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Worship Alive Plus!

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Series B

Worship Alive Plus! is designed to be adaptable in planning

contemporary, blended, and “fresh traditional” worship.

The Scripture readings are the assigned readings for the day taken from the

Lutheran Service Book @ Concordia Publishing House

The Liturgy and Sermon Starters & Seasonings are written by the writers of

Worship Alive Plus! @ WorshipOutlet

Unstuck – Mark 7:31-37

Jesus healed a deaf mute by taking him aside, touching Him, and speaking a command to ‘be opened’. He does the same with us. He gets personal with us. He touches us, in His Word and sacraments and ‘opens’ us. And we are unstuck. He opens us to Himself, and when we are open to Him, we become open to each other, to those around us, to those in need, to the whole world. And we become vessels through which His love flows.

? 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

Your Grace Is Enough

Matt Maher, ©2003 ; Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

Open The Eyes Of My Heart

Paul Baloche, ©1997 Integrity’s Hosanna! Music

Healer

Mike Guglielmucci, ©2007 Planet Shakers Ministries Int. Inc. (Admin. by Music Services)

[Traditional Options]

Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty

ELW 533; LBW 250; LSB 901; LW 198, NCH 67; PH 489

Lord Jesus Christ Be Present Now

ELW 527; LBW 253; LSB 902; LW201; NCH 324

Lord, Open Now My Heart To Hear

LSB 908; LW 197

Invocation and Introduction of Today’s Theme

Pastor: In the name of the Father, Who sent His Son to the cross;

In the name of the Son, Jesus Christ, who opens us to all that He would have for us;

In the name of the Holy Spirit, through Whose work the love of God flows through us.

ALL Amen

Opening Prayer

Pastor Almighty God, how good You are. Your love and grace and mercy continually flow to all creation. And when our hearts and minds and ears and eyes were stuck, when we could not hear You or see You or love You, You sent Your Son to open us. Through His death and resurrection and the work of His Spirit, we are open to recognize Your presence, receive Your love, and respond in Your will. Here are now we gather to worship You, our hearts and hands and minds open to You, and each other.

ALL Amen.

Time of Greeting

Time of Confession and Forgiveness

[Alternate location: following Message]

Pastor We confess our sins and our sinfulness before our Father

(a time of silence)

Father, we gather as Your people, acknowledging we are often stuck, stymied, stalled.

ALL Our eyes do not always see Your hand at work in our lives.

Our ears do not always hear Your proclamations of love and mercy.

Our hearts are often closed to You, and to those around us.

Our hands are shut, desperately attempting to hold on to what we have, unable to receive Your gifts, and unwilling to share with others.

Even our church is a closed system, going about our business as we ignore the needs of those around us.

Forgive us, we pray, and open us to the wonder of Your love and grace.

Pastor Jesus took aside a deaf man, touched his tongue, and proclaimed, “Ephatha”, which means “be opened.” And the man’s ears were opened, and his tongue was unstuck, and he spoke. Jesus does the same for us. He touches us, with His Word, and with His body and blood. And from a cross He proclaimed, “Ephatha”, and the sin that had clogged our living was forgiven, and we are made open. We hear, we see, we love, we love, we share, we rejoice, we serve, we praise. Jesus has opened us, and His Spirit flows in us and through us.

ALL Amen.

? We Hear God’s Word ?

[Read aloud both the introduction and Scripture]

First Reading: Isaiah 35:4-7

Through all the workings of our world, God remains in charge.

Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” 5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. 7 The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

Second Reading: James 2:1-10, 14-18

Faith expresses itself in action

 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? 8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Gospel: Mark 7:31-37

In His journeys, Jesus encounters a Syro-Phoenician woman, and a deaf mute

31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him. 33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Response Songs

[Alternate location: following Message]

Mighty to Save

Ben Fielding & Reuben Morgan, ©2006 Hillsong Publishing (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

You Never Let Go

Beth Redman & Matt Redman, ©2005 Thankyou Music (Admin by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

I Am

David Crowder & Ed Cash, ©2013 sixsteps Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing) Alletrop Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

[Traditional Options]

Blessed Jesus, At Your Word

EH 440; ELW 520; LBW 248; LSB 904; NCH 74; PH 454; UMH 596

Faith and Truth and Life Bestowing

LSB 584

Word of God Come Down on Earth

EH 633; ELW 510; LSB 545; RS 653; UMH 182; WOV 716

Message

Title: “Unstuck” – Mark 7:34

“Sermon Seasonings” provided at the end of this service

? We Respond to God’s Word ?

[Optional location for Confession/Absolution]

Affirmation of Faith

In the beginning, love flowed freely through the Garden. And we heard and saw all that God said and did. And we were free.

And sin came into the world, and we became closed to the love of God. We lived for ourselves, fearful of loving and living, selfishly clinging to things we thought of as ours.

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to rescue us from our sinfulness. He entered our closed world, wrapped in our flesh, in order that He might speak our language. He spoke plainly of the love of God, urging us to return to our Father. And on a cross, when the religious people attempted to silence Him, the Word was spoken: “Ephatha”, and the sin that had congested our living was removed, and love flowed freely again.

The Spirit, sent from the Father and the Son, works within us that we might see and hear and love and share and grow and become all we were meant to be. The Spirit gathers us together, opens to each other in the Church, and sends us forth to serve within a world which remains closed.

[Alternate Suggestions]

Praise the Father, Praise the Son Ed Cash & Chris Tomlin, ©2008 Vamos Publishing (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) songs (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) sixsteps Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) Alletrop Music (Admin. by Music Services)

Because We Believe Nancy Gordon & Jamie Harvill, ©1996 Mother’s Heart Music & Integrity’s Hosanna! Music and Integrity’s Praise! Music

This Is What I Believe Walt Harrah & John Schreiner, ©1992 and ©1993 Maranatha! Music

-OR-

Speak the historic Apostles’ Creed or Nicene Creed

Offerings

[Choose an unused song from elsewhere in the service, or program Special Music by worship team, choir, or soloist]

? We Pray ?

Prayers

[Formal language with litany responses such as “Hear our prayer” are not recommended for contemporary worship. Worshipers appreciate the sincerity of informal, heartfelt prayer. “Heartfelt prayer” models a simple prayer language anyone can use at home, in the car, at the office, etc. These starters are offered to help facilitate spontaneity.]

Prayer Topic Starters

• “Ephatha”

• Love that flows through us to those around us

• Ears that can hear the cries of the hurting, and the promises of the Father

• Hearts that are generous and rich in sharing

• Freedom to live in the wonder of being the children of God

• Courage to live boldly within our closed world

The Lord’s Prayer

[Consider occasionally singing the Lord’s Prayer, a capella or with accompaniment]

Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

[A Communion option is provided for churches celebrating the Lord’s Supper]

? We Celebrate the Lord’s Supper ?

Here our Lord gives to us His own Body and Blood for the forgiveness of all our sins.

We Prepare

Pastor We lift our hearts and hands before You, Holy Father; for You have redeemed us by sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, into our world. He entered our closed world to open us to all that You desire for us.

ALL And in these forms of bread and wine He touches us with His very body and blood, and we see and hear and rejoice, as Your love flows through us.

Pastor Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread….

Words of Institution

[Worshipers may turn to one another and share the peace which comes from the Lord with words such as, “The Spirit be with you.”]

Distribution Songs

I Am Not Alone

Austin Davis, Ben Davis, Dustin Sauder, Grant Pittman, Kari Jobe, Marty Sampson and Mia Fieldes © KAJE Songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing), Worship Together Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing), Small City Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (Admin. by Sony/ATV Music Publishing), Upside Down Under (Admin. by Sony/ATV Music Publishing), Benjamin Davis Publishing (Admin. by Watershed Music Co.), Watershed Music Publishing (Admin. by Watershed Music Co.)

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

Chris Tomlin, John Newton, & Louie Giglio, ©2006 songs (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) sixsteps Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) Vamos Publishing (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

Lord I Need You

Christy Nockels, Daniel Carson, Jesse Reeves, Kristian Stanfill, & Matt Maher, ©2011 songs (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) sixsteps Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) Sweater Weather Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) Valley Of Songs Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing) Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

[Traditional Options]

Open Our Eyes, Lord

BH 91 499; CH 833; HWC 383; SSTTL 459; TFWS 2086; WC 536; WAR 491; WHM 506

What Is This Bread

HS 98 850; LSB 629

Eternal Spirit of the Living Christ

EH 698; ELW 402; LBW 441; LSB 769; LW 432; NCH 520; WAR 475

Dismissal Blessing

Pastor Here we have tasted the grace of God in these forms of bread and wine, receiving the very body and blood of Jesus. “Ephatha”

ALL May our eating and drinking open us to the wonder of God in our lives, and to the joy of living as His children. We see. We hear. We speak. We live. We love. Amen.

? We Depart in Peace ?

Benediction

Pastor May the glory of the Father abound within our lives

May the love of the Son, Jesus Christ, flow through us

May the power of the Spirit open us to all that we are meant to be.

ALL Amen.

Closing Song

This is Amazing Grace

Jeremy Riddle, Josh Farro, & Phil Wickham, ©2012 Bethel Music (Admin. by Bethel Music Publishing) Phil Wickham Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.) Seems Like Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.) Sing My Songs (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.) Warner Chappell Music (Admin. by Unaffiliated Admin (UA))

Jesus Paid It All

Alex Nifong, Elvina M. Hall, & John Thomas Grape, ©2006 songs (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)sixsteps Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

Overwhelmed

Michael Weaver & Phil Wickham, ©2011 Word Music, LLC (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.) Phil Wickham Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.) Seems Like Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.) Weave Country (Admin. by Word Music Group, Inc.)

[Traditional Options]

Stay With Us

LSB 879; TFWS 2199; WOV 743

How Shall They Hear Who Have Not Heard

HS 98 868; LSB 831; WC 740; UMH 647

Christ Be My Leader

LSB 861; LW 365; WC 107; WAR 453

SSS – SERMON STARTERS & SEASONINGS

These ideas are intended to provide material and stimulus for your own creativity

“Unstuck”

Mark 7:34

Jesus healed a deaf mute by taking him aside, touching Him, and speaking a command to ‘be opened’. He does the same with us. He gets personal with us. He touches us, in His Word and sacraments and ‘opens’ us. And we are unstuck. He opens us to Himself, and when we are open to Him, we become open to each other, to those around us, to those in need, to the whole world. And we become vessels through which His love flows.

Theological Reflections and Practical Applications

7:31 Jesus’ route to Israel bypassed Galilee itself. Instead Jesus went east into the Decapolis region and then turned south past Mount Hermon until He reached the Sea of Galilee.

7:32–35 The healing of this deaf man (who also had a speech impediment) is one of the two miracles recorded by Mark only. (The other is the healing of the blind man recorded in 8:22–26.) Those who have never heard also frequently have problems pronouncing words.

7:34 Ephphatha is an Aramaic word. Mark provides an interpretation for his largely non-Jewish audience.

7:36 Jesus’ command to tell no one, though unheeded, was meant to allow Him to move freely in the area. He knew that curiosity seekers could hamper His ministry.

7:37 the deaf … hear and the mute … speak: Signs that God’s kingdom had come (Is. 35:5, 6).

[1]

Quotations

Reflow

Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart.

Washington Irving

Open

The self expands through acts of self forgetfulness

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Deaf, Blind and Dumb

None so deaf as those that will not hear. None so blind as those that will not see.

Matthew Henry

Ears Open – World Open

When I learned to sign and speak at the same time, the whole world opened up to me.

Marlee Martin

Illustrations

Hearing Your Father’s Voice

Three year old Grayson Clamp was born deaf. He never heard a sound in his life until last month when he became the first child in the United States to receive an auditory brain stem implant. The device allows his brain to process sound the way a hearing person's would. Video captured Grayson's awed expression as he heard, for the first time, his father saying, "Daddy loves you. Daddy love you." Grayson has a long road ahead as he learns to interpret the sounds he is now hearing, and some adjustments may need to be made to his device. But, no doubt, the world has opened up to him in ways he would otherwise have never known.



”

Fully Open

In the Korean culture, gifts are presented using both hands open. The idea is that one is giving without holding anything back. Likewise, gifts are also received with both hands open. The idea being that one is fully open to receiving what is being offered.



The Flow of Relationship

When I mediated on the word ‘guidance’ I was drawn to the letters “dance” at the end of word. I reflected upon how doing God’s will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn’t flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes this and allows the other to lead, both are free to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another. It’s as if two become one body, moving in unison.



Video Resources

Distractions

Sometimes we can’t hear God not because He is not speaking, but because there are so many other voices demanding our attention. We are deaf to His Word because His Word is lost in the cacophony of noise within our lives. This video, lasting 2:11 and costing $20, is available as a download from . Simply type the name of the video in the search bar. This video is perhaps best used as an invitation to worship, referencing it again during the message.

Hearing Test

This is a funny video about a woman taking a hearing test who cannot convince anyone she is not deaf. Use this video judiciously. There are stereotypes employed within this video, and it might be offensive to those who are actually deaf. Despite the caveats, this is an excellent launch into a message based on the Gospel. The woman in the video is ‘stuck’. She’s in a box, and can’t communicate. Jesus brings us out of our box, and opens us to love and wonder. This video costs $20 and is available as a download from . Simply type the name of the video in the search bar. Use this video as a lead-in to the message, or, more optimally, within the message itself.

CITED RESOURCES FOR

WORSHIP ALIVE PLUS!

Updated for 2015

We operate with the understanding that our subscribers own a copyright license through CCLI. [Be advised: does not cover the publishers of the contemporary music suggested below.]

In compliance with copyright laws, lyrics may be downloaded at through your CCLI subscription, and also through numerous websites such as those listed below.

ONLINE RESOURCES

Print Music





















Audio & Video Downloads

mp3

cbdtunes.















HYMNAL CODES

BH75 Baptist Hymnal (1975)

BH91 Baptist Hymnal (1991)

CH Celebration Hymnal (Word)

CHH Chalice Hymnal (Chalice)

EH Episcopal Hymnal (1982)

ELW Evangelical Lutheran Worship (Augsburg)

HPW Hymns for Praise and Worship (Word)

HFG Hymns for the Family of God (Paragon)

HLC Hymns for the Living Church (Hope)

HGP Hymns of Glorious Praise (Gospel Pub House)

HSP Hymns of the Spirit (Pathway)

HS98 Hymnal Supplement 1998 (Concordia)

HWC Hymnal for Worship & Celebration (Word)

LBW Lutheran Book of Worship (Augsburg)

LSB Lutheran Service Book (Concordia)

LW Lutheran Worship (Concordia)

NCH New Century Hymnal (Pilgrim Press)

PH Presbyterian Hymnal (1990)

RH Rejoice Hymnal (Tempo)

RS Ritual Song (G.I.A.)

STTL Sing To The Lord (Lillenas)

TFWS The Faith We Sing (Methodist supplement)

UMH United Methodist Hymnal (1989)

WC The Worshipping Church (Hope)

WOV With One Voice (Augsburg)

WAR Worship and Rejoice (Hope)

WHM Worship His Majesty (Gaither)

WIS Worship in Song (Lillenas)

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[1]Radmacher, Earl D. ; Allen, Ronald Barclay ; House, H. Wayne: Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary. Nashville : T. Nelson Publishers, 1999, S. Mt 17:1-9

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