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The Children's Ministry Section has been moved to here so that it is easier to find to show to your little ones!
FOCUS: The story of Jonah told in Jonah's Song. Then a dance to Jonah's Ocean Ride!
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Jonah's Song-listen to the story
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Warm up your bodies with this fun dance song!
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16th Sunday After Pentecost
St. Johannes Lutheran Church
September 20, 2020
Kyrie eleison, on our world and on our way. Kyrie eleison, every day!
from Setting 4 of the Lutheran Liturgy
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16th Sunday After Pentecost
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Welcome to St. Johannes Lutheran Church's online celebration of the Sundays After Pentecost! We pray that you are staying healthy, safe, practicing social distancing, and wearing your mask!
We are so glad you are joining us for this special service and if you are not already a member of St. Johannes we invite you to join us for worship in our beautiful sanctuary at 48 Hasell Street in Charleston, South Carolina once we allowed to gather again for Sunday Services.
I am Pastor Steve Cooper filling in for Pastor Rich Donoughue who is currently serving as the interim pastor here at St. Johannes. Pastor Rich and his wife Dee are taking a very well deserved vacation this week and I am delighted to be leading you in worship once again. And I want you to know that, I too am looking forward to the time when I will be able to worship with you in person. I will also be on call while Pastor Rich is away so please feel free to call the church office if you have any pastoral needs. Our Parish Administrator, Amy Biafano, is also available in the office should you have questions or concerns, but with limited hours.
I am leading the video version of our service today from the Taizé Chapel/the garden at St. Johannes. The video version is available by logging onto our website and choosing "Services." (www.stjohanneschurch.org). Then select 16th Sunday After Pentecost.
Please encourage your children to watch the Children's Ministry section each week as well. And if you are a child at heart like I am, you will probably enjoy watching it yourself.
Let us prepare for worship with our Prelude and our Prayers, followed by the order for Confession and forgiveness.
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"Voices Raised To You We Offer"
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☩ GATHERING ☩
The Holy Spirit calls us together as the people of God.
P: In the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
P: 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.
C: Amen.
P: Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
Silence is kept for reflection.
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.
C: Amen.
P: 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.
C: Amen.
APOSTOLIC GREETING
P: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C: And also with you.
CANTICLE OF PRAISE
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PRAYER OF THE DAY
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray. 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.
C: Amen.
☩ WORD ☩
God speaks to us in scripture reading, preaching, and song.
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FIRST LESSON
L: A reading from the book of Jonah.
10When 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.
4:1But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. 2He 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. 3And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5Then 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.
6The 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. 7But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 8When 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.”
9But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” 10Then 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. 11And 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?”
P: The word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God!
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PSALM 145:1-8 (To be read in unison)
1I will exalt you, my God and king, and bless your name forever and ever.
2Every day will I bless you and praise your name forever and ever.
3Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised! There is no end to your greatness.
4One generation shall praise your works to another
and shall declare your power.
5I will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty
and all your marvelous works.
6They shall tell of the might of your wondrous acts,
and I will recount your greatness.
7They shall publish the remembrance of your great goodness;
they shall sing joyfully of your righteousness.
8The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
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Great is Thy Faithfulness
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SECOND LESSON Philippians 1:21-30
L: A reading from Paul’s letter to the Philippians.
21For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. 23I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; 24but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. 25Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, 26so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.
27Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, 28and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. 29For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well—30since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
P: The word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God!
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Purify My Heart (Refiner's Fire)
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GOSPEL Matthew 20:1-16
P: The Holy Gospel according to Matthew
C: Glory to you, O Lord!
[Jesus said to the disciples:] 1“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. 3When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; 4and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. 5When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. 6And 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?’ 7They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ 8When 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.’ 9When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. 10Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. 11And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, 12saying, ‘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.’ 13But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? 14Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. 15Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
P: The Gospel of the Lord. C: Praise to you O Christ
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SERMON Pastor Steve Cooper
Silence for reflection follows the sermon.
JONAH, A MONOLOGUE
I'm just an average guy,
Even if I am a prophet.
And not too bad a prophet either,
If I do say so myself,
I even made the Bible,
Second Kings fourteen, verse twenty-five,
If you want to look it up.
Only one verse
But still, not too shabby, huh?
Mostly I prophesied about how we were the "chosen" people of God
And how God would not abandon us.
I even prophesied that God would restore to us the northern territories,
That had been lost to us under previous kings,
Including the city of Hamath,
And he did!
No wonder the people loved me!
Even King Jeroboam the second loved me.
So there I was basking in my glory,
Doing my prophet thing,
When all of a sudden it hits me, Boom!
"Jonah, there are more people in this world
Then you and your Israelites,
And the only reason you are the "Chosen" people,
And that you have been blessed,
Is so that you can be a blessing to others.
Get up Jonah, and go to Nineveh, that great city.
I've got work for you to do.
Nineveh Jonah! Nineveh!"
And I thought to myself
Yeah, right,
I'm going to go and prophesy to the Ninevites!
Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria,
An evil empire if there ever was one,
And one place no self respecting Israelite would ever be caught dead in.
Now don't get me wrong.
I'm a believer
I go to church and tithe and all that good stuff.
And I believe in preaching and teaching and sending out missionaries,
But I'm more the armchair type believer,
If God wants evangelists he needs to look somewhere else.
Still it’s hard to say "no" to God,
So I decided the best thing to do
Was to get the heck out of Dodge.
But instead of heading to Nineveh like God told me to,
I went in the opposite direction.
And signed up for a nice long Mediterranean Cruise,
With a one-way ticket to Tarshish,
Which was located in a place you now call Spain,
A place we were pretty sure in those days was the end of the world.
Only have you ever noticed that when you try to run away from God,
You end up running smack into a hurricane?
Well that's what happened to me anyway.
And in this case,
I'm talking about a real honest to goodness hurricane!
You think Hugo or Katrina were bad?
Try being out in the middle of a storm like that
In a primitive sailboat
In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.
A storm like that will get your full attention, real quick.
And I don’t mind telling you
That I began to wonder
If maybe I should’ve listened to that call from God after all,
And gone to Nineveh like God told me to.
And as if that weren’t enough,
About that time the crew starts throwing anything unnecessary overboard
To lighten the load.
And I made some comment about not feeling very necessary myself.
And the next thing I knew,
After some discussion by the crew,
I was going overboard too.
Well, I don't mind telling you that I thought I was a goner.
But instead of waking up in heaven
I woke up in you know where.
Some people talk about hell being a place of fire and brimstone,
But let me tell you,
Hell is waking up inside the belly of a big fish!
And it turns out,
That's where you’re destined when you run away from God.
In some of your 12 step programs
They have saying
That you often have to hit bottom,
Before you will reach out and accept help.
And this was for me as bad as it gets.
So, I finally decided to “let go and let God.”
"Lord," I said,
"If you're there, Get me out of here!
I'll go to Nineveh,
Or anyplace else you want me too,
If you'll just please get me out of this stinkin' place!"
And the next thing I knew,
That fish spewed me out on the shores of Nineveh!
Which is quite a trick in itself,
Since Nineveh is nowhere near the sea.
But I must say I was true to my word.
Unlike some who bargain with God during a time of stress,
I didn't forget my promise.
And I headed off for Nineveh just as soon as my clothes were dry.
I figured, what the heck,
I'll tell those Ninevites that there headed for the Fish's belly
And then sit back and watch God blow 'em out of the water
Like he did to old Sodom and Gomorrah.
And then get back home to my easy chair
And my nice comfortable pew in my nice comfortable church,
Where Ninevites are just people you read about occasionally
In Living Lutheran,
Or hear about in a Bible Study lesson.
Only you'll never guess what happened next?
Oh yea, I guess you can guess,
Since you just heard about it in your lesson a few minutes ago.
Well you're right.
They repented.
Sackcloth and ashes, the whole bit,
From the king right down to the man on the street.
And God changed his mind!
And man was I ticked off!
I was all set for fireworks,
And God,
Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love,
As always,
Relented and gave them a full pardon.
And that's the real trouble with all this evangelism stuff.
You go to Nineveh and you preach the Gospel
And those fool Ninevites might just repent.
And the next thing you know
They're wanting to join your church.
And sing in the choir,
And change the liturgy,
And start new outreach ministries
And God knows what all.
So I said to God, I said,
"This has gone far enough.
I'll go out and preach the Gospel to these Ninevites if I’ve got to,
But no one's going to make me accept them
As full-fledged members of the ‘chosen’ people."
God called us to work in his vineyard
Way back in Genesis 12.
We Jews have been working in God’s vineyard since sunrise.
And these Ninevites want to come in and claim the same reward as us?
After only one hour’s work at the end of the day!
What kind of landowner,
Much less, almighty God, does that?
And so I built me a sweet little cabana on the hill just outside of town,
And settled down in my hammock,
All set to spend the remainder of my days,
Enjoying the summer breezes,
And reminiscing about the good ole days.
And complaining to anyone who cared to listen
About how things had changed
And not for the better.
Only, you're not gonna' believe what God did this time!
This time instead of waking me up in the middle of the night,
Or sending a storm to get my attention,
He caused this beautiful vine to grow
On that arbor I built over my patio.
And man, was it sweet.
I literally “had it made in the shade”.
And then just as I was getting used to my laid back retirement
God lets this worm come along and attack the darn thing and kill it.
Now that’s dirty pool!
You save all your life
And build up your 401K
And just when you think you can sit back and take your ease.
The economy tanks.
And the bottom falls out of the stock market.
Or your spend your whole life building bigger and bigger barns,
To hold all your stuff
And the coronavirus comes along and says,
“This day your soul is required of you.”
Now is that fair?
Heck no!
And that’s how I felt about that worm.
It was the worm that broke the camel’s back.
And so I lost my temper
And I let God have it!
Not a smart thing to do
As it turns out.
Because when you let loose at God
And let him know how angry you are,
He has a way of turning things around on you.
And God said,
"Let me get this straight,”
“You're mad at me because I let a worm attack a vine,
That you didn't plant?
And that I made grow in the first place?
And that in the best of times is here today
And thrown into the fire tomorrow?"
And I said,
“you’re darned right I’m mad at you about that worm,
I loved that old vine.”
And God said,
"So you can love a vine so much!
That you’d be willing to go to battle with God when it dies?
But I'm not entitled to love my children the Ninevites?
Whom I created,
And who are my children?
“My chosen,”
My beloved just like you are?
Which is more important?
Your comfort, or MY children's salvation?"
I hate it when God does that
Don’t you?
Well, I'm not gonna' tell you how I answered that question,
And don't bother looking it up either,
It’s not in the Bible!
Because, you see,
The really important thing
Is not how I answered it,
But how you answer it today!
Who are the Ninevites
God is calling you to go and proclaim the gospel to?
And what will it cost you if you do?
What will it cost you if you don't?
Do you really believe in a God of grace,
Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love,
Or would you really prefer a God of judgment and wrath?
And finally what is more important to you,
You're comfort,
Or your fellow children of God?
I believe God wants us to reach out to those in need
Whether they are right outside on our doorsteps
Or in some far distant land, like Nineveh.
Which is in a place today called Syria, by the way.
You may have heard of it.
And through word and deed
To share with them
The great good news
That God, our God,
Is a God of grace and forgiveness,
Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love,
The question is,
Are we going to help him
Or hinder him?
It’s up to us.
What’s it going to be?
Vine covered patios and Mediterranean cruises,
Or the people in places Nineveh?
Or places like Central and South America,
Africa and Asia, and the Middle East,
Or those suffering from hurricanes and storms on the Gulf Coast,
Or fires in the far west,
Or the coronavirus all around the world.
Or even people in places like James Island, West Ashley,
Mt. Pleasant, and Charleston,
Who also need good news preached to them.
Remember what God told me that day
When I was just sitting there basking in all my glory
As one of the chosen ones of God.
"Jonah, there are more people in this world
Then you and your Israelites,
And the only reason you are the "Chosen" people,
And that you have been blessed,
Is so that you can be a blessing to others.
Get up Jonah, and go to Nineveh, that great city.
I've got work for you to do.”
“Nineveh Jonah! Nineveh!"
You too are God’s beloved children.
Chosen ones of God
And blessed beyond measure.
And you too have been blessed to be a blessing!
“Nineveh! St. Johannes! Nineveh!"
God loves you!
And so do I. Amen.
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Hymn of the Day ELW #779 Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound
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Click to play hymn
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APOSTLES CREED
P: Using the words of the Apostles Creed, let us declare our faith:
C: 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
P: Drawn together in the compassion of God, we pray for the church, the world, and all those in need.
A brief silence.
P: Generous God, you make the last first, and the first last. Where this gospel challenges the church, equip it for its works of service. Strengthen those who suffer for Christ (especially). Lord, in your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Sun and wind, bushes and worms, cattle and great cities—nothing in creation is outside your concern, mighty God. In your mercy, tend to it all. Give us a spirit of generosity toward all you have made. Lord, in your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Where we find envy and create enemies, you provide enough for all. Bring peace to places of conflict and violence (especially). Inspire leaders with creativity and wisdom. Bless the work of negotiators, peacekeepers, and development workers. Lord, in your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Reveal yourself to all in need as you are gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, ready to relent from punishing. Accompany judges and lawyers, victims of crime and those serving sentences. Give fruitful labor and a livelihood to those seeking work. Lord, in your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Even beyond our expectations, you choose to give generously. Grant life, health, and courage to all who are in need. We pray especially this morning for Monty Mims, Judy Long, Samantha Morra, Amanda Robertson, Tammy Tanner, Andy Hogue and family, Marcy Floyd, Connie Morgan, Charles Long III, Anne Foster, Marie Mood, Barbara Lyerly, Mary Sweat, Elmore Marlow, Ted Bowers, Bob Oswald, Bill Cornwell, Marilyn Stehmeier, Ida Blalock, Bryan Steele, and Pooh Kanapaux and those we now lift up to you in our hearts, or with our lips…. Lord, in your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: We praise you for the generations that have declared your power to us. Give us faithfulness to follow them, living for Christ, until you call us to join them in the joyful song around his throne. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
C: hear our prayer.
P: All these things and whatever else you see that we need, we entrust to your mercy; through Christ our Lord.
C: Amen.
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Lord's Prayer
P: Lord, remember us in your Kingdom and teach us to pray.
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.
☩ SENDING ☩
God blesses us and sends us in mission to the world.
BLESSING
P: May the One who brought forth Jesus from the dead raise you up to new life. May He fill you with hope, and turn your mourning into dancing. Almighty God, Father, ☩ Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever.
C: Amen
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SENDING HYMN ELW #537 On Our Way Rejoicing
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Click here to play hymn
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DISMISSAL
P: The Holy Spirit empowers you. Go in peace. Share the good news.
C: Thanks be to Godod. Alleluia!
POSTLUDE
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From sundaysandseasons.com.Copyright © 2020 Augsburg Fortress.
All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #24142.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, Copyright © 1989,
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Revised Common Lectionary, Copyright © 1992 Consultation on Common Texts, admin Augsburg Fortress.
Used by permission.
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