A Worship Service Celebrating Peace Thanks & Praise to Our Lord on the Occasion of the Installation of Our Pastor!

Transcription

1 A Worship Service Celebrating Peace Thanks & Praise to Our Lord on the Occasion of the Installation of Our Pastor! Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church 805 S. Wilmott St. Otsego, MI February 12, 2017 The Lord Has Provided

2 The Opening Hymn.CW #546 Lord Jesus, You Have Come (all arise) The Invocation The Opening Service Sentences: (Spoken) M: I will sing my Maker s praises and in him most joyful be, C: For in all things I see traces, of his tender love for me. M: Nothing else than love could move him, C: With such deep and tender care, M: Evermore to raise and bear C: All who try to love and serve him. M: He so cared for me and esteemed me, that the Son he loved so well C: He has given to redeem me, from the quenchless flames of hell. M: O my Lord, the spring of blessing, C: Could somehow my finite mind, M: Of your love the limit find, C: Though my efforts were unceasing? M: All that for my soul is needful, he with loving care provides, C: Nor of that is he un-heedful, which my body needs besides. M: When my strength cannot avail me, C: When my powers can do no more, M: Then will God his strength outpour; C: In my need he will not fail me. M: Since there s neither change nor coldness, C: In God s love that on me smiled, M: I now lift my hands in boldness C: Coming to you as your child. M: Grant me grace, O God, I pray you, C: That I may with all my might, M: All my lifetime, day and night, C: Love and trust you and obey you! AMEN. (CW 253) 2

3 M: Good and Gracious Lord, look with favor on those whom you have called to minister to your people. Fill them with doctrine and clothe them with holiness of life that they may joyfully serve to the glory of your name and for the benefit of your holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. C: AMEN. (Please be seated) The Scripture Readings: The Old Testament Lesson - Jeremiah 1:4-10; The New Testament Lesson - 1 Timothy 4:1-16 Our Response To Today s Scripture Readings:(Spoken) M: So shine the Holy Scriptures, C: To make the simple wise, M: More sweet than honey to the taste, C: More rich than any prize, M: His Word of love within our hearts, C: His Light before our eyes. AMEN! (CW #246:3) The Hymn of The Day CW #545 Send, O Lord, Your Holy Spirit The Message..Romans 1:1-16 Pastor Timothy Winkel, Grace, Muskegon, MI (Circuit Pastor of the Northern Circuit of the Southwestern Conference of the Michigan District) Meet The Pastor And The People 1) Peace Congregation meet Pastor Timmermann. 2) Pastor Timmermann meet Peace Congregation. 3

4 (The congregation arises) Our Response: (Spoken) M: Your Word inspires my heart within; C: Your Word grants healing from my sin. M: Your Word has power to guide and bless; C: Your Word brings peace and happiness! AMEN. (CW #282:2) (The congregation is seated) ALL SING: CW #399 To God Be The Glory (The offering? For those members of Peace who did not have the opportunity to present their offering this morning, you can place your offering in the plate at the entrance to the sanctuary.) The Installation of Rev. Nathaniel T. Timmermann As The Pastor of Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church Otsego, Michigan The vacancy pastor shall turn to the pastor being installed and shall say: M: Dear brother: Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said to his Church, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." When he had ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe, he gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to 4

5 be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the Body of Christ might be built up. This congregation has called you to serve them in the office of the holy ministry. It is fitting, therefore, that you should hear again what God in his holy Word impresses on his pastors concerning the solemn responsibilities of their sacred office. St. Paul states that a pastor must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, selfcontrolled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil s trap. He urges Timothy to set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. He further advises him: Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching, and to teaching. Watch your life and your doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. In the final chapter of his second letter to Timothy, the apostle gives additional words of encouragement: Preach the Word. Correct, rebuke and encourage, with great patience and careful instruction. Keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist. The ability to carry out this calling is not in us, but comes alone from God, as St. Paul reminds the Corinthian Christians: Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. As a minister of the gospel, you are Christ's ambassador, commissioned by him to preach the Word and administer the sacraments. Our ascended Lord has given you as a gift to his body, the Church, and he has appointed you to love and serve it. You are called to offer prayers and intercessions for his people; to feed, to instruct, to watch over, and to guide the sheep and the lambs of God's flock, remembering that Christ has bought each of them with his own blood. You are also called to protect the flock from savage wolves who, as 5

6 the Scriptures say, will try to scatter it. Since no one is competent in himself for such a ministry, you will gladly seek the strength which Christ alone can provide by devoting yourself to meditation and study of the Scriptures. Only by being nourished in the truths of the faith will you be able to carry out the duties of this office and set an example in godliness and Christian living. Promises by the Pastor-Elect Dear brother, you have accepted the call extended to you by this congregation and are about to assume this ministry, in keeping with the Word and the will of the Lord. I now ask you in the presence of God and this congregation: Do you believe that the canonical books of the Old and New Testament are the inspired Word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and practice? Pastor: I do. M: Do you accept the three Ecumenical Creeds - the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian as faithful testimonies to the truth of the Holy Scriptures, and do you reject all the errors which they condemn? Pastor: I do. M: Do you believe that the Unaltered Augsburg Confession is a true exposition of the Word of God and a correct presentation of the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church; and that the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Catechisms of Dr. Martin Luther, the Smalcald Articles, and the Formula of Concord, as contained in the Book of Concord, are also in agreement with this one scriptural faith? Pastor: I do. M: Do you solemnly promise that you will perform the duties of your office in accordance with these Confessions and that all your entire ministry and all your teaching will conform to the Holy Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions? 6

7 Pastor: I do. M: Will you give faithful witness to Christ in the world that God's love may be known in all that you do and say? Pastor: I will, and I ask God to help me. M: Almighty God, who has given you the will to do these things, graciously give you the strength and compassion to preform them. Then the installing pastor may say to the congregation: M: Brothers and Sisters in Christ: You have heard the solemn promise given by the man you have called to be your pastor. I urge and command you, therefore, to receive him as your pastor, and always to keep in mind what the Word of God expects of you as members of his flock: Listen eagerly to the preaching of the Word, receiving it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the Word of God. Take to heart his Scriptural words of warning and encouragement, humbly accepting the word planted in you. Help him by your word and example in teaching the young, remembering how the Scriptures urge you to bring up your children in the training and instruction of the Lord. Honor and love him, as the Apostle Paul says, "Respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work." Pray for him continually, that his ministry among you may be greatly blessed and that, with all his responsibilities, he may continue to have a cheerful spirit. Provide also for his physical needs, for the Lord says, "The worker deserves his wages;" and the Apostle Paul says, "Anyone who receives instruction in the Word must share all good things with his instructor." 7

8 Finally, remember what the Scriptures say, "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you." Promises by The Congregation M: I now ask you in the presence of God: Are you willing to receive your pastor as a minister of God? Will you show him the love, honor and obedience in the Lord which you owe to an overseer and shepherd placed over you by the Lord Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd and Overseer of souls? Congregation: We will, and we ask God to help us. M: The Almighty and merciful God strengthen and assist you always. The pastor being installed shall kneel. The installing pastor shall say: M: Pastor Nathaniel T. Timmermann I now install you as pastor of Peace Evangelical Lutheran Church in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord pour out upon you his Holy Spirit for the work committed to you by your call, that you may faithfully proclaim the gospel in Word and sacraments. Those assisting may speak an appropriate Bible passage and a message of encouragement. After the laying on of hands the new resident pastor stands. The following prayer is spoken by the installing pastor. 8

9 M: Let us pray. Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal and only Son of God, you sit at the right hand of the Father and give gifts to men, sending out pastors and teachers to prepare God s people for works of service, so that the Body of Christ, the Church, may be built up. We thank and praise you that you have again provided this flock with a faithful shepherd. We ask you to grant your grace to both pastor and people, that they may do what pleases you, holding on to faith and a good conscience, and finally, with all the elect, obtain eternal life; in your name we pray. C: Amen Lord s Prayer All: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your 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 Adult Choir Be Strong In The Lord (The newly-installed pastor presides over the remainder of the service) Some Closing Sentences: (Spoken) M: Keep pastors faithful strong, and true, C: Not working for themselves but you. M: Endow them with the grace they need, C: The lambs to serve, the sheep to feed. M: The precious flock to lead and guide C: THE SHEPHERD thus is glorified. M: May all your people faithful be C: And treat your pastors reverently 9

10 M: And with them work and for them pray, C: Remembering what the Scriptures say: M: Receive the prophet of the Lord C: And gain the prophet s own reward. M: So may we, when our work is done, C: Together meet before your throne M: And joyful hearts and voices raise C: In one united song of praise. M: With all the bright celestial host, C: TO FATHER, SON, AND HOLY GHOST! (CW #548:2-4) ALL: AMEN! A Concluding Prayer: M: Gracious Father in heaven, grant to all of the undershepherds in our midst today, and especially to me in my new ministry here at Peace Lutheran Church of Otsego, Michigan, the motive as well as the necessary power and ability to shepherd your flock here all who have been purchased with your holy precious blood with the compassion and care of The Good Shepherd himself. Bless the work of all of our ministries as well as all of the Words that come out of our mouths, both law and gospel, so that you, O Lord, may be honored and praised among us here in this visible fold as well as glorified by all those who live around us. We make this humble request by means of our Spirit-given, saving faith in Jesus, our Good Shepherd. C: AMEN (spoken) A Benediction M: The almighty and merciful Lord the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit bless us and keep us. C: AMEN (spoken) The Closing Hymn CW #547 We Bid You Welcome in the Name (Acknowledgements & Announcements, Directions, Table Prayer) 10

11 The Pastor-Elect Rev Nathaniel Timmermann The Organist.Cindy Commissaris, Peace, Otsego The Pianist.Gwen Miller, Peace, Otsego The Choir Director Cindy Commissaris, Peace, Otsego The Liturgist..Rev Don Seelhoff, St. Paul s, Hopkins The Preacher..Rev Timothy Winkel, Grace, Muskegon 11

12 Nathaniel Timmermann was born to Tom and Karin in Janesville, WI, along with his three sisters. He attended St. Matthew s and Lakeside Lutheran High School until he enrolled at Martin Luther College. Upon graduation, he spent a year in Beijing, China, teaching English at the Affiliated High School of Peking University and Peking University. Beginning in 2006, he worked his way through Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, including one year under Stephen Sauer in Green Bay, finishing with a two year assignment in East Asia under Rob Siirila. He served at Salem Lutheran Church and School in Stillwater, MN from 2012 to Nathaniel and his wife Rachel have four children: Clara, Lillian, Marie, and Josiah. They enjoy all sorts of family activities together. Since Nathaniel s parents live in Wisconsin and Rachel s parents live in Colorado, they spend a lot of time traveling, singing together, and creating ridiculous knock-knock jokes. 12