04/06/25

As We Gather

 That God has authority is not always in question, but how God uses His authority so often confuses and confounds us. Such is the way of mercy. We instinctively believe that mercy should be reserved for those who deserve it, but God shows His mercy even to those who reject it. The tenants in Jesus’ parable treat the servants of the vineyard owner shamefully, and yet he sends his own son. Is this not the story of the world since Adam and Even rebelled against God? Yet even as we rejoice in God’s mercy, we realize that the rejection of His mercy is not without consequence and those who reject the cornerstone will be crushed by it on the day of judgment.

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 (1 Cor: 11:27), 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.

 Both Hate and Love of Human Nature Are Corrupt “By nature all of us are liars, born in original sin and blindness. Therefore we do not know in what way we are to be angry, and we do not see that nature is so evil that it can neither be angry nor love aright but in both cases seeks nothing except itself and its own advantage. Since, then, nature is so corrupt, both human love and anger – in which nature seeks its own interest – are prohibited and abolished. On the other hand, divine love – which does not seek its own interests but those of its neighbor – is commanded and the anger that is incensed, not for its own sake, but for the sake of God, whose province is to punish and avenge what is done against His command. and also the anger that flows from love of the neighbor’s welfare is commanded.” What Luther Says # 3112

All Scripture from The New International Version ©1984 IBS

Lent 5

April 6, 2025

Welcome 

Opening Hymn                     Great Is Thy Faithfulness           LSB 809

Invocation, Confession and Absolution    (Psalm 9:1-2)

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 praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. 

C:   I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

P:   The Lord reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. 

C:   He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice. 

P:   The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 

C:   Those who know your name will trust in you, 

All:  for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

C:   I confess to You, O Lord, that having been brought into Your vineyard, the Church through Holy Baptism, I continue to sin in thought, word, and deed. Leaving undone tasks that build and strengthen Your people, I have indulged in activities for my own amusement and pleasure. While You bless the work of our hands to enjoy life, I often do so in indifference to Your Kingdom goal of making disciples. Forgive me for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Restore unto me the joy of my salvation and renew a right spirit within me. Amen.

Silence for meditation and reflection.

P:   Jesus has brought you into the glorious freedom of His family, the vineyard of His planting in the world! As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. 

C:   Amen.

Hymn of Response                  When to Our World the Savior Came                      LSB 551

Prayer of the Day

All:  Almighty God, by Your great goodness, mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul and in service to Your kingdom; 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                        (Behold, I am doing a new thing!)                       Isaiah 43:16–21

This is what the Lord says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, ¹⁷ who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: ¹⁸ “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. ¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. ²⁰ The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, ²¹ the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

NT Lesson                       (Press in the upward call of God.)                       Philippians 3:8–14

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. ¹² 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. 

Holy Gospel         (The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone) Luke 20:9–20

He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. ¹⁰ At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.

 But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹ He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. ¹² He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out. ¹³ “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’ ¹⁴ “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ¹⁵ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “May this never be!” ¹⁷ Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone’? ¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” ¹⁹ The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people. 

Message Song                                       In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song;

This Cornerstone, this solid Ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace, When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My Comforter, my All in All, Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! – who took on flesh, Fullness of God in helpless babe!

This gift of love and righteousness, Scorned by the ones He came to save:

‘Til on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied –

For every sin on Him was laid; Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain:

Then bursting forth in glorious Day  Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory  Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,

For I am His and He is mine – Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death, This is the power of Christ in me;

From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny.

No power of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand;

‘Til He returns or calls me home,  Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand!

CCLI License#11390779

Message                                         Tending the Vineyard  

1. The Church is God’s  __________       to be _________     by His servants in a manor that can be __________________        and is __________________      to bear fruit.  
2. Managing God’s business, the Church, for fruitful _____________       involves being –
   1. Kingdom minded _______      . (Matt 6:33)
   2. Keeping the _________      thing the _________        thing.   (Matt 28: 16-20)
3.  At the end of the process, _____      ______     _____      _____      ___      ____________________          ______________       will come from His lips to your ears. Matt 25: 21, 23

When people talk about being on the right side of history,

we aim to be on the right side of His Story!

Notes:

The Apostle’s Creed                                      

C:   I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.  

And 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 from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will 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 the life everlasting. Amen.

Offering 

Offertory                            May We Thy Precepts, Lord, Fulfill                  LSB 698   vs 1, 3

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

P:  ♪ 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.

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 takes away the sin of the world; 

         grant us Thy peace.  A – men.

Distribution                                              Children of the Heavenly Father         LSB 725

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: Almighty and everlasting God, King of glory, and Lord of heaven and earth, by whose Spirit all things are governed, by whose providence all things are ordered, the God of peace and the author of all concord, grant us, we implore You, Your heavenly peace and concord that we may serve You in true fear to the praise and glory of Your name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Benediction                                                                                                                                  

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

C:    Amen.
Sending Hymn                      Christ, the Life of All the Living           LSB 420 vs 1, 4, 6-7

Announcements

Dismissal

P:  Go in peace as you serve the Lord.

C:  Thanks be to God!

Postlude