I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ,
His only Son our Lod, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy universal church,
the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.


response reading 1. Psalm 1.
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.


hymnal 490
1 There’s a dream that I dream, of my Savior divine, And I know that my dream will come true;
At the morn, in the night, comes the vision of light, With a promise eternally new.
O this wonderful dream is a secret of grace, And I would this secret you knew;
For I dream that at last I shall look on His face, And I know that my dream will come true.
2 There is sweet compensation for heartache and loss In the hope that is given to me;
I shall quickly forget how the road was beset, When the King in His beauty I see. 
O this wonderful dream is a secret of grace, And I would this secret you knew;
For I dream that at last I shall look on His face, And I know that my dream will come true.
3 It will still be my stay when the fashion's of earth In the mist are dissolving away;
For the passage of death will be only a breath— But a breath, and my dream will come true. 
O this wonderful dream is a secret of grace, And I would this secret you knew;
For I dream that at last I shall look on His face, And I know that my dream will come true.


hymnal 633
Take these gifts, take these gifts, O our God:
All we have, all we have comes from you.
With our voices raised in thanks, Lord, we give to you. Amen.

Matthew 13:18-23
18 "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:
19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.
21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.
23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."


Hymnal 620
1 Gathered here within this place, we can share in God's redeeming grace
There's no room for dbout or fear; we can feel His presence here
As we face each passing day we will serve and honor and obey
And if hope should start to dim. We will know our trust is in Him
And we will keep our faith alive, God will always be our guide
Through the darkest night, we will see God's light. We will keep our faith alive
Keep our faith alive
2 We will live as God has planned, though at times we may not understand
Many things we may not see, but our faith will help us believe
from His Word we learn the truth Through His love we all are born anew
With His help we will not fail for we know our God will prevail
And we will keep our faith alive, God will always be our guide
Through the darkest night, we will see God's light. We will keep our faith alive
Keep our faith alive
3 When we share the Love He gives, all the world will know that we are His
In God's name we stand as one; and through us His work will be done
Out of bondage and sorrow, we are leaning hard on Christ the Lord
In Christ we will fight good fights. And will praise the name of the Lord
And we will keep our faith alive, God will always be our guide
Through the darkest night, we will see God's light. We will keep our faith alive
Keep our faith alive