The Seventh Sunday of Easter May 24, 2020 (opens in a new tab)
WELCOME/ANNOUNCEMENTS
• Memorial Day Weekend.
• Holy Communion is being offered by appointment through Sign Up Genius.
(If you are not able to sign up on the internet, please call the church office.)
• 2020 Graduate’s Recognition and Congratulations
INVOCATION
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
OPENING SENTENCES
Psalm 68:1-10
P: God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
C: As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
as wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
P: But the righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!
C: Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the LORD;
exult before him!
P: Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
C: God settles the solitary in a home;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
P: O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness, Selah
C: the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
P: Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
you restored your inheritance as it languished;
C: your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
P: Let us pause for a moment of silent reflection, to examine our lives, our words, and our actions, in the light of God’s Word. And where there is sin, let us seek God’s face for the grace of His forgiveness. (Silence)
P: Almighty Father;
C: we enter your presence confessing the things we try to conceal from you and the things we try to conceal from others. We confess the heartbreak, worry, and sorrow we have caused, that make it difficult for others to forgive us, the times we have made it easy for others to do wrong, the harm we have done that makes it hard for us to forgive ourselves. Lord have mercy and forgive us through Christ. Amen.
Pastor pronounces the Good News
(Psalm 103:8-12)
P: The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
P: Friends, believe the good news of the gospel.
C: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!
SHARING THE PEACE
SONG OF PRAISE
“Raise a Hallelujah”
PRAYER OF THE DAY
P: Let us pray.
O King of glory, Lord of hosts, uplifted in triumph far above all heavens, leave us not without consolation but send us the Spirit of truth whom You promised from the Father; for You live and reign with Him and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
FIRST READING
Acts 1:12–26 (Matthias chosen to replace Judas)
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) “For it is written in the Book of Psalms,
“‘May his camp become desolate,
and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and
“‘Let another take his office.’
So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
EPISTLE
1 Peter 4:12–19; 5:6–11 (Suffering as a Christian)
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And
“If the righteous is scarcely saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
VERSE
Psalm 68:4
P: Alleluia! Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
C: His name is the LORD; exult before him! Alleluia!
HOLY GOSPEL
John 17:1–11 (The High Priestly Prayer)
Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the seventeenth chapter.
People: Glory to You, O Lord.
When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to You, O Christ.
HYMN No. 717
“Eternal Father, Strong to Save”
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!
O Christ, whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at Thy word,
Who walkedst on the foaming deep
And calm amid its rage didst sleep:
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.
Most Holy Spirit, who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And give, for wild confusion, peace:
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.
O Trinity of love and pow’r!
Our people shield in danger’s hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them wheresoe’er they go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad praise from air and land and sea.
SERMON
“Faithful Suffering”
1 Peter 4 and 5
Pastor Matt
CONFESSION OF FAITH THE APOSTLES’ CREED
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 again 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
“All Creatures of Our God and King”
Travis Lintvedt, Guitar
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
LORD’S PRAYER
(Matthew 6:9-13)
All: 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.
BLESSING OF THE LORD
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 smile upon you and + give you peace.
C: Amen.
SENDING
P: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
C: Thanks be to God!
CLOSING PRESENTATION IN HONOR OF MEMORIAL DAY
Text & Translation:
Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy.
Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy.
Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace.