Sonata in Bb
Felix Mendelssohn
WELCOME
GATHERING The Holy Spirit gathers us in unity on the first day of the week, the day of Christ’s resurrection. HYMN 865
Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven Sheila Brock and Mark Hyde, cantors
CONFESSION In the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son, and of the Holy Spirit. | Amen. 2
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. Most merciful God, | we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. 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. 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. 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. 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
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HYMN OF PRAISE
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The Lord be with you. | And also with you. PRAYER OF THE DAY O 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. Please use the Prayer Request link on the webpage to submit your requests.
WORD God speaks to us in scriptures read, sung and preached. CHILDREN’S SERMON FIRST READING
Ezekiel 33:7-11
Mark Hyde, Lector God appointed Ezekiel as a sentinel for the house of Israel. Ezekiel must faithfully convey God’s warnings to the people. Remarkably, God—who is about to attack Jerusalem—gives a warning with the hope that repentance will make the attack unnecessary. So 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 6
me. If 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. But 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. Now 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?” Say 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? PSALM 119:33-40 I desire the path of your commandments. (Ps. 119:35) Teach me, O LORD, the way | of your statutes, and I shall keep it | to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall | keep your teaching; I shall keep it with | all my heart. Lead me in the path of | your commandments, for that is | my desire. Incline my heart to | your decrees and not to | unjust gain. Turn my eyes from be- | holding falsehood; give me life | in your way. Fulfill your promise | to your servant, which is for | those who fear you. Turn away the reproach | that I dread, because your judg- | ments are good. Behold, I long for | your commandments; by your righteousness en- | liven me.
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SECOND READING Romans 13:8-14 The obligation of Christians is to love one another and so fulfill the heart and goal of the law. Clothes make the person as we “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” and live today in light of the future God has in store for us. Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The 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.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. Besides 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; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. GOSPEL Matthew 18:15-20 Jesus offers practical advice to his disciples on how individuals—and the church as a whole—should go about restoring relationships when one member has sinned against another. [Jesus said to the disciples:] “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. But 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. If 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. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about 8
anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For 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 HYMN 615
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Pastor Jenny McLellan In All Our Grief
APOSTLES’ CREED I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s 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 to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION Each petition concludes: Lord, in your mercy, | Hear our prayer. At the conclusion of the prayers: Amen PEACE The peace of Christ be with you always. | And also with you. Please let us know you worshiped with us today by using the I’m Worshiping link as you would the attendance pad at church.
THANKSGIVING GATHERING OF GIFTS Please use the Help and Give links to support the ministry of Redeemer. MUSIC
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Draw Us in the Spirit’s Tether
arr. James Biery
THANKSGIVING FOR THE WORD Let us pray. Praise and thanks to you, holy God, for by your Word you made all things: you spoke light into darkness, called forth beauty from chaos, and brought life into being. For your Word of life, O God, | we give you thanks and praise. By your Word you called your people Israel to tell of your wonderful gifts: freedom from captivity, water on the desert journey, a pathway home from exile, wisdom for life with you. For your Word of life, O God, | we give you thanks and praise. Through Jesus, your Word made flesh, you speak to us and call us to witness: forgiveness through the cross, life to those entombed by death, the way of your self-giving love. For your Word of life, O God, | we give you thanks and praise. Send your Spirit of truth, O God; rekindle your gifts within us: renew our faith, increase our hope, and deepen our love, for the sake of a world in need. Faithful to your Word, O God, draw near to all who call on you; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory forever. | Amen. LORD’S PRAYER 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. 11
SENDING God blesses us and sends us in mission to the world. BLESSING Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. God, the creator, ☊ Jesus, the Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the comforter, bless you and keep you in eternal love. | Amen. SENDING Go in peace. Christ is with you. | Thanks be to God. POSTLUDE
Allegro maestoso e vivace from Sonata in Bb
Mendelssohn
Liturgy from Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2013 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #21979.
LAST WEEK AT REDEEMER Worship attendance for August 30: Livestream 446, Facebook Live 81 WEDNESDAY EVENING Pastor Mark’s Class | Zoom | 6 pm Worship | Livestream | 7:15 pm NEXT WEEK AT REDEEMER Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost Genesis 50:15-21, Psalm 103:[1-7] 8-13, Romans 14:1-12, Matthew 18:2135
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NOTICE OF CONGREGATIONAL MEETINGS CONGREGATIONAL MEETING | September 13 | 12 PM | Webinar The purpose of the meeting will be to vote on the following proposed amendment to the constitution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Redeemer recommended by the Redeemer Council: C. 13.07 This Congregation shall have a Legacy Giving Board that will operate as specified in this Congregation’s Continuing Resolutions. The purpose of the Legacy Giving Board is 1) To encourage, educate, and equip the Congregation for making long-term planned gifts to support the mission of the Church as a part of a donor’s overall financial and estate planning; and 2) To honor and advocate for the donor’s intent and wishes. Note: The existing paragraph C13.07 will be renumbered to C13.08 without any other changes. This change shall go into effect upon notification that the synod has approved it at the next Synod Council meeting in January 2021. CONGREGATIONAL MEETING | OCTOBER 11 | 12 PM | Webinar The purpose of the meeting will be to vote on the following: For approval vote: Be it resolved, that the 2019 required changes to the ELCA Model Constitution for Congregations be incorporated into the constitution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia. These changes will become effective upon approval by the congregation. The Redeemer constitution with the required ELCA changes shown is available in *Realm on the Church Documents page. For ratification votes: C13.01. The Executive Committee shall consist of the president of the Council, the vice president, the secretary, the treasurer, the financial 13
secretary, and two Council members, who are elected at large by written ballot at the first meeting of the Congregation Council each year. Each at-large member shall be individually elected and must receive a majority of the votes cast. The senior pastor also serves as a member of the Executive Committee. The duties and powers of the Executive Committee are specified in the continuing resolutions. This change shall go into effect upon notification that the synod has approved it at the next Synod Council meeting in January 2021. *Please visit Realm to access the Church Constitution with highlighted changes. To access: Login to www.onrealm.org Click Groups Click Church Documents and Council Minutes Choose RedeemerConst_with_proposed-ELCA_changes If you need assistance please contact Robin Durdin, rdurdin@redeemer.org
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THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER 731 Peachtree Street, NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30308 www.redeemer.org | 404.874.8664 | Emergency Line: 404.874.9759 The Rev. Mark H. Larson ................................................Senior Pastor, ext. 201 The Rev. Ronald Bonner ............. Pastor for Community Engagement, ext. 203 The Rev. Jonathan Trapp ........................... Pastor for Faith Formation, ext. 233 The Rev. Jenny McLellan ...................Pastor for Congregational Care, ext. 224 STAFF Bob Boyd ......................................Director of Operations and Finance, ext. 232 Seth Brown .............................................Facilities and Media Director, ext. 218 Robin Durdin .......................................Office Administration Director, ext. 204 Kate Elkins............................................................... Preschool Director, ext. 252 David Hansen .................................................... Adult Choral Director, ext. 236 Sarah Hawbecker ..................... Organist & Children’s Music Director, ext. 206 Deacon Mary Houck .............. Children & Family Ministries Director, ext. 227 Jennifer Isaacson ................................. Financial Information Director, ext. 237 Karen Medford ..... Parish Nurse, and Adult Faith Formation Director, ext. 230 Hillary Nelson.......................................Youth Director, hnelson@redeemer.org Tawanda Searcy .......................... Receptionist and Wedding Director, ext. 200 Stacey Williams ......................................................................... Head of Security
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