August 16, 2020
The Tenth Sunday after Trinity
10:30 a.m.
Welcome and Introduction
A prayer of preparation, said by all
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden, cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Holy, Holy, Holy
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee;
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim, falling down before Thee
Who wert, and art, and ever more shall be.
Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see,
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in pow'r, in love, and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
Words: Reginald Heber (1783–1826); Tune: NICAEA, 1861; CCLI 11310292
The minister says
The Lord be with you.
The congregation replies
And also with you.
O Lord, open our lips.
And our mouths shall declare your praise.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
The congregation says a prayer of confession
Almighty and most merciful Father, we have strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts and have turned from your holy laws. We have left undone those things we ought to have done, and we have done those things we ought not to have done. But you, O Lord, are great in mercy. Forgive us, O God, and restore us, according to your promises in Jesus Christ our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, that we may hereafter live a godly and righteous life, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.
The minister says
Hear these words of comfort spoken by the Apostle John:
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:8–9
The collect, said by the minister
Let your merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of your humble servants, and lead us to ask such things as please you, so that we may obtain our petitions, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
First Bible Reading: 1 John 2:15–17
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
The reader says
This is the word of the Lord.
The congregation replies
Thanks be to God.
The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s 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 to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
*Here “catholic” means universal
Announcements
Prayers
At the end of the prayers, the congregation says
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Man of Sorrows
Man of sorrows, Lamb of God, by His own betrayed.
The sin of man and wrath of God has been on Jesus laid.
Silent as He stood accused, beaten, mocked, and scorned;
Bowing to the Father’s will, He took a crown of thorns.
Chorus:
Oh that rugged cross, my salvation,
Where Your love poured out over me.
Now my soul cries out, hallelujah,
Praise and honour unto Thee.
Sent of heaven, God’s own Son, to purchase and redeem.
And reconcile the very ones who nailed Him to that tree. (Chorus)
Bridge:
Now my debt is paid, it is paid in full
By the precious blood that my Jesus spilled.
Now the curse of sin has no hold on me,
Whom the Son sets free, oh is free indeed. (Repeat then chorus)
See the stone is rolled away, behold the empty tomb.
Hallelujah, God be praised, He’s risen from the grave! (Chorus)
Words and Music: Matt Crocker and Brooke Ligertwood, 2012; CCLI 11310292
Second Bible Reading—Psalm 73
A Psalm of Asaph.
1 Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them as a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find no fault in them.
11 And they say, “How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all the day long I have been stricken
and rebuked every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed the generation of your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end.
18 Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20 Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
The reader says
This is the word of the Lord.
The congregation replies
Thanks be to God.
Sermon
When Good Things Happen to Bad People
Mark Hastings
Psalm 73
Everlasting God
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord,
We will wait upon the Lord,
We will wait upon the Lord. (Repeat)
Our God, You reign forever.
Our hope, our strong Deliverer.
You are the everlasting God,
The everlasting God,
You do not faint,
You won’t grow weary.
You’re the defender of the weak,
You comfort those in need.
You lift us up on wings like eagles. (Repeat whole song)
Words and Music: Brenton Brown and Ken Riley, 2005; CCLI 11310292
Benediction
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.
Announcements
Next Sunday—August 23, 10:30 a.m. at the Triad Theater
Please join us as we return to the Triad Theater for the first time since March 15! In accordance with state guidelines, social distancing will be in effect (more details will be given in the church email and at goodshepnyc.org/sundayservice). We also intend to livestream the service.
Virtual Coffee Time
You’re warmly invited to join us on Zoom after the service for a time to catch up with other church members. The link will be in the comments on YouTube as well as in the church email (sent out last Thursday).
Community Group
Each Wednesday night at 8 pm, we have a virtual community group on Zoom to study the Bible and pray for one another. If you’d like to attend, please email us at admin@goodshepnyc.org, and we will send you the link.
Giving to Good Shepherd
Our church relies on generous, regular giving. Even a small church is expensive to run in Manhattan! To find out how to give, please visit goodshepnyc.org/donate. Remembering the widow honored by Jesus (Luke 21:1–4), we are grateful for gifts of any size.
Our liturgy is drawn from The Book of Common Prayer (1662). It is lightly modernized for ease of understanding. Text from The Book of Common Prayer, the rights in which are vested in the Crown, is reproduced by permission of the Crown’s Patentee, Cambridge University Press. Today’s Bible readings have been taken from the English Standard Version, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway) 2016.