St Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

313 4th St, Manistee, MI 49660-2901

website: stpaulsmanistee.com

facebook.com/SPLCManistee

Telephone: 231-299-1022

September 17, 2023 Pentecost 16

The Church fulfills her role as her brother’s keeper.

May the LORD, the God of love and mercy, bless your worship.

WELCOME

HYMN 521 – please stand for last stanza

COMMON SERVICE - page 15

PRAYER OF THE DAY:

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

(Sing) Amen.

FIRST LESSON: Ezekiel 33:7-11

We are a watchman for our brother. If we fail to do the job God has assigned us, God will hold us accountable.

7 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 8 When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 9 But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved. 10 “Son of man, say to the Israelites, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?”’ 11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’

PSALM 51a, page 86

May David’s sincere prayer of confession also be ours.

SECOND LESSON: Galatians 2:11–16

Being your brother’s keeper will lead at times to uncomfortable situations or even confrontations.

11 When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? 15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in[a] Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

VERSE OF THE DAY:

Alleluia. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Alleluia.

(Sing) Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20

“Matthew 18” has become shorthand for Christian church discipline. The motivation is always love with the goal being repentance.

15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

HYMN 405

SERMON: Galatians 2:11-16

THE CHURCH THAT GOD BUILDS

– is willing to say the hard things

Sermon written by Circuit Pastor John Eich

APOSTLES’ CREED - page 19

PRAYERS & LORD’S PRAYER

HYMN 303

PRAYER - page 25

HYMN 493

ANNOUNCEMENTS & REFRESHMENTS

THANKOFFERING BASKET BY DOOR

The members of St Paul's have joined together to do the Lord’s work in this area and around the world. Our guests may but are not expected to participate in this offering which supports our church’s ministry.

Guests, please sign our Guest Book in the entryway.

SUNDAY SCHOOL has resumed for the school year. Please encourage parents and invite children to take advantage of this great opportunity. It is held before worship at 9 am – the same time as Adult Bible Class

SERVING YOU TODAY:

Adult Bible Class: Danny Wrzesinski
Sunday School: Jesse Keson
Worship Leader: Russ Wrzesinski
Organist: Nancy Skory
Sermon written by Circuit Pastor John Eich –

read by Danny Wrzesinski

All Scripture readings are from the NIV 2011. Used by permission.