Jesus the Great High Priest August 23, 2015 Hebrews 4:14 5:10

Transcription

1 Jesus the Great High Priest August 23, 2015 Hebrews 4:14 5:10

2 Grace Lutheran Church August 23, :30 a.m. Welcome to worship at Grace! May this time of gathering in Christian community bless you and enable you to be a blessing to others. Special welcome to newcomers in the name of Christ! We pray that our time of worship would give you the chance to offer your prayer and praise, hear anew the Word of God, and receive our Lord s presence in Holy Communion. Enlarged print bulletins and personal assist hearing devices are available. Please see an usher for assistance. Children s bulletins and activity bags are also available. The order of worship, and many of the prayers, can be found in the worship bulletin. Hymns and worship music can be found in the red worship books. Hymns are in the back of the worship book, with the large numbers at the top of the page. Service music is in the front of the worship book, with the small numbers on the bottom of the page. Every Sunday we share Holy Communion. All are welcome to the Lord s Table. When invited by the ushers, please come forward using the center aisle. To receive the bread, hold out your hand, palm up. The minister will place the bread in your hand along with the words "The Body of Christ, given for you." You may respond, "Amen," or "Thanks be to God." Standing at the cup, dip the bread into the wine or juice. The Communion Server will say, "The blood of Christ, shed for you." You may respond "Amen," or "Thanks be to God," before consuming the wine/juice-soaked bread. Then, return to your seat by way of the side aisles. Note: Grape juice (lighter in color) is available as well as wine (darker in color). Gluten-free wafers are available on the table between the servers---after receiving the words of promise, simply take a wafer, dip it into the wine/juice also provided on the table, eat both and return to your seat by way of the side aisles." *Please stand as you are able. 2

3 Prelude *Gathering Hymn #631 Love Divine, All Love Excelling Willan Love Divine, All Loves Excelling *Greeting P: We gather in God s house, C: A sanctuary that houses the earthly and the heavenly in one place. P: In this house we hear the voice of God, C: God, the creator, P: Christ, the redeemer, C: The Holy Spirit, who witnesses and testifies to Christ. P: In this house we worship; C: And we become witnesses to Christ. All: Amen. *Confession and Forgiveness P: In this earthly sanctuary, we confess our sins before God and one another. Pause for silence and reflection. P: God of promise, C: We worship you in this holy place and bring our offering of confession and devotion to you. For the wrongs we have done, for the people we have hurt, and for the good we have failed to do, forgive us. Restore us to wholeness in you, and rejoice with us in your holy sanctuary. Amen. P: In this holy house, God does rejoice in what we bring. Today our sins are forgiven, and we are made new in Christ. Amen. *Hymn of Praise # 163 Glory to God 3

4 *Prayer of the Day L: Great High Priest, you became human and endured the trials and sufferings of humanity so that we might be saved through you. Show us how to treat each other with the compassion you showed to us. C: Amen. Welcome and Announcements Children s Message Anthem Scripture: Hebrews 4:14 5:10 ince, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, You are my Son, today I have begotten you ; as he says also in another place, You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. L: The Lord of the Lord C: Thanks Be to God. 4

5 Sermon Hymn of the Day ELW 656 Pastor Karen Williams Blest Be the Tie That Binds *Statement of Faith: The Apostles Creed L: Let us confess our faith, using the words of the Apostles Creed C: I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God s 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 to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen *Prayers of the Church L: Confident that God s voice can be heard by all, and that God s ears will receive all that offer, we pray for the church, the world, and all those in need. God of Mercy, C: You hear our prayer. A brief silence. L: With gratitude for your ears and your heart, we humbly lift our petitions before you today, in the name of Christ, our redeemer. C: Amen. 5

6 Offering & Offertory *Offering Hymn #829 Refrain only Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us In the Style of Bach. Have You Thanked the Lord *Offering Prayer L: Let us pray. C: Son of God, in your role as Great High Priest, you receive offerings and give blessings to all who come before you. Today we bring our offerings before you; receive them with grace and bless the world through them. Amen. *Offering Hymn #829 Refrain only Have You Thanked the Lord Communion Liturgy *Great Thanksgiving 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 our thanks and praise. Words of Institution *Lord s Prayer Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen. 6

7 Invitation to our Lord s Table Lamb of God Hymn #195 Distribution Hymn #789 Savior, like a Shepherd Lead Us Distribution of Communion Please see inside of front cover of this bulletin for a note on receiving Holy Communion Post Communion Prayer P: By the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ, we have been made new. Redeemer, bless the elements of bread and wine which we have received; gifts of restoration and new life given freely, and for the sake of all. Amen. *Benediction P: Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever. C: Amen. Sending Hymn #655 Son of God, Eternal Savior Dismissal L: Go in peace! Share the good news. C: Thanks be to God! Postlude Great Gates of Kieve Mourssorsky 7

8 Presiding: Liturgist: Lay Reader: Organist: Anthem: Acolyte: Communion Servers Greeters: Ushers: Money Counters: Grace Geek Squad: Pastor Karen Williams Monique McClure-Hegge Jonathan Rose Kathleen Hollar Grady or Ryan Westliing Anna Runquist Jan Steingas and Margaret Swenson Adam & Kayla Revier Team A: Paul Gorgos, Head Usher, Larry Carlson, Ron House, Floyd Nelson, Ron Swenson, Chris Williams Team D: Knute Nelson, Ken & Carol Goebel, Lois Graff Barb Holtan We lift our prayers to God in times of thanksgiving and times of need, in times of joy and times of sorrow, we pray for: Justin Dike and those we name in our hearts. Please make sure the church office has your correct phone number and address. This makes it easier for all of us at church to contact one another. Thanks! The Altar Flowers today are given by Ed & Barb Holtan in honor of their 14th wedding anniversary. The Altar Flowers from last Sunday were given by Bob & Carol Golder in honor of their 25th wedding anniversary. MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THE BLOOD DRIVE coming to Grace Lutheran on Tuesday, September 8 from 1-6 p.m. Sign up sheet in the Good Shepherd Lounge. New Member Sunday is scheduled for Sunday, October 18th. If you or someone you know would like to join our congregation, please speak with Pastor Karen. 8

9 Introduction to Gather magazine Bible Study September 19, 2015, Saturday, Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, Roseville, MN, 8:30-2:30pm. Presenter, Rev. Cindy Bullock, Senior Pastor, Immanuel Lutheran Church on Snelling, St. Paul. The year's new look, new format will be examined: four separate sessions which open up opportunities for a variety of new writers and topics. Cost to attend is $15.00, which includes registration, speaker, lunch. Due by Wednesday, September 16. ($8.00 if not ordering lunch). Forms available on library shelf. Nursery available. Checks payable to Resurrection Women. Memo line: Bible Study Enrichment. See you in Roseville September 19. The Mission of the Month for August is Daily Work. Daily Work s mission is to guide and to mentor job seekers who desire to be self-supporting by helping them prepare for, find and maintain work that enables them to sustain themselves and their families. Daily Work seeks to fill the gaps in and help job seekers navigate the complex array of nonprofit and government social service providers. At Daily Work, job seekers are not clients but partners. Your financial support directly impacts the lives of the participants in the program. Take the first step in changing someone s future, prayerfully consider donating to this cause. Please use your multi-purpose blue envelope, mark Mission of the month and place in the offering. Checks should be made payable to Grace Lutheran Church. Thank you. Committee of the Month for August is Special Gifts and Memorials This committee is elected by the congregation to oversee funds gifted to Grace. These may be given in memory or in honor of someone for a specific purpose (designated) or not (undesignated). The committee forwards any designated gifts to the committee or group which oversees the funds for that specific purpose. Any gifts not given for a specific purpose are held by the committee for use on projects that have been approved by the committee and the Council. Recently that has included the Sound System, the windows upgrade and the Sanctuary lighting retrofit. Groups within the church are welcome to request funds from the committee to review for projects they wish to pursue. We meet quarterly or more often if there are more urgent requests to consider. Current members of the committee are: Sonja Kemen, Peter Hultgren, Ron House, Judy Adam and Linda Sackreiter with Peter Wickert as liaison to the Council. 9

10 On Monday, August 10 several members of Grace (Alicia, Anna, and Luke Runquist, Anne and Jeff Oberlander, Alice Peterson, Florence Tjornhom, Connie Smeby, Barb Kinney, Lydia Rose, Tootie Henningsen, Shirley Walby and Sue Atneosen) prepared and bagged 209 sandwiches to be delivered to the homeless in Minneapolis and St. Paul by Alan Law. We created an assembly line type of process and were done in around ½ hour. Special thanks to Shirley and Norm Walby for delivering the sandwiches to White Bear Lake. What a basic need food. We at Grace reached out in Christian love to help make some people s lives better. It was a very good experience. Thanks to the Congregation of Grace Lutheran Church, 67 students in Sierra Leone will be headed off to school this fall. What an amazing gift to give a child hope and knowledge for a brighter future. To those who helped make this happen please accept the heartfelt thank you of the mission committee and the children and their families in Sierra Leone. Together we DO make a difference! Thanks be to God. The Sheridan Story We have an opportunity to help school children right here on the East Side through The Sheridan Story. Over 200,000 children in the state of Minnesota live in food insecurity and do not always know if they will receive their next meal. The Sheridan Story s purpose is to respond to this need by closing the weekend food gap between Friday and Monday, when children are not able to participate in the free or reduced meal programs at school. We have been asked to partner with First Lutheran Church to provide food for the children at Dayton s Bluff Elementary School where 93.3 % of the 374 students are on free or reduced lunch. Watch for further details as our partnership unfolds. 10

11 Musical Notes Calling all instruments!!! We are having a hymn festival on Labor Day Sunday, September 6 with all the singing and playing that we do so well. Lots of fun, lots of variety. I have the music. See you soon. Kathleen. We know the composer of our communion hymn Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us. William Bradbury lived in Boston in the mid s, but moved to New York City to work with the composer Lowell Mason. He especially wrote children s hymns, including Jesus Loves Me. There s a story that says following a performance of Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us by the musician Ira Stankey, he was approached by a man who asked him if he had been in a certain place while serving in the Union army. He said that he had served in the Confederate army and was going to shoot this Union soldier, who turned out to be Stankey. On that fateful night, during this possible deadly encounter, Stankey began singing this hymn. The soldier fondly remembered his mother singing the hymn and just couldn t pull the trigger Week of August 16, 2015 Attendance: 109 Offering: $ Sunday, August 23, 2015-Sunday August 30, 2015 Today 9:30 a.m. Worship 10:30 a.m. Coffee Hour Monday 7:00 p.m. Planning Task Force Meeting Tuesday 12:00 p.m. Customized Options Wednesday 10:00 a.m. Coffee & Conversation Next Sunday 9:30 a.m. Worship/Baptism 10:30 a.m. Coffee Hour 11

12 Pastor Karen Williams Rhynda Landt, Administrative Associate 1730 Old Hudson Road Saint Paul, Minnesota