SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Free, Faithful, Flourishing
July 12, 2026
AS WE GATHER
Any gardener will admit they have seen certain plants flourish while others fail. The plants don’t get a choice in the matter. A plant cannot affect the amount of sunlight, moisture, or attention it receives. It simply grows the way it was designed to. You have been planted by the Lord in His garden. You have seen the light of His Gospel, been watered in Baptism, and been nourished by heaven’s food. You have been designed to flourish! A pear tree doesn’t grow pumpkins, and neither do the redeemed fall back into fear or slavery. You are the harvest of the Lord. We grow to His glory.
+ PREPARATION +
HYMN My Hope is Built on Nothing Less TLH 370
My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.
His oath, His covenant, and blood Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way, He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.
When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.
INVOCATION
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
OPENING SENTENCES
Pastor: Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever,
People: the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I might be glorified.
Pastor: They are planted in the house of the Lord;
People: they flourish in the courts of our God.
Pastor: I will rejoice in doing them good,
People: and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Colossians 1:13–14
Pastor: The Lord has delivered us from the domain of darkness
People: and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Pastor: Almighty God and Father,
People: we confess, as Your people, our need for Your merciful kindness. We are prisoners of our own wants, our own fears, and our own inborn sinfulness. Our actions and interactions often fail as reflections of Your kingdom. Our thoughts, desires, and actions are often borne out of love for ourselves, rather than our love for others or for You. Forgive us and free us, Lord, to love what You love and go where You lead, all by the grace of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Pastor: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son, Jesus, to die for you, and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of the Word and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
+ WORD +
HYMN OF PRAISE Give Thanks with A Grateful Heart CH 170
Give thanks with a grateful heart; Give thanks to the Holy One;
Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son.
Give thanks with a grateful heart; Give thanks to the Holy One;
Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son.
And now let the weak say, “I am strong,” Let the poor say, “I am rich,”
because of what the Lord has done for us.
And now let the weak say, “I am strong,” Let the poor say, “I am rich,”
because of what the Lord has done for us.
Give thanks!
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Pastor: Let us pray. Blessed Lord, since You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT READING Isaiah 55:10–13 (The Lord’s powerful Word sets His people free in joy and singing.)
10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 12 “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
EPISTLE Romans 8:12–17 (Set free by the Spirit, believers are challenged to recognize their adoption into the family of God.)
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
HOLY GOSPEL Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23 (Jesus shares and interprets His story of the lavish sower and the harvest He seeks.)
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.” 18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
HYMN In Christ Alone
In Christ alone my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song.
This cornerstone, this solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled, when striving cease.
My comforter, my all in all, here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone – who took on flesh, fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness, scorned by the ones He came to save.
‘Til on that cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied.
For ev’ry sin on Him was laid, here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay, light of the world by darkness slain.
Then bursting forth in glorious day up from the grave He rose again.
And as He stands in victory sin’s curse has lost its grip on me.
For I am His and He is mine – bought with the precious blood of Christ.
No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the pow’r of Christ in me.
From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand.
‘Til He returns or calls me home, here in the pow’r of Christ I stand.
SERMON
NICENE CREED
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made: who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried. And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. And he will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe one holy Christian and apostolic Church, I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
GREETING/ANNOUNCEMENTS
OFFERING
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Pastor: With one voice, the church cries out,
People: “Abba! Father!”
Pastor: Heavenly, holy Father, we praise You for Your unending mercies, shown in Your loving faithfulness. Give us grateful hearts that seek to praise You for Your fatherly goodness.
People: Abba, Father, hear our prayer.
Pastor: Kind, compassionate Father, You made a place for us within Your family through the sending of Your Son. May our hearts, likewise, resemble Yours, mercifully caring for one another in our fellowship.
People: Abba, Father, hear our prayer.
Pastor: Sending, seeking Father, who received us through the Spirit of adoption, we pray with urgency for those who have yet to hear the Gospel, and for those who have ignored or rejected Your Word, that souls would be saved and the harvest might increase.
People: Abba, Father, hear our prayer.
Pastor: Lavish, loving Father, for those given to share Your Word, we give You thanks. Bless all pastors and all those who faithfully teach Your truth, and grant that the garden of Your church produce abundant workers who will join You in Your mission.
People: Abba, Father, hear our prayer.
Pastor: Powerful, purposeful Father, Your Word accomplishes its goal and brings peace and joy to Your people, even as they suffer. [Specific petitions may be added.]. Bring them healing and defend them in faith.
People: Abba, Father, hear our prayer.
Pastor: Forever faithful Father, secure us in hope and faithfulness, that we might flourish in the places You have planted us, until the harvest that comes with the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.