August 3, 2025 – Eighth Sunday after Pentecost / Proper 13

Lectionary Readings

Semicontinuous
Hosea 11:1–11
When Israel was a child, I loved him; how could I give him up now? 

Psalm 107:1–9, 43
Give thanks to the Lord, who gathers up and redeems the lost.  

Complementary
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12–14; 2:18–23
What do mortals gain from their toil under the sun? All is vanity. 

Psalm 49:1–12
The gift of life has no price; the great and the lowly will all perish. 

Colossians 3:1–11
If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above. 

Luke 12:13–21
Be on guard against greed; life does not come from your possessions.

— Gathering —

Opening Sentences

Gathered in from many lands,
we come from east and west, 
from north and south.
Some of us have wandered through deserts.
Some of us are hungry and thirsty. 
But the Holy One heard our pleas
and has delivered us from our distress.
So we come with prayers of thanksgiving,
for God’s steadfast love endures forever.

Prayer of the Day

God of Justice,
we gather from all corners of the world
knowing that you
have made a new world possible
even as we hold on to the old world.
We pray for those in places 
where greed and evil still reign,
for those who are still full of anger and wrath 
for those who still act with malice,
for those who still use abusive language,
for those who still lie to others,
and for those who hoard treasures on earth.
We pray with the knowledge that sometimes, 
this is us.
Don’t give us up now.
Clothe us with a new self according to your image
so that one day 
there will be no more divisions among us. Amen.

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Thanksgiving for Baptism

At the baptismal font:
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
O Lord our God, we give you thanks
for the grace that is at work in us
through the gift of our baptism—
the sign of your threefold name,
the communion of your faithful people,
the promise of your glorious realm.
By the power of your Holy Spirit,
poured out upon us in baptism,
let your grace and peace grow in us,
until we gather at your heavenly throne
to give you thanks and praise forever;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Confession and Pardon

At the baptismal font:
Praise is on our lips,
but in our hearts we know
how far we have fallen
from the glory of God.
Yet God meets us in our sin,
picks us up,
and promises forgiveness.
Let us make our confession
and open ourselves to God’s mercy.

Faithful God,
we confess our faithlessness.
Our hearts are fickle,
our eyes wander,
and we trick ourselves
into serving other gods.
We speak lies, accept lies, live lies,
destroying others
and ourselves along the way.
Forgive our waywardness
and lead us back to you.
Embolden our trust in your faithfulness
and settle your truth in our hearts.

Lifting water from the font:
God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Beyond the cross, beyond the grave,
beyond our sin,
God’s steadfast love endures forever.
This is good news!
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!

— Word —

Prayer for Illumination

At the lectern or pulpit:
Faithful God, how blessed are those
who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Sanctify us by your Word and Spirit
so that we may glorify you
in the company of the faithful;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture

Before the readings: 
The Word of God is near. 
Deuteronomy 30:14

After the readings: 
The Word of God is with us, 
on our lips and in our hearts 
for us to observe. 
Thanks be to God. 
Deuteronomy 30:14  

Sermon

Ascription of Praise

After the sermon:
In the name of Christ, our all in all. Amen.
Colossians 3:11

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Affirmation of Faith

The life, death, resurrection,
and promised coming of Jesus Christ
has set the pattern for the church’s mission.
His human life involves the church
in the common life of all people.
His service to men and women
commits the church
to work for every form of human well-being.
His suffering makes the church sensitive
to all human suffering
so that it sees the face of Christ
in the faces of persons in every kind of need.
His crucifixion discloses to the church
God’s judgment on the inhumanity
that marks human relations,
and the awful consequences
of the church’s own complicity in injustice.
In the power of the risen Christ
and the hope of his coming,
the church sees the promise
of God’s renewal of human life in society
and of God’s victory over all wrong.
The church follows this pattern
in the form of its life
and in the method of its action.
So to live and serve
is to confess Christ as Lord.
Adapted from the Confession of 1967, 9.32–33