Welcome to ICYMI Worship! ICYMI stands for In Case You Missed It; our ICYMI series gives a brief snapshot of worship each week so that you can worship in your home, on the road, or wherever life takes you.
At Cross of Christ, our basic worship order is based on worship patterns from Hebrew traditions and biblical accounts of the earliest Christians:
We GATHER with songs and prayer,
We HEAR God’s word,
We SHARE a meal of bread and wine,
We are SENT into the world to love and serve.
Let us know how this format works for you.
Today is the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Our Gathering song at our Traditional service is Gather Us In
Prayer of the Day
Beloved God, from you come all things that are good. Lead us by the inspiration of your Spirit to know those things that are right, and by your merciful guidance, help us to do them, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
This week’s readings are from Isaiah 5:1-7, Psalm 80:7-15, and Philippians 3:4b-14.
Isaiah 5:1-7
The prophet sings a sad, parable-like love song about the relationship between God and Israel. In this song Israel is
compared to a promising vineyard. Despite God’s loving care, the vineyard that is Israel has brought forth “wild
grapes” of injustice and distress, when fine grapes of justice and righteousness were expected.
1-2 I’ll sing a ballad to the one I love,
a love ballad about his vineyard:
The one I love had a vineyard,
a fine, well-placed vineyard.
He hoed the soil and pulled the weeds,
and planted the very best vines.
He built a lookout, built a winepress,
a vineyard to be proud of.
He looked for a vintage yield of grapes,
but for all his pains he got junk grapes.
3-4 “Now listen to what I’m telling you,
you who live in Jerusalem and Judah.
What do you think is going on
between me and my vineyard?
Can you think of anything I could have done
to my vineyard that I didn’t do?
When I expected good grapes,
why did I get bitter grapes?
5-6 “Well now, let me tell you
what I’ll do to my vineyard:
I’ll tear down its fence
and let it go to ruin.
I’ll knock down the gate
and let it be trampled.
I’ll turn it into a patch of weeds, untended, uncared for—
thistles and thorns will take over.
I’ll give orders to the clouds:
‘Don’t rain on that vineyard, ever!’”
Psalm 80:7-15
Look down from heaven, O God; behold and tend this vine. (Ps. 80:14, 15)
7 Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved
8 You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches;
11 it sent out its branches to the sea,
and its shoots to the River.
12 Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13 The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.
14 Turn again, O God of hosts;
look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
15 the stock that your right hand planted.
Philippians 3:4b-14
Paul reviews some of his supposed credentials, which no longer have any bearing in comparison to the right
relationship he has been given through the death of Christ. The power of Christ’s resurrection motivates him to
press on toward the ultimate goal, eternal life with Christ.
[Paul writes:] 4bIf anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
7 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly[f] call of God in Christ Jesus.
This week’s Gospel text is from Matthew 21:33-46
Jesus tells a parable to the religious leaders who are plotting his death, revealing that their plans will, ironically,
bring about the fulfillment of scripture.
33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. 34 When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. 35 But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. 37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.”
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. 44 The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.
Pastor Dave’s Sermon Snapshot: “Do What You’re Told”
Jesus shares a very challenging – and quite frankly, a very blunt and brutal – parable with some religious leaders who had rejected him and were plotting against him. The Parable of the Wicked Tenants challenges us with its warning about rejecting God, and its message of judgement upon those who do so. But this is also a good-news message – God’s kingdom is open to any and all who are willing to work in it, like good tenants in the vineyard in this parable.
The Hymn of the Day in our Traditional service is Here I Am, Lord
Prayers of the People – 10/8/17
Open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we pray for the church, the world, and all of God’s creation. Each petition will end, “Lord, in your mercy” to which the congregation responds, “Hear our prayer.” We observe a brief time of silence for preparation.
Restore what is broken in your church, healing God. Mend divisions among Christian communities. Give courage to bishops, pastors, and lay leaders. Open our ears to the prophets’ cries among us. Reform us around the cross of Christ. Today we lift before you our ELCA, Northwest Synod, East King County Cluster sister congregation Holy Cross Lutheran Church as they enter a time of discernment and interim pastoral leadership. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Restore what is broken in creation, gracious God. Revive farmlands, orchards, ranch lands and vineyards. Protect water and air needed by all living things. Move us to care more faithfully for this earthly home. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Restore what is broken in our world, mighty God. Quell the rush to violence between peoples and nations. Break down dividing walls and promote harmony for the sake of the common good. We especially pray for victims of the mass murder in Las Vegas last Sunday, for those who mourn the loss of loved one, for surviving victims as they suffer from physical and emotional wounds, for the city of Las Vegas and for the people of Nevada, for first responders and all who are continuing to give counsel and care. For we here in Bellevue and others who gather to remember and to pray for an end to such senseless violence and unspeakable evil. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Restore our broken bodies, caring God. We pray for those suffering any loss: the grieving; those who have lost homes or property or employment; those neglected, abused or abandoned; those who suffer in silence without advocates or confidants; and the sick, especially members of Cross of Christ who have asked for public prayers: Anna Bero, Phyllis Hahn, Claire Huehnerhoff, Mary Mehlum, Iris Schiffer, Vernette Rae, Corinne Riemer, and Marilyn Van Brero. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Restore our faith in you, saving God. We pray for Bible study and small group leaders, Sunday school teachers, musicians, devotion writers, and for all whose work nurtures our faith. Bless our young people who have begun a new year of Youth Discipleship, and those who lead them as mentors and models of faith. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Into your hands, gracious God, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting the power of Christ and the gifts of the Spirit. Amen.
The Communion song at our Mosaic service is O Praise the Name (Anástasis)
On the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me. Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.
All are welcome to receive Christ’s Body and Blood in the Bread and Wine of the Eucharist.
And because there’s always something going on, the Announcements!
Coming soon!
Our sending song in our Traditional service is If You But Trust In God to Guide You (ELW 769)
By God’s grace, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to
Worship God
Grow in Faith
Share the Gospel
Serve others, and
Welcome all.
Thanks be to God!
