Sunday Worship: The 21st Sunday after Trinity (Reformation Day)

This is the 21st Sunday after Trinity Sunday. This is also Reformation Day as we give thanks to God for the work of renewal and retrieval in the Protestant Reformation. Pastor Shane will be preaching from Psalm 119:1-24 in our Psalter Sermon Series.

To prepare for worship, read the Collect and Scripture lessons.
The Collect for the 21st Sunday after Trinity.
Merciful Lord, grant to your faithful people pardon and peace that we may be cleansed from all our sins and serve you with a quiet mind, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Collect for Reformation Sunday.
Gracious heavenly Father, we thank You for the comfort of the Gospel restored to Your Church on earth through the work of Thomas Cranmer, Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, John Calvin, Martin Luther and other faithful pastors and leaders during the Reformation. We thank You that by Your lavish grace we have come to the sure knowledge that we stand justified before You, not by what we have done, but rather by faith in what Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, has done on our behalf. We ask You, defend Your Church from all enemies of Your saving Word. Cause Your eternal Gospel to be proclaimed in our time to every nation, tribe, tongue and people, and graciously preserve Your truth for generations to come; through the merits of Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Psalm: 119:1-24
OT: Isaiah 11:1-5
Epistle: Ephesians 6:10-20
Gospel: John 4:46-54

Heidelberg Catechism
LD 18 Q49: How does Christ’s ascension to heaven benefit us?
A: First, he is our advocate in heaven in the presence of his Father.
Second, we have our own flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that Christ our head will also take us, his members, up to himself.
Third, he sends his Spirit to us on earth as a corresponding pledge. By the Spirit’s power we seek not earthly things but the things above, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand.