August 9, 2020
The Ninth 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.
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration.
Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?
Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do
If with His love He befriend thee.
Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.
Words: Joachim Neander, 1680; Translator: Catherine Winkworth, 1863; Tune: LOBE DEN HERREN, 1665; 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 Paul:
For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.
1 Thessalonians 5:9–10
The collect, said by the minister
Grant to us, Lord, we beseech you, the spirit to think and do always those things that are righteous, so that we, who cannot do anything that is good without you, may be enabled by you to live according to your will, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
First Bible Reading: John 4:27–42
27 Just then his disciples arrived, and they were amazed that he was talking with a woman. Yet no one said, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28 Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They left the town and made their way to him.
31 In the meantime the disciples kept urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But he said, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.”
33 The disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?”
34 “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work,” Jesus told them. 35 “Don’t you say, ‘There are still four more months, and then comes the harvest’? Listen to what I’m telling you: Open your eyes and look at the fields, because they are ready for harvest. 36 The reaper is already receiving pay and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. 37 For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap what you didn’t labor for; others have labored, and you have benefited from their labor.”
39 Now many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of what the woman said when she testified, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of what he said. 42 And they told the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, since we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.”
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.
Be Merciful to Me
Out from the deep I call
To Thee, O Lord, to Thee.
Before Thy throne I fall;
Be merciful to me.
Chorus
Be merciful to me.
Be merciful to me.
Through shadow dark and valley deep,
Be merciful to me.
From the garden to the cross,
Thy mercy did endure.
My soul purged of all dross,
In blood made pure. (Chorus)
Thy mercy, Lord, is true
As ever truth shall be,
And still I cry for you;
Be merciful to me. (Chorus)
Words and Music: Randall Goodgame, 2006; Used by permission
Second Bible Reading—Psalm 126
A song of ascents.
1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter then,
and our tongues with shouts of joy.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
3 The LORD had done great things for us; we were joyful.
4 Restore our fortunes, LORD,
like watercourses in the Negev.
5 Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy.
6 Though one goes along weeping,
carrying the bag of seed,
he will surely come back with shouts of joy,
carrying his sheaves.
The reader says
This is the word of the Lord.
The congregation replies
Thanks be to God.
Sermon
When Dry Riverbeds Flow Again
Bernard Howard
Psalm 126
Blessed Be Your Name
Blessed be Your name in the land that is plentiful,
Where Your streams of abundance flow, blessed be Your name.
Blessed be Your name when I’m found in the desert place,
Though I walk through the wilderness, blessed be Your name.
Chorus:
Ev’ry blessing You pour out I’ll turn back to praise.
When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say,
Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your glorious name.
Blessed be Your name when the sun’s shining down on me,
When the world’s “all as it should be,” blessed be Your name.
Blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering,
Though there’s pain in the offering, blessed be Your name. (Chorus)
Bridge:
You give and take away, You give and take away.
My heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be Your name. (Repeat)
Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your name.
Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your glorious name.
Words and Music: Matt Redman and Beth Redman, 2002; CCLI 11310292
Benediction
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
In the name of Christ. Amen.
Announcements
Next Sunday—August 16, 10:30 a.m. YouTube Livestream
Please join us as we welcome guest preacher Mark Hastings, who will continue our summer sermon series on the Book of Psalms.
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).
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 Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.