2021-08-29 — The Lord Himself Calls Us to Serve the Lord!
14th Sunday after Pentecost: Date: August 29, 2021
– THE SERMON: Joshua 24:1-2, 14-18
Theme: The Lord Himself Calls Us to Serve the Lord!
I. Serve Him in Sincerity and Truth.
II. Serve Him for He Is Our God and Savior.
SERMON TEXT: Joshua 24:1-2, 14-18
Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Your fathers, including Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods. …
14 “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
16 So the people answered and said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; 17 for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed. 18 And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God.” (NKJV)
PRAYER; THE LORD’S PRAYER
HYMN 307 Draw Nigh and Take the Body of the Lord,
1 Draw nigh and take the Body of the Lord,
And drink the holy Blood for you outpoured.
Offered was He for greatest and for least,
Himself the Victim and Himself the Priest.
2 He that His saints in this world rules and shields,
To all believers life eternal yields,
With heav’nly bread makes them that hunger whole,
Gives living waters to the thirsting soul.
3 Approach ye, then, with faithful hearts sincere,
And take the pledges of salvation here.
O Judge of all, our only Savior Thou,
In this Thy feast of love to be with us now.
THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION
( Pastor Theodore Barthels )
Bulletin: Read Bulletin
Sermon: Read Sermon
THE ORDER OF SERVICE: (p. 22 Worship Supplement 2000)
THE EPISTLE LESSON: Ephesians 5:21-31
“Submitting to one another in the fear of God.
THE GOSPEL LESSON: John 6:60-69
Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”