09/26/21

God’s grace is always abundant; it goes beyond the limits we might set. And the same could be said about the way humans have approached their understanding of God. As we do a quick run through of the themes of the Small Catechism, we see that God, who is One, reveals Himself to be three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the Trinity has been explained by the use of the three ecumenical creeds: Apostles, Nicene and Athanasian – to explain God’s work in creation, redemption and sanctification. As we study God’s Word, we find these truths revealed over and over again. For this we give thanks that God’s Word can be relied upon for “The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God will stand forever.” Isaiah 40: 7-8

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.
The Trinity Described “Christ shows forcefully that the Holy Spirit is an actual being in the Godhead and a separate, distinct person by Himself, ne who is not the Father or the Son. For all these expressions obviously refer to a separate Person: The Comforter, who will come; again; “whatsoever He shall hear, that He shall speak” (John 16: 13). If He is to come, or (as He said above) to be sent or to proceed; again, if He is to hear and speak, He must be certainly Someone. Now He is, of course, not the Father, because the Father neither comes, not is He sent; nor is He the Son, who has already come and now returns to the Father, of whom the Holy Spirit is to preach and whom He is to glorify.”     What Luther Says # 4457

40 Days of Celebration – Week 3

September 26, 2021

Welcome 

Opening Hymn           Glory Be to God the Father                                     LSB 506

Invocation, Confession and Absolution                (Psalm 104:33–34)

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:   I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;

C:   I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

P:   May my meditation be pleasing to Him,

C:   for I rejoice in the Lord.

P:   James writes, “Be patient . . . until the coming of the Lord. . . . Do not grumble against one another, brothers. . . . Let your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ be no. . . . Is anyone among you sick? . . . Pray over him.”

C:   We confess our impatience, our lack of love for our brothers and sisters in Christ, and our words that do not always reflect the love You have for us. We have sinned in thought, word, and deed. Heavenly Father, our only hope is in Your grace and mercy. Forgive us for Jesus’ sake.

(Silence for reflection.)

P:   God has cured our sickness of sin by sending His Son to die in our place. He values us and calms our fears, saying, “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace.” As a called and ordained servant of Christ, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C:   Amen.

P:   May the glory of the Lord endure forever;

C:   may the Lord rejoice in His works. Bless the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!

Hymn                               From All That Dwell Below the Skies                               LSB 816

Prayer of the Day

All:  Everlasting Father, source of every blessing, mercifully direct and govern us by Your Holy Spirit that we may complete the works You have prepared for us to do; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

O T Lesson                         (God Creates All Things for Our Good)       Genesis 1: 1-2; 26-31

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.      

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” ²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. ²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” ²⁹ Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰ And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. ³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. 

N T Lesson                 (The Holy Spirit Gifts God’s People)     1 Corinthians 12: 1-7 

Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. ² You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. ³ Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. ⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. ⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

Gospel Lesson                (The Holy Spirit Proceeds from the Father and Son)      John 16: 1-15

All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. ² They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. ³ They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. ⁴ I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you. ⁵ “Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶ Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. ⁷ But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹ in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; ¹⁰ in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹ and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. ¹² “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. ¹³ But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴ He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. ¹⁵ All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. 

Message Song                                    Because We Believe

We believe in God the Father,    We believe in Christ, the Son;

We believe in the Holy Spirit,    We are the church and we stand as one.

We believe in the holy bible,    We believe in the virgin birth;

We believe in the resurrection,    That Christ one day will return to earth.

Chorus:      Holy, holy, holy is our God;   Worthy, worthy, worthy is our King!

All glory and honor are His to receive;   To Jesus we sing because we believe.

We believe in the blood of Jesus,   We believe in eternal life;

We believe in His blood that frees us,   To become the bride of Christ.       Chorus

Words and music by Nancy Gordon and Jamie Harvill.

© Copyright 1996 Mother’s Heart Music c/o Integrity Music, Inc.

Used with permission CCLI #11390779

Message                                      The Holy Trinity – Creeds For Life

Notes:

Nicene Creed

 C:   I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary  and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried. And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father.  And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end. 

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church, I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life ✠ of the world to come. Amen.

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 194 in the hymnal

P:  The Lord be with you.

C:  ♪ And with thy spirit.

P:  Lift up your hearts.

C:  ♪ We lift them up unto the Lord.

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

C:  ♪ It is meet and right so to do.

P:  It is truly good, right, and salutary …. And with the host of heaven we sing:

Sanctus — Holy, Holy, Holy                                          page 195 in the hymnal

C:  ♪ Ho -ly, ho-ly, ho-ly Lord God of Sa – ba – oth. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.   

          Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He, blessed is He, blessed is

          He who cometh in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.

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

Pax Domini—The Peace of the Lord                    page 197 in the hymnal

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

C:  ♪ Amen. 

Agnus Dei – Lamb of God                                                                 page 198 in the hymnal                                      

C:  ♪ O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world; have mercy upon us.

         O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world; have mercy upon us.

         O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world; 

         grant us Thy peace.  A – men.

Distribution of Communion

Distribution Hymn                              Be Still, My Soul                                           LSB 752

Nunc Dimittis                                                                                        page 199 in the hymnal        

C: ♪ Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy Word, for mine  

        eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people,

        a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel. Glory be to the Father

        and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall

        be, world without end.  Amen.                                                                                                                                          

 Post Communion Collect

All:  O God the Father, the fountain and source of all goodness, who in loving-kindness sent Your only-begotten Son into the flesh, we thank You that for His sake You have given us pardon and peace in this Sacrament, and we ask You not to forsake Your children but always to rule our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that we may be enabled constantly to serve You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Benediction                                                                                                        

P:   The blessing of God almighty—the Father, the ✠ Son, and the Holy Spirit—be with you, now and forever.

C:   Amen.

Offering                            (Please place offering in plate in Narthex.  Thank you!)                              

Sending Hymn                 Sent Forth by God’s Blessing                                        LSB 643

Announcements   

Dismissal                                                                                         

Postlude