St Paul’s

Evangelical Lutheran Church

313 4th Street, Manistee, MI 49660

www.StPaulsManistee.com

facebook.com/SPLCManistee

Pastor Dennis Himm (810) 252-5821

September 22, 2024 17th Sunday after Pentecost

FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST ARE ARMED FOR THE BATTLE

WELCOME

HYMN 474 “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus” (Please stand)

SERVICE OF THE WORD - pages 38-44

PRAYER OF THE DAY:

Lord, we pray that your mercy and grace may always go before and follow after us that, loving you with undivided hearts, we may be ready for every good and useful work; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. (Sung) Amen.

FIRST LESSON: 1 Kings 18:21-39

In a showdown between Elijah and the prophets of the idol Baal, the LORD makes it clear that all the combined forces of hell are nothing compared to the almighty power of God.

21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing. 22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the LORD’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it.24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God.” Then all the people said, “What you say is good.” 25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.”26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it. Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. 27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which had been torn down.31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.”32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs[a] of seed.33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again. “Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.37 Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!”

P: The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

PSALM 116 – page 107

I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.

SECOND LESSON: Ephesians 6:10-18

So that they might be ready for the battle, followers of Christ put on the full armor of God.

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

P: The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

VERSE OF THE DAY:

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

(Sung) Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

These words are written that we may believe

that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

GOSPEL: Mark 9:14-27

As we fight spiritual battles, Jesus assures us that “Everything is possible for the one who believes,” that is, the one who relies on Christ, who has already won the war.

14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. 16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked. 17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” 19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” 20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” 23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” 5 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

P: The Gospel of the Lord.

C: (sung) Praise be to you, O Christ!

HYMN 579 “Lift High the Cross”

SERMON: Ephesians 6:10-18

Dressed for Battle

APOSTLES’ CREED - page 41

PRAYER & LORD’S PRAYER (Traditional)

HYMN 353 “Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness”

PRAYER - page 43 C: (sung) Amen.

BLESSING - page 44 C: (sung) Amen. Amen. Amen.

HYMN 537 “Onward Christian Soldiers”

ANNOUNCEMENTS & REFRESHMENTS

THANKOFFERING BASKET BY DOOR

The members of St Paul's & the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) have joined together to do the Lord’s work here and around the world. Our guests may but are not expected to participate in this offering which supports our church’s ministry. The basket is located next to the water dispenser.

PLEASE SIGN OUR GUEST BOOK IF YOU ARE VISITING.

It’s located in the entryway by the stairs going to the basement.

MANY THANKS: We sincerely thank the ladies of St. Paul’s for their wonderful service of cleaning the parsonage after each guest pastor and his family use it. They have thoroughly cleaned it 13 times. (NOTE: We have one more guest pastor scheduled for October 12.) You are the backbone to make the Visiting Pastor Program work. Each pastor and family feel the love & kindness you show them. Remember, your labor in the Lord is never in vain.

The ladies are asked to meet briefly to confirm that the Visiting Pastor Program will be done for this year after the October 12.

SUNDAY SCHOOL & ADULT BIBLE CLASS is held at 9 am before our worship at 10 am. You and your family are always invited to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord as we study his living Word.

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