05/03/26

As We Gather

Finally Free: How the Father Deals With His Children

We wander through life looking for freedom, only to realize we have listened to the devil’s call to serve ourselves, our pleasures, and our lusts. Instead of freedom we find ourselves enslaved to sin. We wonder if we have sinned too often, too deep to ever be welcomed back to the Father’s home, back into His loving embrace. Have we lost our inheritance as children of God? The three freedoms we will look at these three weeks will help us understand how God’s grace in Christ Jesus keeps our focus on the good, right and true things God has instore for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes! Adult Sunday classes will focus more closely on each of the three temptations to being a ‘Belly Slave”, Live in Despair”, “Prideful”.

Children Activity Bags We value children in our worship services. If needed, there is a family room available for families with children. The family room has a diaper changing table, a closed-circuit TV to watch the worship service, toys and books for children. The family room is located across from the kitchen in the long hallway, the first door on the right, just past the bathrooms. There are “King’s Kids” bags with activities for children to help them worship. They are near the usher’s station on a small rack. Please return the bag to the rack after the service.

Holy Communion The Scripture teaches the Lord’s Supper is a precious gift of God in which Christ gives us His true body and blood (in a miraculous way), together with the bread and wine, for the forgiveness of our sins and the strengthening of our faith. Because the Bible teaches that this Sacrament may also be spiritually harmful if misused, and that participation in the Lord’s Supper is an act of confession of faith, we ordinarily commune those who have been instructed in the teachings of our church and who have confessed their faith in these teachings. If you have a question, please speak to Pastor Ralph before the service. For those who prefer a non-alcoholic alternative, there is grape juice at the center of each tray. Those not receiving the Sacrament, including children, are invited to come to the altar, cross their arms over their chest, and receive a special blessing.

 God Must Humble in Order to Exalt “God is the God of the humble, the miserable, the afflicted, the oppressed and those who are reduced to absolutely nothing. His way is to exalt the humble, to feed the hungry, to give sight to the blind, to comfort the miserable, and the afflicted, to justify sinners, to give life to the dead, and to save the desperate and the damned. For He is the Almighty Creator, making everything out of nothing. But that pernicious and pestilent opinion of self-righteousness – which will not be a miserable, and unclean, and damned sinner, but righteous and holy – does not permit God to come to His own natural and proper work. Therefore, God must take this hammer, the Law, which shatters, breaks, crushes, and reduces to absolutely nothing this beast with its vain confidence, wisdom, righteousness, and power, so that it may finally learn from its misery that it is lost and damned.”   What Luther Says # 2093

Easter 5

May 3, 2026

Welcome 

Opening Hymn              Praise to the Lord, the Almighty             LSB 790  vs 1-3

Invocation, Confession and Absolution (Psalm 16; 1-3; 5-8)

P:   We gather in the name and at the invitation of our great and gracious triune God;

C:   in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

P:   Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. 

C:   I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” 

P:   As for the saints who are in the land, 

C:   they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.

P:   Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; 

C:   you have made my lot secure. 

P:    The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; 

C:   surely I have a delightful inheritance. 

P:   I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; 

C:   even at night my heart instructs me. 

P:   I have set the Lord always before me. 

C:   Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 

P:   Gracious heavenly Father,

C:   We come before You knowing that our sin separates us from You. Even though we have been Baptized, brought into Your family and taught the goodness of Your grace in Jesus, we still allow temptations to keep us from being the disciples You call us to be, and the satisfaction filled with contentment and peace as a member of Your holy family, the Church. Forgive us and strengthen us in the power that raised Jesus from the dead. May our lives reflect the desire and the grace to serve You by serving one another and our fellow man. We praise You for Your bountiful goodness through Christ our Lord. Amen.

(Silence for Meditation)

P:   “There is more rejoicing in heaven,” the Scripture says, “over the one who repents” because it shows the Lord’s mighty work being done in the midst of His people through the Gospel ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ!  Therefore, as a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I declare that your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C:   Amen.

Hymn of Rejoicing                Praise to the Lord, the Almighty                  LSB 790  vs 4-5

Prayer of the Day

All:  Gracious heavenly Father, You sent Your Son Jesus into this world to do the very thing we could never accomplish for ourselves – save us from our sins.  Because of Your great salvation that brings to us forgiveness and life everlasting, we are mindful of all You continue to do by the Spirit’s work to keep us in the one true faith; through Christ our Lord and in the strength of His resurrection power. Amen.

O T Lesson                           (God delivers and the people grumble)               Exodus 16: 1-12

The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. ² In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. ³ The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” ⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. ⁵ On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.” ⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, ⁷ and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” ⁸ Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.” ⁹ Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’ ” ¹⁰ While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud. ¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”

N T Lesson                               (Pressing on towards the Prize)                  Philippians 3: 12-21

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ¹⁵ All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. ¹⁶ Only let us live up to what we have already attained. ¹⁷ Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. ¹⁸ For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Gospel Lesson                       (Parables to undo our Pharisaism)            Luke 15: 1-7; 11-13

Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” ³ Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? ⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent… ¹¹Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. ¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.

Message Song                                         Good, Good Father                 Tomlin     

I’ve heard a thousand stories of what they think you’re like
But I’ve heard the tender whispers of love in the dead of night
And you tell me that you’re pleased  And that I’m never alone

Chorus

You’re a good good father  It’s who you are, it’s who you are, it’s who you are
And I’m loved by you    It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am

I’ve seen many searching for answers far and wide
But I know we’re all searching  For answers only you provide
              ‘Cause you know just what we need   Before we say a word   Chorus

   Bridge:              You are perfect in all of your ways You are perfect in all of your ways
                                                      You are perfect in all of your ways to us (2 x’s)

Oh, it’s love so undeniable   I can hardly speak
Peace so unexplainable        I can hardly think
                    As you call me deeper still [3x]    Into love, love, love      

Chorus 2xs

CCLI Song # 7036612© 2014 Capitol CMG Paragon  All rights reserved. www.ccli.comCCLI License # 11390779

Message                                  Belly Slaves: The Lack of Contentment        

1. God’s provision for life and salvation is abundant            by all accounts.    

                                                                                                   Gen 1-2; Isaiah 55

2. Discontentment breeds the belly          slaves          in all of us. 

                                                                     Ex. 16: 2; Phil 3: 18ff; Luke 15: 2

3. In the midst of the already occurring                joy, when the lost are        found               there is even more rejoicing in heaven!

Apostles Creed

Offering / Offertory             Fruitful Trees, the Spirit Sowing                         LSB 691 vs 1           Prayers of the Church  

After each petition:

 P:  Lord, in your mercy,

 C:  hear our prayer.   

The Lord’s Prayer

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.

The Lord’s Supper

Preface                                                                      page 160 in the hymnal

P:  The Lord be with you.

C:  ♪ And also with you.

P:   Lift up your hearts.

C:  ♪ We lift them to the Lord.

P:   Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

C:   ♪ It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

P:   It is truly good, right, and salutary …. And ever more praising You and singing:

Sanctus — Holy, Holy, Holy                                         page 161 in the hymnal

C:  ♪ Holy, holy, holy Lord God of pow’r and might: Heaven and earth are full of   

         Your glory. Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is He who  

         comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

The Words of Institution (Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper)

Pax Domini—The Peace of the Lord                    page 163 in the hymnal

P:  The peace of the Lord be with you always.C:  ♪ Amen

Agnus Dei – Lamb of God                                                            page 163 in the hymnal                                      

C:  ♪ Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.

         Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.

         Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; grant us peace.

Distribution Hymn                     My Faith Looks Up to Thee                                  LSB  704

Post Communion Canticle                                                      page 164 in the hymnal

C:  ♪ Thank the Lord and sing His praise; tell ev’ryone what He has done.  Let all who seek the Lord rejoice and proudly bear His name.  He recalls His promises and leads His people forth in joy with shouts of thanksgiving. Alleluia, alleluia.

Post Communion Thanksgiving

All: Blessed are You, heavenly Father, for You have once again fed and nourished us at Your Table through the body and blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. As Lord of our lives, strengthen and support us so that we may walk as children of the light, and, sharing that kindly light, proclaim Your love to all the world. Bless us day by day, and keep us hope-filled as we await Your eternal kingdom, where You live and reign with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Benediction                                                                                                      

P:   The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and ✠ give you peace. 

C: Amen.

Sending Hymn                         Lord, Take My Hand and Lead Me                         LSB 722.

Announcements 

Dismissal

P:   Go in peace as you serve the Lord.      

C:   Thanks be to God!   

Postlude

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”