Description
Luke 17:11-19
Ten lepers desiring healing encountered Jesus during his travels to Jerusalem. Jesus commanded them to obey the law by going to the priests who could declare them clean. On their way to the priests, the lepers experienced a miraculous healing. One leper, a Samaritan, was filled with praise and gratitude and returned to Jesus, falling prostrate in worshipful thanksgiving. Jesus asked him in verse 17, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” During this day, Samaritans were viewed as unwanted outsiders. This man had two strikes against him. He was a Samaritan and a leper. Lepers had to keep their distance as leprosy was highly contagious. Yet, this outcast was the only one out of ten who stopped to thank his loving healer. Who in your life is an unwanted outsider? How can you extend love and mercy to that person like Jesus did to this leper?
We Lift Our Hearts in Worship
[Preservice options include videos (countdowns, worship music, welcomes), worship music CD, or live music by worship band.]
Time of Praise and Worship
Here I Am To Worship
Tim Hughes, ©2001 Kingsway’s Thankyou Music
(*consider altering text from “gladly choose You now” to “gladly serve You now”)
You’re Worthy Of My Praise
Daniel Ruis, ©1991 Maranatha Praise, Inc. (Admin. by Maranatha! Music) Shade Tree Music (Admin. by Maranatha! Music)
Jesus Friend of Sinners
Mark Hall & Matthew West, ©2011 My Refuge Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (Admin. by Sony/ATV Songs LLC), External Combustion Music
[Traditional Options]
Your Hand, O Lord, In Days Of Old
LBW 431; LSB 846; LW 399
Sing Praise To God, the Highest Good
ELW 871; LBW 542; LSB 819; LW 452
How Wide the Love of Christ
LSB 535
Invocation and Introduction of Today’s Theme
Pastor Gracious Lord, we quiet our hearts before you now and remember all the wonderful
works of your hands.
ALL Thank you, Lord, for your many blessings.
Pastor You are good and worthy of our praise.
ALL Praise be to you, O God!
Pastor It’s in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit that we come
together now.
ALL Yes, Lord.
Opening Prayer
Pastor Father God, we are grateful to be called your children. You are mighty in all of your ways. Thank you for your faithfulness to a people who are many times so faithless. Thank you for giving us the gift of salvation through your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to counsel and guide us in the way of righteousness. Your goodness and mercy overflows and we are eternally grateful. It’s in the name of Jesus we pray.
ALL Amen!
Time of Greeting
Time of Confession and Forgiveness
[Alternate location: following Message]
Pastor God of mercy, truth, and grace, we confess our sins both thoughtless and intentional.
ALL We confess our sins and thank you for Your mercy, Lord.
(A time of personal confession and reflection)
Pastor We are grateful for your kindness that leads us to repentance.
ALL Thank you for your kindness, Lord.
Pastor We are cleansed of our sins because of the blood that was shed by your one and only Son, Jesus.
ALL Thank you for your forgiveness, Lord.
Pastor Your forgiveness, Lord, is underserving, yet you freely give it. We sing praises to you with our lips, then speak curses on those you love. We thank you for our blessings, yet we forget to bless others in return. We are thankful for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, yet we continue to nail Him to the cross every time we choose to sin. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Because of your great unending love and the blood sacrifice of your Son Jesus that made atonement -19a our sins, we are forgiven. Thank you, Lord, and praise your holy name!
ALL Praise God and Amen!
We Hear God’s Word
[Read aloud both the introduction and Scripture]
First Reading Ruth 1:1-19a
Naomi suffers from the loss of both her husband and her son’s. She heads back to Judah telling her daughter-in-law’s to return to their homeland. Ruth refuses expressing her love and faithfulness to Naomi they continued on to Bethlehem.
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man’s name was Elimelek, his wife’s name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there. 3 Now Elimelek, Naomi’s husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband. 6 When Naomi heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. 8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. 9 May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.” Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept aloud 10 and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.” 11 But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— 13 would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!” 14 At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. 15 “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.” 16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. 19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”
