7th Sunday after Pentecost -- Year A - Worship Service - 12:00 PM Service -- Pastor Naomi Carriker

We gather each Sunday at 11:00 am for worship by singing hymns, hearing readings from the bible, praying together and a celebration of Holy Communion. Communion is the spiritual bread our bodies need to live. All are invited to join us at the Lord's table to be fed by his heavenly food, There are no strangers in God’s house, and if you choose to worship with us, we would be honored by your presence.

Introduction

God’s word is like the rain that waters the earth and brings forth vegetation. It is also like the sower who scatters seed indiscriminately. Our lives are like seeds sown in the earth. Even from what appears to be little, dormant, or dead, God promises a harvest. At the Lord’s table we are fed with the bread of life, that we may bear fruit in the world.

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God, we thank you for planting in us the seed of your word. By your Holy Spirit help us to receive it with joy, live according to it, and grow in faith and hope and love, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

First Reading: 

Isaiah 55:10-13 God’s word to Israel’s exiles is as sure and effective as never-failing precipitation. Their return to the Holy Land in a new exodus is cheered on by singing mountains and by trees that clap their hands.

Psalm:  65:[1-8] 9-13

Your paths overflow with plenty. (Ps. 65:11)

Second Reading:  

Romans 8:1-11 There is no condemnation for those who live in Christ. God sent Christ to accomplish what the law was unable to do: condemn sin and free us from its death-dealing ways. The Spirit now empowers proper actions and values in our lives and gives us the promise of resurrected life.

Gospel:  Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

In Matthew’s gospel, both Jesus and his disciples “sow the seed” of God’s word by proclaiming the good news that “the kingdom of heaven is near.” Now, in a memorable parable, Jesus explains why this good news produces different results in those who hear. 

1  That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.

2  Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.

3  And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow.

4  And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up.

5  Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.

6  But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away.

7  Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.

8  Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

9  If you have ears, hear!”  

18  “Hear, then, the parable of the sower.

19  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path.

20  As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,

21  yet such a person has no root but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.

22  As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.

23  But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

After the Sermon, Holy Communion will be offered. Come as you are, the gift of the Table of the Lord has been prepared as Jesus has requested and now we are invited to the meal. Come to the table like Peter, with m ore enthusiasm than resolve and like James and John, disappointed and the priorities of God’s reign. Come to the table like Martha, hosting and leading with confidence like Mary, full of love and grief. Come to the table like Judas, disillusioned and rebellious and like Mary Magdalene, faithful till the end. Come to the table, because it is God who invites us and it’s God’s will that those who want to should meet God here.

Blessing for the day (Our blessing is an adaptation of a Franciscan Prayer)

May God bless us with discomfort at a Easy answers, half truths and superficial leaderships so that we may live out God’s will deep in our heartland in our world.

May god bless with anger at injustice, oppression and exploration and the environments that we may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, hunger and war so that we may reach out with hands and hearts to help them, walk with them and turn their pain into hope and joy.

And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done. To bring justice, peace, hope and love to all children, the poor and all others in any need.

God be your comfort, your strength;

God be your hope and support;

God be your light and your way; and the blessing of God Creator, Redeemer and Giver of Life, remain with you now and forever.