Author: Julie Raffa

Introit Psalm 28:1–2, 6–7; antiphon: v. 8
The Lord is the strength of his | people;* he is the saving refuge of his a- | nointed. To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not | deaf to me,* lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down | to the pit. Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to | you for help,* when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctu- | ary. Blessèd | be the Lord!* For he has heard the voice of my pleas for | mercy. The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and | I am helped;* my heart exults, and with my song I give | thanks to him. Glory be to the Father and | to the Son* and to the Holy | Spirit; as it was in the be- | ginning,* is now, and will be forever. | Amen. The Lord is the strength of his | people;* he is the saving refuge of his a- | nointed.
Collect of the Day
O Lord, let Your merciful ears be open to the prayers of Your humble servants and grant that what they ask may be in accord with Your gracious will; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Old Testament Reading Isaiah 35:4–7a
4Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” 5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water.”
Gradual Psalm 34:9, 19, alt.
Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing! Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Epistle James 2:1–10, 14–18
1My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
8If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. . . .
14What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
Holy Gospel Mark 7:24–37
24From there [Jesus] arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25But immediately a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.
31Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Announcements
Concordia Bible Institute with Rev. Dr. Brian German will be presenting a study on the Book of Revelation. Tuesday’s in September starting on September 14. The class will take place in the Pilgrim Fellowship Hall from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
If you are interested in learning Setting 2 and can get on the internet please check out the following:
https://m.box.com/shared_item/https%3A%2F%2Flcms.box.com%2Fv%2FLSB-Divine-Service-2
This will allow anyone who wants to listen to both pastor and congregation sing the parts of Divine Service setting 2. This is a great resource to assist our congregation in learning this new setting.
*REGISTRATION Forms for Sunday School and Catechesis are available in the Narthex and on the Pilgrim website at
www.pilgrimlutheran-westbend.org. Finished forms can be brought to the office or if using the website, please email them in. Thank you.
*The Church Picnic is scheduled for Sunday, September 12 after the 10:30 service. We are looking for donations of Sides, salads, condiments, desserts, and milk. Please sign up on the pink sign-up sheet in the Narthex. Thank you
.
We also need a volunteer at 8 a.m. to pick up and tow the dunk tank from Equipment Rentals on Decorah Road in West Bend to Pilgrim and again to take it back at 8 a.m. on Monday to return it to Equipment Rentals. Please contact Carolyn McAfee at 262-305-9776 if you can help out.
*Amazon Smile: Designate Pilgrim when you shop at Smile.Amazon.com and they will donate ).5% of the eligible purchase price to our church. Designate Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church as your charity of choice on the homepage, then place your order as usual.
*Thrivent Choice: Thank you to those who are participating in the Thrivent Choice Program. We have received $49.00. Anyone with Thrivent accounts would do well to dedicate the Choice Dollars (the money given away freely by Thrivent so as to maintain its non-profit status, so it costs you nothing). You can direct your Thrivent Choice Dollars by calling 800-847-4836 and selecting Thrivent Choice.
Cable Worship Schedule Pilgrim’s Sunday 8:00 a.m. Divine Service is broadcast on WB 987 and AT&T Uverse 99 multiple times during the week: Sundays: 6:00 a.m. Mondays: 4:00 p.m. Tuesdays: 11:30 a.m. Wednesdays: 9:00 a.m. Wednesdays: 4:00 p.m. Bible Study, Thursdays: 4:00 p.m. This service is also live streamed and archived on the church’s YouTube channel:
Pilgrim Lutheran Church- West Bend, WI

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Divine Service
Lutheran Service Book: Page:
Liturgy: Setting 1 (Nicene Creed) 151
Hymns:
Word of God, Come Down on Earth 545
Praise the Almighty 797
Communion Hymns:
Hear Us, Father, When We 773 Thy Strong Word 578
O Christ, Our True and Only 839
Dear Christians, One and All 566
Now thank We All Our God 895
Scripture Readings:
Old Testament: Isaiah 35:4-7a
Epistle: James 2: 1-10, 14-18
Gospel: Mark 7:24-37
In our prayers, we remember:
X all who live under the flag of our nation,
X our government and judicial officials,
X law enforcement officers, military personnel, and their families,
X those isolated from family and friends,
X those struggling with health issues:
Linda Mejchar, Carl Pritzlaff, Muriel Magnus, Naisa Gohr, the Boehlke Family, Judy Clark, Carolyn Bren, Ron & Joyce Virchow Sr., Louise Kreis, Betty Steely, Inez Schwoch, Mark Selzler, Sue Zell, Mark Soat, Brenda Faber, Ruth Mertz, Dot Miller, Jerry & Gert Sullivan, Kandie Darmody, June Fry, Elaine Kuenzel, Diane Behrens
X pastors, missionaries, and those who serve God’s people with the gifts of Christ,
X Christians persecuted for the confession of the faith, and especially we remember
X all who have forsaken the faith, that they may be restored to gladness of heart and be made wise to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Preacher: Rev. Joseph Fisher
Liturgist: Rev. Christopher Raffa
Elder: Bob K., Jake H., Dennis E.
Cantor: Kurt Meyle
Organists: Ben Grosskreuz, Kathy Greve

Coming Up at Pilgrim
Saturday, September 4:
7:00 a.m. Men’s Breakfast & Bible Study
Sunday, September 5:
8:00 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. Divine Service
9:30 a.m. Adult Class: Life of Christ
12:30 p.m. Bible Study: 1st Samuel
Monday, September 6: Labor Day
Church Office Closed
Tuesday, September 7:
2:00 p.m. Chapel @ Auxiliary Court
Wednesday, September 8:
4:00 p.m. Youth Catechesis
5:30 p.m. Parents Meeting
6:30 p.m. Adult Class: Lutheran Difference
Thursday, September 9:
7:00 p.m. Divine Service
Friday, September 10: Office Closed
Sunday, September 12:
9:15 a.m. First day of Sunday School
Silent Auction Starts
After 10:30 a.m. service, Church Picnic
Saturday, September 18:
7:00 a.m. Men’s Breakfast & Bible Study

Please:
See Bulletin Board in Narthex for Hurricane Ida Relief Efforts

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 2 - 5, 2021
37And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
Mark 7:37
Welcome and blessings to you through our Lord Jesus Christ!
We welcome all who gather with us around the Altar and Pulpit to hear the Word of God. If you are visiting, we are happy that you could join us today. Please sign the guest book in the narthex and fill out one of the pew cards and pass it in with the offering plate to leave a record of your visit.
Communion Statement: By the design and specific warning of our Lord Jesus Christ in His Word, the precious gift of the Lord’s Body and Blood is to be shared with His blessing only with those prepared to take it rightly. (1 Cor 11:23-32) At the first communion our Lord did not commune all believers, but only those who had been instructed by Him daily for three years. The custom of our church is to offer the Sacrament only to confirmed members of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. So that our pastors would faithfully fulfill their obligations, (1 Cor 4:1; Heb 13:17; 1 Cor 11:27), all first-time visitors should speak to one of the pastors prior to communing. Our pastors are eager and available to provide instruction leading to a right and salutary reception our Lord’s holy Body and Blood, so that in the future you may join us in the blessing of this sacrament.

Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession
The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod
462 Meadowbrook Drive, West Bend, WI 53090
(262) 334-0375 www.pilgrimlutheran-westbend.org