Welcome and Greeting
Prelude Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ Samuel Scheidt
I call to you, Lord Jesus Christ
Call to Worship
Hymn # 253 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (Gray Psalter Hymnal)
Prayer of Confession – Front of gray Psalter Hymnal
Prayer for Illumination Jurgen Honig
Old Testament Reading: 2 Samuel 9:1-13 NRSV
9 David asked, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” 2Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and he was summoned to David. The king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “At your service!” 3The king said, “Is there anyone remaining of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?” Ziba said to the king, “There remains a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” 4The king said to him, “Where is he?” Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” 5Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. 6Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, “Mephibosheth!” He answered, “I am your servant.” 7David said to him, “Do not be afraid, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan; I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you yourself shall eat at my table always.” 8He did obeisance and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon a dead dog such as I?”
9Then the king summoned Saul’s servant Ziba, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master’s grandson. 10You and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him, and shall bring in the produce, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat; but your master’s grandson Mephibosheth shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so your servant will do.” Mephibosheth ate at David’s table, like one of the king’s sons. 12Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba’s house became Mephibosheth’s servants. 13Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he always ate at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.
Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.
Congregation: Thanks be to God for His Word.
Choral Anthem: Lord, I Need You
Chorus:
Lord I need you when the sea of life is calm
O Lord I need you when the wind is blowing strong
Whether trials come or cease
Keep me always on my knees
Lord I need you, Lord I need you
Sometimes when life seems gentle
And blessings flood my way
I turn my gaze away from you
And soon forget to pray
But when the sky grows darker
And courage turns to fear
My anxious voice cries upward
With words you long to hear
Chorus
Lord help me to remember
I’m weak but you are strong
I cannot sing apart from you
For Lord you are my song
Although I’m prone to wander
And boast in all I do
Lord keep my eyes turned upward
So I depending on you
Chorus
Children’s Sermon
Hymn # 341 Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (Gray Psalter Hymnal)
New Testament Reading: James 2:1-13
1My brothers and sisters, do not hold the faith of our Lord of glory, Jesus Christ, while showing favoritism. 2For if a man with a golden ring comes into your assembly with nice clothes and also a poor man comes in with dingy clothes, 3and you pay attention to the one who is wearing the nice clothes and you say, "You, sit here in this good place", but to the poor man you say, "You, stand over there" or "Sit on the floor", 4do you not then waver within yourselves and become judges who have evil thoughts?
5Listen, my dearly loved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor who are in the world to be rich in faith and inheritors of the kingdom which he has promised to the ones who love him? 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich exploit you and take you to court? 7Do not they speak disrespectfully about the good name that was invoked over you?
8But if you really complete the royal law according to the Scripture, "You will love your neighbor as yourself", you do well. 9But if you show favoritism, you are committing sin, having been convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10For whoever keeps the whole law, but trips up in one point, has become guilty of all of it. 11For the one who says, "Do not commit adultery", also says, "Do not murder." So if you do not commit adultery, but you murder, you have become a lawbreaker. 12So then, you should speak and act like those who will be judged by the law of freedom. 13For judgement is merciless for the one who has not shown mercy. But mercy triumphs over judgement.
Sermon “Complete the Royal Law” Pastor Andrew Winter
