Holy Communion at 8:30 and 11am


Prayer of the Day
Almighty and ever-living God, you are always more ready to hear than we are to pray, and you gladly give more than we either desire or deserve. Pour upon us your abundant mercy. Forgive us those things that weigh on our conscience, and give us those good things that come only through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Scripture readings
Genesis 18:20-32
Psalm 138:1-8 
Colossians 2:6-19
Luke 11:1-13

Sermon
"All of This and Eternal Life, Too"
Luke 11:1-13
What are you looking for? What do you want? We have many answers to these questions. Much of what we want is frivolous and fleeting, but underneath these are the deep yearnings of the human heart. It often seems that the doors to our desires are locked. The good news is that our God specializes in door removal. It’s not so much that “when one door closes another one opens,” as it is that God specializes in the utter destruction of locked doors. Jesus’ death and resurrection have forever rolled away the stony doors of this world. In this promise, we can knock at God’s door, trusting that God will answer. No, we won’t always get what we want. But whatever we get, we get eternal life, too. So keep knocking and asking. Keep praying. And know that God has already answered the whole creation’s deepest need.

Hymns

In our prayers we remember the Center for Christian Education in Martin, Slovakia. 

Education hour at 9:45am

Sunday School,  Pre-Confirmation, and  Confirmation classes resume in the fall. Teen Talk meets throughout the summer  in the Youth Room.

 "The Life and Music of Bach, Schütz, and Handel"
Pastor Michael Costello
Heinrich Schütz was an early master who focused on settings of biblical texts. J. S. Bach wrote over 300 cantatas along with works for organ and instrumental pieces, and has been called the "fifth evangelist" for the way he proclaimed the gospel in music. Handel's great work, Messiah, is a setting of scriptural texts. Learn more about these three German-born musicians on the day the Lutheran church commemorates their legacy of sacred music. (J. S. Bach died on July 28 in 1750.)

The Sunday morning Bible study group meets in the conference room. 

Adult Education classes in July and August

The Grace Church Library is open and staffed on Sundays from 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Look for books related to Adult Ed topics as well as many other subjects. The library is also open for self-service during the week.