August 16th, 2020 - Jesus Feeds the 5000
Directly below in English and here in Spanish is an at-home Worship Service to be read through with the family. Included are links to hymns and pastoral messages (English, Spanish, Bilingual, and children's message) which will be made available Saturday night on Youtube and on Facebook later on Sunday. They can be used individually or as a group. The head of the household can lead (L) and others can respond (C) and take turns reading the readings. Use the links for the hymns and sermons at the appropriate time. Do not feel pressured to go through the whole thing in one sitting, use the parts as you are able so that it works with you and your family.
If you have any prayer requests, or if you worship in this way this weekend, please use or fill out our online connect card, or linked below in the liturgy. Comment to let us know how it went and any suggestions you may have!
If you choose, you can also give your offering here, by clicking on the blue "Donate" button on our Facebook page, or by following the link below at that point in the service. You may also bring or send your offering directly to Pastor Schoell's house, or have your bank mail a check directly to the church at 1215 S 8th St. Milwaukee, WI 53204.
Finally, for this week’s news update click here.
May God bless your at-home worship service this weekend.
Pastor Dunn and Pastor Schoell
Jesus Feeds the 5000
Summer School in Jesus’ Classroom - Week 4
We continue our 6-week summer school class with Jesus. Our teacher, Jesus, will answer all kinds of questions that may be on your mind including: Why does God allow evil to continue in this world? What exactly is “The Kingdom of God”? How can I think through setting priorities in life? Does Jesus really care about my physical well being? What if I have weak faith? What do I do if I’m scared? Who did Jesus come to save? We will join Jesus and his disciples in the classroom as he tells parables. We will observe him teaching in the real world as he performs miracles and teaches us life lessons and eternal life lessons. Our primary objective for this “Summer School” worship series is this: That as we gather around Jesus and his Word, our faith grows.
Today we consider Jesus’ Feeding the 5000. In his grace, God offers and gives us food for our hungry bodies and salvation for our thirsty souls.
Opening Hymn - Brothers, Sisters, Let Us Gladly
Invocation
L. In the name of the Father and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C. Amen.
Confession and Absolution
L. Let us approach God with a true heart and confess our sins, asking him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us.
C. Lord of life, I confess that I am by nature dead in sin. For faithless worrying and selfish pride, for sins of habit and sins of choice, for the evil I have done and the good I have failed to do, you should cast me away from your presence forever. O Lord, I am sorry for my sins. Forgive me, for Jesus’ sake.
L. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. In his great mercy, God made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in our sins. Hear the word of Christ just as he proclaimed to the paralytic: "Take heart, your sins are forgiven.” Let us take this forgiveness to heart and proclaim it to each other in the name of the Father, and of the ☩ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer of the Day
L. O God, you reveal your mighty power chiefly in showing mercy and kindness. Grant us the full measure of your grace that we may obtain your promises and become partakers of your heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C. Amen.
First Lesson - Isaiah 55:1-5
Through the prophet Isaiah, the Messiah invites all sinners to come to receive the bread that is the forgiveness of sins. Since man has nothing to offer to God for this bread ("you who have no money"), it is an invitation that he grants us by his grace alone.
55:1 Hey, all of you who are thirsty, come to the water, even if you have no money! Come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why do you spend money on something that is not bread? Why do you waste your labor on something that does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good. Satisfy your appetite with rich food. 3 Turn your ear toward me, and come to me. Listen, so that you may continue to live.
Yes, I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the faithful mercies promised to David. 4 Look, I appointed him as a witness for peoples, a leader and commander of peoples. 5 Look, you will call out to a nation you do not know, and a nation that does not know you will run to you, on account of the LORD your God, because of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
Second Lesson - Romans 8:35-39
To the world, the confidence we have as Christians is madness. In the midst of tribulation, we confidently say, "We are more than conquerors." We have such confidence because our faith is based on Christ Jesus our Lord, who offered himself on the cross to win eternal life for us. That is why we have the assurance that nothing - even the troubles and tribulations of our daily lives - nothing can separate us from the love of God.
35 What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 Just as it is written:
For your sake we are being put to death all day long. We are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor rulers, neither things present nor things to come, nor powerful forces, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Gospel - Matthew 14:13-21
By feeding the five thousand, our Lord Jesus Christ gives us evidence once again that he is the almighty Son of God, our Savior. Furthermore, we see in this miracle the mercy of Jesus, that he will provide for all our needs in this world.
13 When Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed him on foot from the towns.
14 When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd. He had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 When evening came, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away, so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 They told him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
18 “Bring them here to me,” he replied. 19 Then he instructed the people to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish. After looking up to heaven, he blessed them. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples. The disciples gave the food to the people. 20 They all ate and were filled. They picked up twelve basketfuls of what was left over from the broken pieces. 21 Those who ate were about five thousand men, not even counting women and children.
Children's Message
Hymn of the Day - From All that Dwell below the Skies
English Sermon -or- Bilingual Sermon
Confession of Faith - The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his 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 into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Offering
Online Connection Card
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us; lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.
Any special prayers or petitions may follow.
The Blessing
L. The Lord bless us and keep us.
The Lord make his face shine on us and be gracious to us.
The Lord look on us with favor and ☩ give us peace.
C. Amen