FIRST SERVICE
TENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Nuthin’ like It!
August 2, 2026
AS WE GATHER
After a meal, does your family pray Psalm 136:1, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever”? That short prayer is not just a reminder to say “thank You” to God, who provides daily bread for our bodies. It also repeats why God provides, specifically, because of “His steadfast love.” In fact, if you pray that entire psalm, it lists the many ways God provides for all our needs of body and soul. The rich Hebrew word translated “steadfast love” reflects not only God’s general attitude but also His mighty acts and deeds to provide for His people’s entire lives and well-being. Jesus’ provision of food for the people in the wilderness (Matthew 14) as well as “our daily bread” call to the mind of faith His ultimate gift of love, the forgiveness of our sins. As the prophet Isaiah speaks of the “rich food” God provides “that your soul may live” (Isaiah 55:2–3), so the humble Meal of bread and wine in the Sacrament of the Altar causes us to remember the greatest work of our Lord’s steadfast love on the cross. At the altar, we receive the very substance of God’s steadfast love that enlivens and strengthens a steadfast faith that will endure until we are welcomed to the great and promised heavenly feast of eternal life.
+ PREPARATION +
HYMN Now Thank We All Our God TLH 36
Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done, in whom His world rejoices;
Who, from our mothers’ arms, hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.
Oh, may this bounteous God thro’ all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed,
And free us from all ills in this world and the next.
All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given,
The Son, and Him who reigns with them in highest heaven,
The one eternal God, whom earth and heav’n adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.
INVOCATION
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
OPENING SENTENCES Psalm 43:4; 136:1
Pastor: I will go to the altar of God,
People: to God my exceeding joy.
Pastor: Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
People: for His steadfast love endures forever.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Isaiah 55:3, 6; Psalm 145:18
Pastor: Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. Incline your ear, and come to Me; hear, that your soul may live.
People: Hear my prayer, O Lord. I confess to almighty God all my sins of thought, of speech, of actions, and of inaction to help others in need. By Your steadfast love and mercy, forgive me and renew a right spirit in me that gives praise to You for Your faithfulness and that relies all the more on You for my salvation and for help in every need.
Pastor: Give thanks to the Lord, for He has heard your cry for mercy. Upon this, your confession, I, by virtue of my office as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God to all of you. In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I 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. Heavenly Father, though we do not deserve Your goodness, still You provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may acknowledge Your gifts, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; 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 55:1–5 (The compassion of the Lord)
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. 3 Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. 4 Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. 5 Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.
EPISTLE Romans 9:1–13 (Not all Israel are Israel.)
I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
HOLY GOSPEL Matthew 14:13–21 (Jesus’ compassion on a great crowd)
13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
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: Give thanks to the God of heaven,
People: for His steadfast love endures forever.
Pastor: Let us pray. Almighty and most merciful God, we give You thanks because Your steadfast love endures forever—that purposeful, active love by which You sent Your only-begotten Son into this desolate world to bring a new creation. In Christ, You have saved us by the forgiveness of all our sin. In Christ, You give all who receive Him a new heart and holy purpose to love one another. In Christ, You provide for all our needs of body and soul, leading us to the joyful feast of eternal life. Grant to all who look to You for life and help a firm faith and thankful hearts. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Lord Jesus, as You miraculously fed the crowds who followed You in the wilderness, so provide wisdom and integrity to all public servants in the government of our land. Cause righteousness and peace to prevail in all the nations of the world that justice and freedom may abide among us. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Savior of all, as You had compassion and healed the sick of the multitudes who sought Your help, give to all pastors and ministers of Your Word that same love and care for all in their charge. Cause the Word they preach and the Sacraments they administer to deliver and strengthen faith and wholeness to all. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Bless all who are sick, those who are injured or hospitalized, and all who are in any need with the healing of Your graceful visitation. Guide doctors, nurses, and all medical personnel to deliver Your gift of wellness and recovery, especially those we remember before You this day, [names]. Grant Your grace to all who look to You for their salvation and for help in every need. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Remembering with love and thanksgiving all those who have gone before us, we ask to be included in their fellowship both here by Your grace and in eternity by Your mercy, not counting our merits but solely by Your own compassion and promise. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
People: Your steadfast love endures forever. Amen.