Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 20, 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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WELCOME ANNOUNCEMENTS HYMN 482
I Come with Joy
CONFESSION 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. 2
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. PRAYER OF THE DAY Almighty and eternal God, you show perpetual lovingkindness to us your servants. Because we cannot rely on our own abilities, grant us your merciful judgment, and train us to embody the generosity of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. Please use the Prayer Request link on the webpage to submit your requests. CHILDREN’S SERMON THE READING Jonah 3:10--4:11 After Jonah’s short sermon in 3:4, the Ninevites all repented and God decided to spare the city. Jonah objected to this and became even more angry when God ordered a worm to destroy a plant that was providing shade. The book ends with a question that challenges any who are not ready to forgive: You, Jonah, are all worked up about a bush, but shouldn’t I be concerned about a hundred and twenty thousand Ninevites? 3
When God saw what [the people of Ninevah] did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it. But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. And now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the LORD said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city. The LORD God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” Then the LORD said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?” GOSPEL Matthew 20:1-16 Jesus tells a parable about God’s generosity, challenging the common assumption that God rewards people according to what they have earned or deserve. [Jesus said to the disciples:] “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and 4
I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” After the reading: The Gospel of the Lord. | Praise to You O Christ. SERMON
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Pastor Mark H. Larson
HYMN 801
Change My Heart, O God
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. GATHERING OF GIFTS Please use the Help and Give links to support the ministry of Redeemer. MUSIC by Redeemer Jazz Trio 6
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. 7
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.
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HYMN
I Heard an Old, Old Story
Chorus O victory in Jesus My Savior forever He sought me and bought me With His redeeming blood He loved me ere I knew Him And all my love is due Him He plunged me to victory Beneath the cleansing flood Verse 1 I heard an old old story How a Savior came from glory How He gave His life on Calvary To save a wretch like me I heard about His groaning Of His precious blood's atoning Then I repented of my sins And won the victory
Verse 2 I heard about His healing Of His cleansing pow'r revealing How He made the lame to walk again And caused the blind to see And then I cried dear Jesus Come and heal my broken spirit And somehow Jesus came and brought To me the victory Verse 3 I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory And I heard about the streets of gold Beyond the crystal sea About the angels singing And the old redemption story And some sweet day I'll sing up there The song of victory
CCLI Song # 1259 Eugene M. Bartlett © Words: 1939 Mrs. E.M. Bartlett. Renewed 1967 Albert E. Brumley And Sons (Admin. by ClearBox Rights, LLC) For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI License # 2888121
SENDING Go in peace. Serve the Lord. | Thanks be to God. POSTLUDE by Redeemer Jazz Trio LAST WEEK AT REDEEMER Worship attendance for September 13: Livestream 421, Facebook Live 95 9
WEDNESDAY EVENING Pastor Mark’s Class | Zoom | 6 pm Worship | Livestream | 7:15 pm Congregational Meeting Results from September 13, 2020 95 members attended the Zoom meeting. After discussion, 87% of the attendees voted in favor of the Constitutional Amendment creating the Legacy Giving Board. We appreciate all Redeemer members who attended and participated in the Congregational Meeting. If you would like to help with the Legacy Giving Board, please feel free to contact Jenny Peterson at petersonsinga@yahoo.com.
ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING | OCTOBER 11 | 1 PM | Webinar The purpose of the meeting will be to vote on the following: For approval vote: Approval of the 2019 Annual Report 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 on any previously approved amendments, including: 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 10
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. *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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