SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 2026 4th SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
CHRIST THE KING LUTHERAN CHURCH
PASTOR: Rev. Harry M. Krolus
CHURCH: 410-356-3400 CELL: 410-707-7663
Church email: ctklclcms@yahoo.com
Church Web Site: ctklchurch.org
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WELCOME to everyone who is worshiping with us today. We are glad that you are here! We pray that your worship experience here at Christ The King is spiritually uplifting and rewarding. If you are visiting, please sign our guest book and introduce yourself to Pastor Harry.
(Please turn off all electronic devices before worship begins; or, if you are using a Bible app to enhance your worship experience or to use PayPal, please enable the do not disturb function on your phone.)
WORDS OF WELCOME
THE HANDSHAKE OF CHRISTIAN PEACE
THE INVOCATION
P. We begin our worship this day in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C. Amen.
THE CALL TO WORSHIP
P. We celebrate your world, Divine Creator.
C. The sun and moon, the live oak and the bird of paradise, the drops of water, the clear sky and the cleansing wind.
P. We celebrate your order, Divine Planner.
C. Summer, winter, spring and fall, night and day, month and year-- a time for everything.
P. We celebrate your truth, Divine Wisdom.
C. Carried by sages, prophets, martyrs and poets, and fully revealed in Jesus of Nazareth.
P. We celebrate your kindness, Divine Friend.
C. Lifting up the fallen, embracing us in our weakness, surrounding us with beauty.
P. We celebrate your presence, Divine Companion.
C. A song in our hearts and hope in our steps, joy in our soul and peace in our words.
OPENING HYMN: 907 “God Himself Is Present”
THE CONFESSION OF SINS
P. Rejoicing in the knowledge that God seeks to save and not punish, we confess our sins together before God our merciful Father.
ALL: Holy and merciful Father, I confess that I am by nature sinful, and that I have disobeyed you in my thoughts, words, and actions. I have done what is evil and failed to do what is good. For this I deserve your punishment both now and in eternity. But I am truly sorry for my sins, and trusting in my Savior Jesus Christ, I pray: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.
P. God, our heavenly Father, has been merciful to us and has given his only Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Therefore, as a called servant of Christ and by his authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C. Amen.
THE PSALM FOR THE DAY: Psalm 91:1-10
P. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
C. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
P. Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.
C. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
P. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
C. nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
P. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
C. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
P. If you make the Most High your dwelling — even the LORD, who is my refuge —
C. then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
OUR CONFESSION OF FAITH
I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell, the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
THE LESSONS FOR THE DAY
THE FIRST LESSON: Jeremiah 20:7-13
O LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side! Report him! Let’s report him!” All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him.”
But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten. O LORD Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause. Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked.
THE SECOND LESSON: Romans 6:12-23
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey — whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
VOLUNTEER TIME
THE GOSPEL LESSON: Matthew 10:5, 21-33
These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell
you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
“A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!
“So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
SERMON HYMN: 707 “Oh, That The Lord Would Guide My Ways”
THE SERMON: “Where Do You Stand”
text: 2 Timothy 3:16
THE OFFERING
AN OFFERING SONG (783)
Take my life, that I may be consecrated, Lord, to thee;
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect, and use every pow’r as thou shalt choose.
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS
CELEBRATING THE LORD’S SUPPER
We invite to the Lord’s Table all who have been baptized, accept the Bible as God’s authoritative Word, and believe that the body and blood of the risen Christ are really present in the bread and wine; given for the forgiveness of our sins. If you prefer the individual cup, please extend one index finger as your hands are folded on the altar railing. This will alert the communion assistants of your preference. Also, if for some medical reason you are not able to consume alcohol, non-alcoholic wine is available in the individual cups. The non-alcoholic wine is “red” while the wine is “white”.
P. Our Lord Jesus has given us a holy supper in which we receive his true body and blood for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of our faith. In this supper, we celebrate the gift of his redemption, we bear witness to the fellowship we share as confessors of the truth, and we proclaim his death until he returns.
C. Praise to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In love, he has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.
THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION
THE WORDS OF INVITATION
P. The gifts of God for the people of God.
C. Amen.
THE DISTRIBUTION
Hymns: 628 “Your Table I Approach”
549 “All Hail The Power Of Jesus Name”
702 “My Faith Looks Up To Thee”
A CLOSING PRAYER
We give thanks, Almighty God, that you have refreshed us with this holy supper. We pray that through it you will strengthen our faith in you and increase our love for one another. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
THE BLESSING
P. May our gracious God who has given us rebirth in holy baptism bless you in all that you do, and may he guide you in all of his ways.
C. Amen.
CLOSING HYMN: 698 “May We Thy Precepts, Lord, Fulfill”
