St. Mark Lutheran Church and Preschool
St. Mark Lutheran Church
Est. December 24, 1958
About Pew Connections
We are glad to have you worship with us today. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask anyone. The Pew Connections card, located at the end of each pew, helps us keep track of attendance and receive your notes. We invite you to take a moment to fill one out.
About the Service Online
We invite family, friends, and neighbors to view livestream services online HERE. We are a congregation of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. We are built on the Holy Scriptures; we proclaim Christ crucified and risen for the life of the world.
About The Lord’s Supper
As we celebrate The Lord’s Supper, we do so in the confession of the Christian faith that rejoices with glad confidence because our Lord gives us not only bread and wine but also His very body and blood for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:26-29). Furthermore, this act strengthens our union with Him and with one another. Our Lord invites to His table those who trust that the Lord's body and blood are given for the forgiveness of sins. We are warned in scripture that those who receive this Sacrament unworthily do so to their great harm (1 Corinthians 11:23-32), and because the Lord's Supper is a confession of the common faith which is confessed at this altar, anyone who is not yet instructed, who are in doubt, or who hold a confession differing from the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and yet desire to receive the Sacrament, are asked to first speak to the Pastor. Those who wish to receive grape juice, not wine, can do so by receiving the white grape juice distributed in trays.
About Giving
Christian giving is a joyful response to God’s grace in Jesus Christ. In thanksgiving for His gifts, we support the proclamation of God’s Word, the administration of the Sacraments, and works of mercy, trusting the Lord to use our offerings according to His will. To give joyfully, click on our Giving page. Or you can download the app from the Play Store or App Store.
About Fellowship
Join us for a time of food and fellowship immediately following the service. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we gather to share a meal, give thanks for God’s provision, and encourage one another in love. Family, friends, and neighbors are invited to bring something to share. We look forward to growing together. See you in the Fellowship Hall.
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Rooted - Woven - Grafted into God’s Story
+SUNDAY JULY 12, 2026+
+SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST+
577 ALMIGHTY GOD, YOUR WORD IS CAST
Text: John Cawood, 1775–1852, alt.
Tune: The Whole Booke of Psalmes, 1562, London
Text and tune: Public domain
+ CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION +
(The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.)
Pastor In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Congregation Amen.
Pastor If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Congregation But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(Silence for reflection on God’s Word and for self-examination.)
Pastor Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.
Congregation Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. 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 justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.
Pastor Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, 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.
Congregation Amen.
+SERVICE OF THE WORD+
KYRIE LSB 168
Assistant In peace let us pray to the Lord.
Congregation Lord, have mercy.
Assistant For the peace from above and for our salvation let us pray to the Lord.
Congregation Lord, have mercy.
Assistant For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all let us pray to the Lord.
Congregation Lord, have mercy.
Assistant For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship and praise let us pray to the Lord.
Congregation Lord, have mercy.
Assistant Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
Congregation Amen.
THIS IS THE FEAST LSB 171
SALUTATION AND COLLECT OF THE DAY
Pastor The Lord be with you.
Congregation And also with you.
Pastor Let us pray.
O God, You make the minds of Your faithful to be of one will. Grant that we may love what You have commanded and desire what You promise, that among the many changes of this world our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Congregation Amen.
(Sit)
OLD TESTAMENT READING Isaiah 55:10–13
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,
11so 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.
13Instead 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.”
Assistant This is the Word of the Lord.
Congregation Thanks be to God.
EPISTLE Romans 8:12–17
12So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13For 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. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For 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!” 16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and 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.
Assistant This is the Word of the Lord.
Congregation Thanks be to God.
(Stand)
ALLELUIA AND VERSE LSB 173
HOLY GOSPEL Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23
Pastor The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the thirteenth chapter.
Congregation Glory to You, O Lord.
1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9He who has ears, let him hear. . . .
18“Hear then the parable of the sower: 19When 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. 20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21yet 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. 22As 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. 23As 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.”
Pastor This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Congregation Praise to You, O Christ.
NICENE CREED
Congregation 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 the Son together is worshiped and glorified,
who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in 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 T of the world to come. Amen.
(Sit)
824 MAY GOD BESTOW ON US HIS GRACE
Text: Martin Luther, 1483–1546; tr. Richard Massie, 1800–87, alt.
Tune: David Lee, 1956
Text: Public domain
Tune: © 2004 David Lee. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110003899
SERMON
(Stand)
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
(Following the prayers, the people may greet one another in the name of the Lord, saying, “Peace be with you,” as a sign of reconciliation and of the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Matt. 5:22–24; Eph. 4:1–3).)
(Sit)
OFFERING
OFFERTORY LSB 176
(Stand)
+ SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT +
PREFACE LSB 177
Pastor The Lord be with you.
Congregation And also with you.
Pastor Lift up your hearts.
Congregation We lift them to the Lord.
Pastor Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
Congregation It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
Pastor It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God. And most especially are we bound to praise You on this day for the glorious resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, the very Paschal Lamb, who was sacrificed for us and bore the sins of the world. By His dying He has destroyed death, and by His rising again He has restored to us everlasting life. Therefore with Mary Magdalene, Peter and John, and with all the witnesses of the resurrection, with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and singing:
SANCTUS LSB 178
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING LSB 178
Pastor Blessed are You, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have had mercy on those whom You created and sent Your only-begotten Son into our flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior. With repentant joy we receive the salvation accomplished for us by the all-availing sacrifice of His body and His blood on the cross.
Gathered in the name and the remembrance of Jesus, we beg You, O Lord, to forgive, renew, and strengthen us with Your Word and Spirit. Grant us faithfully to eat His body and drink His blood as He bids us do in His own testament. Gather us together, we pray, from the ends of the earth to celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end. Graciously receive our prayers; deliver and preserve us. To You alone, O Father, be all glory, honor, and worship, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Congregation Amen.
THE WORDS OF OUR LORD
Pastor Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My + body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”
In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My + blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
PROCLAMATION OF CHRIST
Pastor As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Congregation Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Pastor O Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, in giving us Your body and blood to eat and to drink, You lead us to remember and confess Your holy cross and passion, Your blessed death, Your rest in the tomb, Your resurrection from the dead, Your ascension into heaven, and Your coming for the final judgment. So remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:
LORD’S PRAYER
Congregation 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.
PAX DOMINI LSB 180
Pastor The peace of the Lord be with you always.
Congregation Amen.
AGNUS DEI LSB 180
(Sit)
DISTRIBUTION
(The pastor and those who assist him receive the body and blood of Christ first and then distribute them to those who come to receive, saying:)
Take, eat; this is the true body of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, given into death for your sins.
Amen.
Take, drink; this is the true blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, shed for the forgiveness of your sins.
Amen.
(In dismissing the communicants, the following is said:)
Pastor The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen and preserve you in body and soul to life everlasting. Depart + in peace.
Congregation Amen.
588 JESUS LOVES ME sts. 1, ref, 2
Text: Anna B. Warner, 1820–1915, alt.
Tune: William B. Bradbury, 1816–68
Text and tune: Public domain
633 AT THE LAMB’S HIGH FEAST WE SING sts. 1–5
Text: Latin, c. 5th–10th cent.; tr. Robert Campbell, 1814–68, alt.
Tune: Kirchengeseng, 1566, Ivancice
Text and tune: Public domain
(Stand)
NUNC DIMITTIS LSB 182
POST-COMMUNION COLLECT
Assistant Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Congregation Amen.
BENEDICTION LSB 183
Pastor The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and + give you peace.
Congregation Amen.
686 COME, THOU FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING
Text: Robert Robinson, 1735–90, alt.
Tune: Repository of Sacred Music, Part Second, 1813, Harrisburg
Text and tune: Public domain
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Divine Service, Setting Two from Lutheran Service Book
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2026 Concordia Publishing House.
We are a congregation of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
Rooted in the Word of God, dwelling in Christ, and branching out for the sake of the world.
