10/05/25

As We Gather

In this series, Living Discipleship, we learn of God’s great love for people. The Scriptures teach that “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes on Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 It is God’s desire that all be saved and come to the knowledge of His Son. 1 Timothy 2:4   This is a series that seeks to instruct us as Christians what it means to believe in Christ and live as his people in a world that runs counter to Christian thought and life. For the next 8-10 weeks we will learn more fully what it means to be a ‘living disciple’ as God’s redeemed children. Adult Sunday School will feature a more in-depth teaching for today’s message. Study materials provided. All are encouraged to participate… why this would be a good opportunity to invite a friend! 

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 Christian is Triumphantly Certain “Know ye, then – sin, death devil and anything that assails me- that you are missing the mark. I am not one of those who are afraid of you. For Chrost, my dear Lord, has presented to me that triumph and victory of His by which you were laid low. And from this very gift of His I derive this name and am called a Christian. There is no other reason. My sin and death hung about His neck on Good Friday, but on the day of Easter they had completely disappeared. This victory He has bestowed on me. That is why I do not worry about you (speaking of all those things that attempt to assail us)” What Luther Says # 3881

Living Discipleship 4b – The Son’s Rule and Reign

October 05, 2025

Welcome and Hand of Friendship

Opening Hymn                            All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name                         LSB 549  vs 1-4

Invocation, Confession and Absolution  (Psalm 68: 1-6)

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:   Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. 

C:   He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. 

P:   My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. 

C:   Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. 

P:   Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; 

C:   if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. 

P:   Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods; 

C:   though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. 

P:   One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: 

C:   that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. 

ALL:   Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done.

P:   Gracious Lord, Jesus Christ, 

C:   We come before You knowing that we do not deserve the mercy or grace we find ourselves in according to Your unfailing love. We recognize that we do have a sin nature that seeks to thwart Your will for our lives. Strengthen our resolve to love you with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength so that, we may gain the victory that is only found in You, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

(Silence for Meditation)

P:   Brothers and sisters in Christ, in Christ our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name!  His life, death and resurrection are yours in your baptism where having your sins washed away, You are a forgiven people, chosen in Him, a royal Priesthood and a holy nation, all in the name of the Father, and of the ✠Son, and of the Holy Spirit.                                  

C:   Amen.

Hymn of Praise                           All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name                           LSB 549  vs  5-7

Prayer of the Day

All:   Lord Jesus Christ, we praise you for the awesomeness of Your saving power that through Your sacrifice for our sin earned for us forgiveness and eternal life. We cannot praise You enough for all You have done and continue to do to bring to where You are. By Your gracious hand You brought us into Your kingdom of light that we may live under Your blessed rule in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness; for You reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

O T Lesson                            (The righteous continue to live by faith)         Habakuk 1: 1-4; 2:1-4

The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet received. ²How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? ³Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. ⁴Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. … I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint. ² Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. ³For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. ⁴“See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright— but the righteous will live by his faith…”

N T Lesson                             (The call to remain grow in the faith)                   1 Timothy 1: 1-14

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, ² To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. ³ I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. ⁴ Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. ⁶ For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. ⁸ So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, ⁹ who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, ¹⁰ but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. ¹¹ And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. ¹² That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. ¹³ What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴ Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. 

Gospel Lesson                    (We are to live forgiving and serving)                             Luke 17: 1-14

Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. ² It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. ³ So watch yourselves. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.” ⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” ⁶ He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you. ⁷ “Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸ Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? ⁹ Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ” 

Message Song                   Whom Shall I Fear (The God of Angel Armies)

You hear me when I call  You are my morning song
Though darkness fills the night  It cannot hide the light

Whom shall I fear

You crush the enemy  Underneath my feet
You are my sword and shield  Though troubles linger still

Whom shall I fear

I know who goes before me  I know who stands behind

The God of angel armies  Is always by my side

The one who reigns forever  He is a friend of mine

The God of angel armies  Is always by my side.

My strength is in your name   For you alone can save
You will deliver me  Yours is the victory

                  Whom shall I fear  Whom shall I fear   Chorus 

And nothing formed against me shall stand
You hold the whole world in your hands
I’m holding on to your promises

                                                             You are faithful   You are faithful         Chorus

         Chorus        I know who goes before me  I know who stands behind

The God of angel armies  Is always by my side

The one who reigns forever  He is a friend of mine

The God of angel armies  Is always by my side.

CCLI Song # 6440288© 2012 Capitol CMG Paragon | McTyeire Music | S. D. G. Publishing | Twelve Lions Music | Worship Together Music. www.ccli.comCCLI License # 11390779

Message                                       Jesus, Our Lord: Ruling and Reigning Over Life

In His exaltation, Jesus 

1. preached          to the disobedient,  1 Peter 3:10ff; Matt 24:37-19
2. rose          from the dead,             1 Cor. 15; Rom. 1: 1-4
3. ascended        into heaven,          Acts 1: 9-11; 1Peter 3:22
4. rules and reigns        with the Father over all things!   Eph 1: 20-23; Ps 110:1ff
5. will come again to judge the living  and  the  dead      . Heb 9:28; Lk 221:28

Question and Answers # 150 of the 2^nd article of Apostles Creed, Small Catechism

All:   I believe in Jesus Christ…  

P:   In conclusion then, why has Christ redeemed you?

C:  The Scriptures teach that Christ’ purpose was that  may be His own; that is, I am now righteous and blameless in the sight of God; That I may live under Him in His kingdom; that is, that I am now freed from  the slavery of sin and thus free to serve God; that I may serve in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness; that is, that I may honor God with my whole life and rejoice in Him now on earth and forever in heaven.

P:   What is the basis of our faith and life in Christ?

C:   “He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.”

Offering 

Offertory                                              We Praise You, O God                                               LSB  785 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 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                             How Great Thou Art                                                    LSB 801

 Nunc Dimittis                                                                                      page 211 in the hymnal        

C: ♪ O Lord, now let Your servant      Depart in heav’nly peace,    For I have seen the glory     Of Your redeeming grace:     A light to lead the Gentiles    Unto Your holy hill,    The glory of Your people,   Your chosen Israel.  All glory to the Father,   All glory to the Son,  All glory to the Spirit,    Forever Three in One;    For as in the beginning,    Is now, shall ever be,   God’s triune name resounding    Through all eternity.

Post Communion Collect

All:  Lord Jesus Christ, we thank You for the meal of forgiveness, life and peace that we have received in, with and underneath the bread and wine of Holy Communion. May this, Your true body and blood continue its strengthening power of grace in our lives that we may love You with our whole hearts and our neighbors as ourselves. Amen.

Benediction                                                                                                     Numbers 6:24–26

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. Alleluia. Amen!

Closing Hymn                          Sing With All The Saints in Glory                        LSB 671  Tune 648             

 Announcements 

Dismissal

P:   Go in peace as you serve the Lord.      

C:   Thanks be to God!   

Postlude