July 5, 2020

2

We’re so glad you decided to worship with us today. You could have chosen to be anywhere

this morning, and you chose to spend your time at Living Hope. Thank you! It’s an honor to

have you here and to have the chance to fill you with hope. Welcome to Living Hope.

Series: How to Be a Christian: Step-by-step Directions on how God does Everything

This isn’t like most step-by-step guides you’ve seen.

Being a Christian isn’t really so much about what you do. Being a Christian is all about what God does for you.

God is the active force behind every step of turning someone into a Christian, providing not only the means, but also the power and the Spirit that creates new life in what was once spiritually dead.

Today’s Focus: God Sends

Being a Christian means being part of God’s mission. Just as Jesus sent out his twelve

disciples to bring God’s compassion and God’s proclamation of good news to others, so

God is also sending us out. We may be imperfect messengers but we have a God who

goes alongside us as a good shepherd and leads the way into the mission field.

“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” And so when the Lord calls out,

“Who will go?” We answer, “Here am I. Send me!”

welcome to

WORSHIP

CURRENT SERIES INFO

3

ABOUT LIVING HOPE

Living Hope Lutheran Church is a brand new mission church on Chattanooga’s east side. We are funded

by and a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, a collection of over 1,300 churches

across the United States and Canada.

Living Hope succeeds in its mission when hope forever in Jesus brings hope for every day in life.

For more on our mission, background, and beliefs just visit our website: livinghopechatt.com

ABOUT WORSHIP

Worship at Living Hope is designed to fill you with hope! The message you hear at Living Hope will cen-

ter you on your Savior, Jesus, and what he's done for you. Worship isn't just about filling up God with

praise. Worship is all about God filling you with good news!

We follow a basic order of service, called the liturgy. In the message, in specially selected Scripture

readings, and in carefully crafted songs, prayers, and creeds, the liturgy proclaims the good news

(gospel) about Jesus from start to finish. Gospel-centered worship is also designed to include participa-

tion of those in attendance.

• Feel free to get up to use restrooms at any time during the service.

• Restrooms are located in the main lobby area.

• We will not be offering any kid activity bags at this time.

• Please fill out a connection card. It’s our best way to stay in touch with you and thank you for joining us today! You’ll find connection cards on the table at the entrance.

• Everything you need to enjoy today’s worship will be found in this Worship Folder. Songs will also be found on the screen.

Show friends where you are—check in!

/livinghopechatt

4

OPENING SONG

5

CALL TO WORSHIP

Minister: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, (+) and of the Holy Spirit.

Congregation: Amen.

CONFESSION + ABSOLUTION M: If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

C: If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify

us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8,9)

M: Let us confess our sins to the Lord.

C: Holy God, gracious Father, I am sinful by nature

and have sinned against you in my thoughts, words, and actions. I have not loved you with my whole heart;

I have not loved others as I should. I deserve your punishment both now and forever.

But Jesus, my Savior, paid for my sins with his holy life and innocent death.

Trusting in him, I pray: God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

M: Our gracious Father in heaven has been merciful to us. He sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, who gave his life as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Therefore, as a called servant of Christ and by his authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen

In every worship service we confess our sins then cling to the forgiveness that Jesus gives us. Confession is called the “heartbeat of the Christian.”

The name of the Triune God and sign of the cross remind worshipers of their baptisms.

6

M: In the peace of forgiveness let’s sing praise to our God.

7

PRAYER OF THE DAY M: O God, protector of all the faithful, you alone make strong; you alone make holy.

Show us your mercy and forgive our sins day by day. Guide us through our earthly lives

that we do not lose the things you have prepared for us in heaven; through Jesus Christ

our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: Amen.

GOD’S WORD

OLD TESTAMENT LESSON___ Numbers 27:15-23

15 Moses said to the Lord, 16 “May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all liv-

ing things, appoint someone over this community 17 to go out and come in before

them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be

like sheep without a shepherd.”

18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the

spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him. 19 Have him stand before Eleazar the

priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. 20 Give him

some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him. 21 He is to

stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the

Urim before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites

will go out, and at his command they will come in.”

22 Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand

before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly. 23 Then he laid his hands on him

and commissioned him, as the Lord instructed through Moses.

NIV

8

EPISTLE LESSON 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5

16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved

us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

1As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message

of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2 And

pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone

has faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you

from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will

continue to do the things we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into

God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.

NIV

CHILDREN ’S MESSAGE Children are invited to come forward into the front row for the children’s message. They will be given a special message designed just for them that ties in with the sermon.

9

SERMON HYMN

10

Please stand

SERMON Matthew 9:35-10:8

35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their syna-

gogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease

and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, be-

cause they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then

he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask

the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

1Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive

out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called

Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of

Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed

him.

5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go

among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost

sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has

come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,

drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

NIV

M: The gospel of our Lord.

C: Praise be to Christ.

Please be seated

The Gospel centers our worship as it shares with us the good news about Christ. We stand out of respect for our Savior as we hear about his words and deeds

11

GOD SENDS Questions to consider while hearing the sermon:

1. How big is the harvest field?

2. What are the 3 words that describe the action of Jesus here?

V_________________ C_______________________ P________________________

3. What did Jesus see when he looked at the crowds?

4. What does the word “compassion” mean?

5. Christ is the ultimate first _______________________________.

6. What were the disciple sent to proclaim?

7. What often makes us lousy workers in God’s harvest field?

8. Who does this plentiful harvest belong to?

9. Jesus is still the one ______________________ the way.

My notes:

TRUTH — By grace, Jesus considers you a key member of his workforce.

12

Please stand

APOSTLES’ CREED

I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his 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 into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He as-cended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Please be seated

OFFERING We collect offerings out of thanks for what God has done for us so that we can support Gospel work here and around the world. If you are a guest with us don’t feel obligated to contribute. This service is our free gift to you! We will not be passing any offering plates at this time. Please deposit your offerings in the basket near the exit as you leave today. Thank you! You can also go online to give with our Paypal button on the website: livinghopechatt.com/give

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH Special prayer for the nation

M: Almighty God, we acknowledge with thanks that all we have and enjoy is a gift from your

loving hand. We come before you today in heartfelt appreciation for our nation and its people.

C: We thank you for enabling us to worship you in freedom and to serve you without fear.

M: You have enriched us with the bounties of farm and factory, the beauty of forest and moun-

tain, and the marvels of medicine and science.

C: For all these blessings, we praise and glorify you.

Christians have used the Apostles’ Creed since the first century to unite themselves together and to obey God’s invitation to “confess with our mouth and believe with our hearts” (Romans 10:9). You are invited to share this confession of faith with us but please do not feel obligated if you feel uncomfortable or have more questions.

13

M: Look with favor on our nation, and preserve our cherished liberties. Enable our leaders to

govern with wisdom, honesty, courage, and justice. Protect those who serve in the armed forc-

es and those who maintain peace and safety in our communities.

C: Give us willingness to obey our nation’s laws and to work for the common good.

M: Keep our financial institutions secure and our economy strong. Bless our fields that they

may produce abundant harvests. Guard us from calamities of nature and accident, and spare

our land from the ravages of disease and epidemic.

C: Teach us not to worry but to cast all our cares on you.

M: Strengthen the homes of our nation. By your Spirit lead husbands and wives to love each

other, parents to nurture their children, young adults to assume responsibility, and children to

show respect. To you, O Lord, we bring our thanks and our requests.

C: Hear our prayers for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be

done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we

forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from

evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.

BLESSING M: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with favor and give you peace. C: AMEN.

The historical “blessing of Aaron” (Numbers 6:24-26) has been spoken over God’s people for over 3,500 years.

14

ARRANGED BY KOINE

CLOSING SONG

15

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Upcoming services

We will continue to meet at Springhill Suites in the coming weeks until further notice. Plan to join us again next week! Next Sunday we’ll continue our series: How to Be a Christian

• God Preserves—July 12 • God Reigns—July 19

Bible Study—Theology on Tap—Off for the month of July We’ll be taking a short hiatus from our weeknight Bible study this month. We look forward to getting back to some good discussion again soon! Stay tuned for the re-launch later this summer.

Foundations Bible Study

We all want answers to life’s biggest questions. But the process for finding them often seems a bit intimidating. Where do I even start? How do I read the Bible? Will I even understand it? There’s no better place to start than by jumping into a Founda-tions Class. Foundations is a class designed to explore the good news that God has for us in his Word and gives an overview of the Christian faith. The class is now being offered via Google Hangouts! Check out the new “Bible Basics” page on our website to hear more about the course and sign up for a study slot. https://livinghopechatt.com/bible-basics Also feel free to email or text pastor to jump into the class: pastormelso@livinghopechatt.com 423-933-2452

16

Regal Cinemas Reopening—NEW Due to a significant uptick in coronavirus cases recently, Regal Cinemas has pushed back it’s reopening date from July 10 to July 31. This means we’ll continue to meet here at Springhill Suites throughout the month of July and possibly all through the month of August as well until we know what’s going on with Regal. We will continue to observe necessary safety measures for in-person worship here at Springhill.

Pastor on Vacation—NEW Pastor will be out of town visiting family the week of July 26 through August 2. We will most likely have a guest preacher here in person to offer the service and sermon that week or, if the need arises, we will simply direct you to a sister church’s livestream service that weekend. Pastor will still be available to contact by phone or email if needed. Upon return, Pastor will take a Covid-19 test and undergo any other necessary safety precautions before returning to in-person worship.

Pastor Eric Melso

423-933-2452

pastormelso@livinghopechatt.com

www.livinghopechatt.com

/livinghopechatt

@livinghopechatt Hope for everyday!