Lysa Rodriguez
- Jun 16
- 13 min read

Sunday Worship on June 16, 2024

Sunday Worship without Communion

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost B

June 16, 2024 at 9:30 AM

Presider: The Rev. Ella Roundtree-Davis, Deacon

St. Matthew's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/stmattsav

Watch the Livestream at www.Facebook.com/StMattSav/Live/

The Liturgy of the Word: Rite II

Hymn #525: The Church's one Foundation

1 The Church's one foundation

is Jesus Christ her Lord;

she is his new creation

by water and the word:

from heaven he came and sought her

to be his holy bride;

with his own blood he bought her,

and for her life he died.

2 Elect from every nation,

yet one o'er all the earth,

her charter of salvation,

one Lord, one faith, one birth;

one holy Name she blesses,

partakes one holy food,

and to one hope she presses,

with every grace endued.

3 Though with a scornful wonder

men see her sore oppressed,

by schisms rent asunder,

by heresies distressed;

yet saints their watch are keeping,

their cry goes up, "How long?"

and soon the night of weeping

shall be the morn of song.

4 Mid toil and tribulation,

and tumult of her war

she waits the consummation

of peace for evermore;

till with the vision glorious

her longing eyes are blessed,

and the great Church victorious

shall be the Church at rest.

5 Yet she on earth hath union

with God, the Three in One,

and mystic sweet communion

with those whose rest is won.

O happy ones and holy!

Lord, give us grace that we

like them, the meek and lowly,

on high may dwell with thee.

[Words: Samuel John Stone. Music: Aurelia; Samuel Sebastian Wesley. Reprinted with permission from ONE LICENSE #84174.]

The Opening Acclamation

Alleluia! Christ is risen!

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

The Confession of Sin

Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14, 16)

The Deacon or Lay Celebrant says:

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Silence may be kept. All pray together, kneeling, as they are able,

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

The Deacon or Lay Celebrant says:

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.

Hymn S-280: Glory to God

Glory to God in the highest,

and peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King,

almighty God and Father,

we worship you, we give you thanks,

we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,

Lord God, Lamb of God,

you take away the sin of the world:

have mercy on us;

you are seated at the right hand of the Father:

receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One,

you alone are the Lord,

you alone are the Most High,

Jesus Christ,

with the Holy Spirit,

in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

The Collect of the Day

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Let us pray:

Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A Reading from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel (17:22-24)

Thus says the Lord God:

I myself will take a sprig

from the lofty top of a cedar;

I will set it out.

I will break off a tender one

from the topmost of its young twigs;

I myself will plant it

on a high and lofty mountain.

On the mountain height of Israel

I will plant it,

in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit,

and become a noble cedar.

Under it every kind of bird will live;

in the shade of its branches will nest

winged creatures of every kind.

All the trees of the field shall know

that I am the Lord.

I bring low the high tree,

I make high the low tree;

I dry up the green tree

and make the dry tree flourish.

I the Lord have spoken;

I will accomplish it.

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Psalm 92:1-4,11-14

1 It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord, *

and to sing praises to your Name, O Most High;

2 To tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning *

and of your faithfulness in the night season;

3 On the psaltery, and on the lyre, *

and to the melody of the harp.

4 For you have made me glad by your acts, O Lord; *

and I shout for joy because of the works of your hands.

11 The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, *

and shall spread abroad like a cedar of Lebanon.

12 Those who are planted in the house of the Lord *

shall flourish in the courts of our God;

13 They shall still bear fruit in old age; *

they shall be green and succulent;

14 That they may show how upright the Lord is, *

my Rock, in whom there is no fault.

A Reading from the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians (5:6-10,[11-13],14-17)

We are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord-- for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil.

[Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.] For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Hymn #209: We walk by Faith (verses 1-3)

1. We walk by faith, and not by sight;

no gracious words we hear from him

who spoke as none e'er spoke;

but we believe him near.

2. We may not touch his hands and side,

nor follow where he trod;

but in his promise we rejoice;

and cry, "My Lord and God!"

3. Help then, O Lord, our unbelief;

and may our faith abound,

to call on you when you are near,

and seek where you are found:

The People stand, as they are able, for the reading of the Gospel.

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to Mark (4:26-34)

Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”

He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Hymn #209: We walk by Faith (verse 4)

4. that, when our life of faith is done,

in realms of clearer light

we may behold you as you are,

with full and endless sight.

The Sermon

by Benjamin Jones

The Nicene Creed

The People stand, as they are able, to recite the Creed.

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son, he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Prayers of the People (Form VI)

In peace, we pray to you, Lord God.

For all people in their daily life and work;

For our families, friends, and neighbors, and for those who are alone.

For Joseph, our president; Brian, our governor; Van, our mayor; and all other civic officials; For this community, the nation, and the world;

For all who work for justice, freedom, and peace.

For the just and proper use of your creation;

For the victims of hunger, fear, injustice, and oppression.

For all who are in danger, sorrow, or any kind of trouble;

For those who minister to the sick, the friendless, and the needy.

For all the churches in Savannah, that we may be one as you are one with the Son, and the Holy Spirit; For the peace and unity of the Church of God;

For all who proclaim the Gospel, and all who seek the Truth.

For Justin, Archbishop of Canterbury; Michael, our Presiding Bishop; Frank, our Bishop; Ella our Deacon; and for all bishops and other ministers;

For all who serve God in his Church.

For the special needs and concerns of this congregation, especially for our Day Care’s staff, students, and families, and for those on our Parish Prayer List: Lazola Cope, Charles Gordon, Marva Harris, David Jones, Donald Jones, Marilyn Jones, Sheila Jones, Beverly Kemp, Whitney Kennedy, Jessica Mathis, Sada Maxwell, John “Butch” Mitchell, Altheria Maynard, Gordon Moore, Terry Newton, Frieda McDew Shorter, Edward Vaughn, and Jewel Wheeler; and those we remember now… Silence. The People may add their own petitions.

Hear us, Lord;

For your mercy is great.

We thank you, Lord, for all the blessings of this life, especially for all visitors to this parish, all those celebrating birthdays including: Herbert Scroggins (6/17), Teresa (Blue) Clemons (6/20), Kailey Holly (6/20), Crystal Watts (6/21), Jeanette Outing (6/21); those celebrating anniversaries, including Paul & Shaina Berksteiner (6/19), and those thanksgivings we offer now… Silence. The People may add their own thanksgivings.

We will exalt you, O God our King;

And praise your Name for ever and ever.

We pray for all who have died, that they may have a place in your eternal kingdom, and those we remember now, especially Leonard Law Jr., Lydia Jones (Aunt of Lazola Cope)… Silence. The People may add their own petitions.

Lord, let your loving-kindness be upon them;

Who put their trust in you.

The Celebrant concludes with the following or some other suitable Collect:

Almighty and eternal God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth: Mercifully accept the prayers of your people, and strengthen us to do your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Peace

The peace of the Lord be always with you.

And also with you.

Parish Announcements

Sign up for our e-Newsletter at https://tinyurl.com/StMattSavNews

Fathers day Breakfast: On Sunday June 16th, the ECW will be hosting a breakfast for Fathers Day.

Register Now for Summer Camp at Honey Creek: In less than two months, the Diocese of Georgia's 100th Summer Camp will get underway at Honey Creek. We will have daily camp activities, including arts & crafts, outdoor games, ropes course activities, kayaking, pool time, and more. In addition to every day being filled with fun camp activities, we also devote time to worship and spiritual formation. Each session has Spiritual Directors on staff that will lead a formation program in the afternoon, and we begin and end each day with worship in the Chapel of Our Savior with gorgeous views of the Creek right outside our window.

Registration for each session is open, and scholarship assistance is available.

National Acolyte festival registration has opened: Washington National Cathedral is hosting this years national Acolyte festival on October 12th. Registration is now open, if you are looking for more information go to the dioceses website as well as the form for registration if interested.

Glow and Grow gear still available: The Capital Building Campaign is still selling tee-shirts, mugs, etc. If you are interested in purchasing, please email the church office office@st.mattsav.org.

T/W/Th Evening Prayer on Zoom Only: St. Matthew’s gathers for virtual Evening Prayer services on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 5:00 PM, but we no longer post these videos to our Facebook page. You can pray with us on Zoom using the same link as before, as found in the e-Newsletter or in the St. Matthew’s Linktree (QR Code above).

The Offertory

Giving to St. Matthew's:

Mail us a check or money order at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 1401 Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd, Savannah, GA 31415; OR
Make a secure online gift to St. Matthew’s and/or automate future gifts at: https://onrealm.org/StMattSav/-/give/now; OR
Text “stmattsav” to 73256 to make a secure online donation through your phone.

NOTE: Donations made online (#2 or #3) through Realm incur a processing fee of about 2.5%. Please consider adding an additional 2.5% to your online gift to cover these costs.

The Presider begins the Offertory with a sentence on BCP, p. 376, or some other sentence of Scripture.

Give online at: https://onrealm.org/StMattSav/-/give/now

Hymn 587: Our Father, by whose name (Choir Anthem)

1 Our Father, by whose name all fatherhood is known,

who dost in love proclaim each family thine own,

bless thou all parents, guarding well, with constant love

as sentinel, the homes in which thy people dwell.

2 O Christ, thyself a child with in earthly home,

with heart still undefiled, thou didst to manhood come;

our children bless, in every place, that they may all behold

thy face, and knowing thee may grow in grace.

3 O spirit, who dost bind our hearts in unity,

who teachest us to find the love from self set free,

in all our hearts such love increase, that every home,

by this release, may be the dwelling place of peace.

The Doxology

Praise God, Praise God, Praise God!

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow!

Praise him all creatures here below!

Praise him above ye heavenly hosts!

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

Amen.

LEV #264: The Lord’s Prayer

And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, we are bold to sing,

Our Father, which 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 debts, as we forgive our debtors

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

The Grace

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen.

LEV #165: I'm pressing on the upward way

1 I’m pressing on the upward way,

New heights I’m gaining every day;

Still praying as I onward bound,

“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Refrain:

Lord, lift me up, and let me stand

By faith, on heaven’s table land;

A higher plane than I have found,

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

2 My heart has no desire to stay

Where doubts arise and fears dismay;

Though some may dwell where these abound,

My prayer, my aim is higher ground. [Refrain]

3 I want to live above the world,

Though satan’s darts at me are hurled;

For faith has caught a joyful sound,

The song of saints on higher ground. [Refrain]

4 I want to scale the utmost height,

And catch a gleam of glory bright;

But still I’ll pray till heav’n I’ve found,

“Lord, lead me on the higher ground.” [Refrain]

The Dismissal

[BCP, p. 366]

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord! [Alleluia! Alleluia!]

Thanks be to God! [Alleluia! Alleluia!]

The Parish Prayer List

PRAYER LIST: Lazola Cope, Charles Gordon, Marva Harris, David Jones, Donald Jones, Marilyn Jones, Sheila Jones, Beverly Kemp, Whitney Kennedy, Jessica Mathis, Sada Maxwell, John “Butch” Mitchell, Altheria Maynard, Gordon Moore, Terry Newton, Frieda McDew Shorter, Edward Vaughn, and Jewel Wheeler

BIRTHDAYS: Herbert Scroggins (6/17), Teresa (Blue) Clemons (6/20), Kailey Holly (6/20), Crystal Watts (6/21), Jeanette Outing (6/21)

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES: Paul & Shaina Berksteiner (6/19)

RECENT DEATHS: Leonard Law Jr., Lydia Jones (Aunt of Lazola Cope)

May the souls of all the departed rest in peace; and may light perpetual shine upon them. Amen.

Permissions and Credits: This service is reproduced from The Book of Common Prayer 1979 (BCP), The Hymnal 1982 (Hymn), Lift Every Voice and Sing II: An African American Hymnal (LEV), Enriching Our Worship 1 (EOW1), The Book of Occasional Services 2022 (BOS22), and other sources cited. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture readings are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible.