July 14, 2024 – Eighth Sunday after Pentecost / Proper 10

Lectionary Readings

Semicontinuous

2 Samuel 6:1–5, 12b–19
Returning the ark to Jerusalem, David dances before the Lord.

Psalm 24
Lift up your heads, O gates, that the King of glory may enter!

Complementary

Amos 7:7–15
God shows the prophet Amos a plumb line, a vision of justice.

Psalm 85:8–13
Love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss.

Ephesians 1:3–14
We were chosen in Christ from the beginning to give glory to God.

Mark 6:14–29
Herod puts John the Baptist to death; reports of Jesus spread.

— Gathering —

Opening Sentences

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it,
for God has founded it on the seas
and established it on the rivers.
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in God’s holy place?
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false
and do not swear deceitfully.
Such is the company of those who seek God,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
O God, we seek your face!
Let us worship God with gladness.

Prayer of the Day

O God of our salvation,
you send prophets in our midst
to correct us when we have gone astray,
to warn us away from the crooked path,
and to make clear the consequences of sin.
Too often, we want to stray,
we enjoy the crooked path,
and we do not care about the consequences.
So we twist the prophet’s words
or listen only in part.
O God, grant us the humility
to hear in a prophet’s correction
the honey tones of your salvation,
the harmonies of your steadfast love. 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:
It is only by the power of God
that we are able to stand against evil.

Trusting in God’s grace, let us confess our sin.

We know that you call your people to lives of service and works of justice.
Forgive us, O Lord, when we keep our lives
just loud enough to drown out your call.
Forgive us, O Lord, when we keep our days
just busy enough to convince ourselves
that we have a righteous excuse.
We know that you work for the healing of all that is broken in the world.
Heal us, O Lord, of our blindness by your grace.
Forgive us, O Lord, and free us to try again.

Lifting water from the font:
Now stand firm in your faith,
covered by the saving grace of God
and ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.

In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven!
Thanks be to God.

— Word —

Prayer for Illumination

At the lectern or pulpit:
Holy, Holy, Holy One,
guide us by the Spirit of truth
to hear the Word of life you speak,
and to give all glory, honor, and praise
to your threefold name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Scripture

Before the readings:
The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
Listen to the word of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 6:4

After the readings:
Keep these words in your heart.
The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
Thanks be to God.
Deuteronomy 6:6

Sermon

Ascription of Praise

After the sermon:
To the Lord our God, Alpha and Omega,
be all glory and honor forever. Amen.
Revelation 21:6

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Affirmation of Faith

Time after Pentecost
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