Trinity Marsh Street Mankato, MN / (507) Pastors John J. Petersen & Luke Ulrich / Principal Larry Rude

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1 Trinity 1123 Marsh Street Mankato, MN / (507) church@mtolivelutheran.org Pastors John J. Petersen & Luke Ulrich / Principal Larry Rude Welcome! In the name of our risen Savior we welcome you to Mt. Olive and thank you for worshipping with us this morning. If you are a guest please fill out a Guest Card (found in front of you in the hymnbook rack) or sign our guest book in the entry. We invite you to come and worship with us again soon. Large Print copies of the order of service from the ELS Hymnary are available from the usher stand in the back of the sanctuary. For the Hearing Impaired: Our facility is equipped with a hearing assistance system. Please ask an usher for a receiver. Explanation of the Week: When Isaiah beheld the glory of the Lord, he cried out "Woe is me!" For the sinner cannot stand in the presence of a holy God and live (Is 6:1-7). But God the Father lifted up His Son Jesus for us on the cross, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:1-15). This eternal life of Christ is given us according to the Holy Spirit's good pleasure in Baptism. "Unless one is born (again) of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." To sinners in fear of death, the messengers of God place on our lips the living body and blood of Christ and speak His words of absolution, "Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged." Having received forgiveness and life from the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit, we join with the angels in praising the blessed Trinity, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!" "For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen" (Rom 11:33-36).

2 Explanation of the Athanasian Creed - the Holy Trinity The natural knowledge of God tells us only that there is a god, something that virtually everyone acknowledges, even if it is only a prime cause or nature. We only know the living God, the God who is really there, because he has chosen to reveal Himself through the inspired Word given to Adam and Eve and to their descendants, and then written by the Prophets in the Old Testament and by the Apostles and Evangelists in the New Testament. Because of the deceit of the devil and of the sinful nature of man, God is continually misrepresented and the faith of people is turned away from the true God. In the Old Testament, God identified Himself as the One who had revealed Himself to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and as YAWEH, (or Jehovah), I AM. This is the unique name He revealed as His own. Interchangeably with this He revealed Himself also in the Spirit of God, and in the Angel of the Lord. For this reason the first century Jews who accepted Christ as their Messiah had no difficulty with the understanding of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Because of the centrality of Christ as God the Son in God s work to save us, early Christians confessed that Jesus is at the same time true man, as well as God with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and yet not three Gods, but One. Jesus Identified himself also with YAWEH, declaring, Before Abraham was, I AM. At various times false teachers arose who denied different aspects of the reality of God, especially the divinity of Christ. In response, statements of belief called creeds were written to clearly state what God has revealed about Himself in the Bible. While we grow in our understanding of the God in whom we believe, the important thing is that our faith is in the God who is really there. For that reason to deny what God has said about Himself is to put our faith in something other than the God who is there a figment of our imagination. The Athanasian Creed is the most extensive of the three ecumenical or catholic (meaning universal, accepted by all Christian churches) creeds. Being written after the year 600 (and after many heresies had been refuted) this creed contrasts such false teaching with the truth. This creed accentuates the fact that our faith rests in the God who really did create us, redeem us, and call us to faith through the gospel, and that only such faith is a saving faith. It clearly teaches that faith in any other god leads to damnation. The Athanasian Creed is traditionally confessed in the divine service on Trinity Sunday, because of its exhaustive expression of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. One clause that is sometimes jarring to Lutheran ears is, And they that have done good will enter into life everlasting; and they that have done evil into everlasting fire. What about salvation by grace through faith? This is a good reminder that Jesus fulfilled the law for us; He did not abolish it. On judgment day sinners have no place with the Holy God. Our salvation comes through faith in Christ who atoned for our sins, taking them away so that we may actually be forgiven, cleansed of our sins, live and do those things that are good. By faith we have nothing but good works before God. (Rev. Ed. Bryant Lombard, IL) 2

3 Order of Service, Rite One (p. 41) ~Opening Prayer (p. 41) P: O Lord, our Maker, Redeemer, and Comforter, we are assembled in Your presence to hear Your holy Word. We pray You to open our hearts by Your Holy Spirit, that through the preaching of Your Word we may be taught to repent of our sins, to believe on Jesus in life and death, and to grow day by day in grace and holiness. Hear us for Christ s sake. Amen. ~Hymn 15 Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty ~Confession of Sin (p.41, form I) P: Let us bow before the Lord and confess our sins. Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, we poor sinners confess unto You that we are by nature sinful and unclean, and that we have sinned against You by thought, word and deed. Therefore we flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Your grace, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. C: O most merciful God, You have given Your only-begotten Son to die for us: have mercy upon us, and for His sake grant us remission of all our sins; and by Your Holy Spirit increase in us a true knowledge of You, and of Your will, and true obedience to Your Word, to the end that by Your grace we may come to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. ~Athanasian Creed (Part 1) All: Whoever wishes to be saved must, above all else, hold to the true Christian faith. Whoever does not keep this faith pure in all points will certainly perish forever. Now this is the true Christian faith: We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God, without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being. For each person the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is distinct, but the deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory and coeternal in majesty. What the Father is, so is the Son, and so is the Holy Spirit. The Father is uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Spirit uncreated; the Father is infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite; the Father is eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal; yet they are not three who are eternal, but there is one who is eternal, just as they are not three who are uncreated, nor three who are infinite, but there is one 3

4 who is uncreated and one who is infinite. In the same way the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, and the Holy Spirit is almighty; yet they are not three who are almighty, but there is one who is almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God; yet they are not three Gods, but one God. So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord; yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord. ~Absolution (p. 43, form I) P: Lift up your hearts unto God! Almighty God, our heavenly Father, has had mercy upon us, and has given His only Son to die for us, and for His sake forgives us all our sins. To all who believe on His name He gives power to become the children of God, and has promised them His Holy Spirit. He who believes and is baptized will be saved. Grant this, Lord, unto us all. Amen. ~Gloria in Excelsis Deo (pp ) P: Glory be to God in the highest C: And on earth peace, good will toward men. All glory be to God on high Who hath our race befriended! To us no harm shall now come nigh, The strife at last is ended; God showeth His good will to men, And peace shall dwell on earth again; O thank Him for His goodness! ~Salutation (p. 45) P: The Lord be with you. C: And with your spirit. ~Collect (p. 45) P: Let us pray: Almighty God, by Your grace alone we are called into Your kingdom, to confess the true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the divine majesty to worship the true Unity: We beseech You, that You would keep us steadfast in this faith, and evermore defend us from all adversities; for You, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one true God, now and forever. C: Amen. ~Athanasian Creed (Part 2) All: For just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually to be God and Lord, so the true Christian faith forbids us to speak of three Gods or three Lords. The Father is neither made nor created nor begotten of anyone. The Son is neither made nor created, but 4

5 is begotten of the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeds from the Father and the Son. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. And within this Trinity none comes before or after; none is greater or inferior, but all three persons are coequal and coeternal, so that in every way, as stated before, all three persons are to be worshiped as one God and one God worshiped as three persons. Whoever wishes to be saved must have this conviction of the Trinity. ~Old Testament Lesson Ezekiel 18:30-32 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, says the Lord God. Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies, says the Lord God. Therefore turn and live! ~Gospel Lesson John 3:1-15 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother s womb and be born? Jesus answered, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said to Him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said to him, Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 5

6 C: God be praised for His glad tidings. ~Athanasian Creed (Part 3) All: It is furthermore necessary for eternal salvation truly to believe that our Lord Jesus Christ also took on human flesh. Now this is the true Christian faith: We believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, God s Son, is both God and man. He is God, eternally begotten from the nature of the Father, and he is man, born in time from the nature of his mother, fully God, fully man, with rational soul and human flesh, equal to the Father as to his deity, less than the Father as to his humanity; and though he is both God and Man, Christ is not two persons but one, one, not by changing the deity into flesh, but by taking the humanity into God; one, indeed, not by mixture of the natures, but by unity in one person; for just as the rational soul and flesh are one human being, so God and man are one Christ. He suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty, and from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. At his coming all people will rise with their own bodies to answer for their personal deeds. Those who have done good will enter eternal life, but those who have done evil will go into eternal fire. This is the true Christian faith. Whoever does not faithfully and firmly believe this cannot be saved. ~Affirmation of Jace Matthew Bartels s Baptism (1 st service) ~Hymn 405 vv. 1-4 The Mystery Hidden from the Eyes ~Epistle Lesson & Sermon Text Romans 11:33-36 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him? For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. 6

7 ~Sermon Theme Called Not to Understand but to Trust in the Triune God ~Prayer of the Church (pp ) P: Everlasting and merciful God, we beseech You in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: C: To have mercy upon us and to hear our prayer. P: Look in mercy upon Your Church. Protect it and sanctify it by Your truth. May Your Word be taught in its purity and Your Sacraments be rightly administered. Grant unto Your Church faithful pastors who shall declare Your truth with power and shall live according to Your will. Send forth laborers into Your harvest and open the door of faith unto all unbelievers and unto the people of Israel. In mercy remember the enemies of Your Church and grant to them repentance unto life. C: O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, hear us in the truth of Your salvation. P: Let Your protecting hand be over our country and over all who travel. Prosper what is good among us and bring to naught every evil counsel and purpose. Protect and bless Your servants, the President of the United States, the Governor of this state, our judges and magistrates and all in authority. Fit them for their high calling by the gift of Your Spirit of wisdom and fear, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. C: Hear, O Lord, and have mercy! Lord be our helper. P: According to Your promise, O God, be the defender of the widow and the father of the orphan. Relieve and comfort the sick and the sorrowful (especially our brother/sister who is ill/grieving). Graciously help those who are assaulted by the devil and who are in peril of death. Be the strength of those who are suffering for the sake of Christ s holy name. Grant that we may live together in peace and prosperity. Bestow upon us good and seasonable weather; and bless us with upright Christian counsel in all that we undertake. C: O Lord, be with all in trouble. Hear their prayers to the honor of Your Name. P: We especially commend to Your care and keeping this Your congregation which You have bought with a great price. Keep from us all offenses and bind us together in the unity of Your holy love. Grant that the little ones who are baptized in Your name may be brought up in Your fear. At Your table give to those who there commune with You peace and life everlasting. C: Let all rejoice who trust in You; let them shout for joy because You defend them. 7

8 (Special petitions are included) P: In Your mercy look upon..in Christ s name we pray. C: Lord, in Your mercy hear our prayer. P: Be merciful, O God, to all, according to Your great love in Christ Jesus, our Lord. When our final hour shall come, grant us a blessed departure from this world, and on the last day, a resurrection to Your glory. C: Amen. Grant us Your peace, O Lord! ~Offering and Hymn 40 v. 1 Isaiah, Mighty Seer, in Days of Old (Visitors: Please place guest cards in offering plate) ~Collect (pp , form I) P: Let us give thanks and pray: We thank You, Lord God the Father, that You have given Your only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. We thank You, Lord Jesus Christ, that You have borne in Your sacred body all our sins, and by Your blood have blotted out all our transgressions. We thank You, Lord, the Holy Spirit, that You have created in our hearts true faith, that we know of nothing to trust for our salvation except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. O God, grant Your grace, that we may perfectly believe that all our sins are forgiven for the sake of the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so enlighten us by Your Holy Spirit, that, in the power of our Redeemer s death, we may day by day put off sin, and never forsake the Lord Jesus Christ, until we see Him face to face in life eternal. We ask it all in Christ s name. C: Amen. ~Benediction (p. 59) P: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. C: Amen, amen, amen. ~Closing Hymn 403 God Loved the World So That He Gave ~Closing Prayer (p. 59) P: O Lord, we render unto You our heartfelt thanks that You have taught us what You would have us believe and do. Help us, O God, by Your Holy Spirit, for the sake of Jesus Christ, to keep Your Word in pure hearts, that we thereby may be strengthened in faith, perfected in holiness, and comforted in life and death. Amen. 8

9 Preacher: Pastor Luke Ulrich / Liturgist: Pastor John Petersen Organists: 1 st : Cassie Johnson / 2 nd : John Baumann LAST WEEK S ATTENDANCE/LORD S SUPPER ATTENDANCE Sunday: 8:30am; 188/154 10:45am; 206/155 Monday: 36/25 GIVEN LAST WEEK FOR THE LORD S WORK: $21, NEEDED EACH WEEK TO MEET ANNUAL BUDGET: $15,760 Roman 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Mt. Olive Worship Services on TV: Mt. Olive services are being shown on local cable channel 181 (Charter) and 7 & 507 (Consolidated Communications) on Wednesdays at 10AM and Thursdays at 11:30AM. SERVING OUR LORD THIS WEEK Ushers: 1 st Service: Ray Iverson, Darrell Iverson, Chad Sorensen, Art Westphal, Nathan Graham 2 nd Service: Paul Tweit (captain), Lance Johnson, Bob Fosburgh, Blake Fosburgh Greeters: 1 st Service: Paul & Mary Jane Tweit, Steve & Lois Jaeger 2 nd Service: Paul & Mary Jane Tweit, Steve & Lois Jaeger Offering Counters: Bruce Gratz, Craig Christensen Altar Guild: Elyse Haugen, Carol Leiferman 9

10 Sunday June 11 Monday June 12 Tuesday June 13 Wednesday June 14 Thursday June 15 Friday June 16 Saturday June 17 Sunday June 18 WEEK AT A GLANCE: June 11, 2017 June 18, :30AM Divine Service 10AM Divine Service 11AM Bible Information Class 2:30PM 5 th Annual Golf Tournament, Minneopa Golf Club 7:30PM Co-ed Recreational Volleyball 5:30PM 6:30PM 6:30PM 8AM 9AM 9:30AM NOON NOON 1-6PM 8:30AM 10AM 11AM 3PM 7:30PM NO Veterans Bible Study Board of Stewardship Divine Service Church Council Women's Bible Study Book of Genesis Bible Study Table of Duties MOMs Playdate & Picnic, Alexander Park Bulletin Deadline July s Olive Press Deadline Red Cross Blood Drive NO Encourage One Another Divine Service w/holy Communion Divine Service w/holy Communion Bible Information Class ELS Synod Convention Service Co-ed Recreational Volleyball ANNOUNCEMENTS Flowers on the Altar: The flowers beautifying the altar today are given to God s glory by Jaci Lieske in memory of Wilbur Lieske. Mt. Olive Golf Outing: Join us for our 5 th Annual Mt. Olive Golf Tournament today. Tee times start at 2:30PM at the Minneopa Golf Club. Cost: $15 for Golf (Additional fee for golf cart) AND Food (and Prizes!) to follow at the Awards Banquet at the Minneopa Club House. All are invited and welcome we divide into groups to play a Texas Scramble format a fun outing for golfers of all skill levels! Questions or comments can be directed to Pr. Luke Ulrich. 10

11 CAMP INDIANHEAD July 9 to 14, 2017: Registration forms for camp are on the narthex table, and are due today. Contact Lance Johnson at if you wish to have campers ride the bus and/or volunteer for the Pizza Ranch fundraiser on June 19. Thank you! Backyard & Beyond, Sunbeam Day Camp for K-2 girls happens Friday, June 23, 2017, at 9:45 AM to 2:30 PM at St. Peter Lutheran Church, 427 W Mulberry St., St. Peter, MN. Cost for the day is $10.00 per girl. Questions about Sunbeam Day Camp are taken by Lana Sander ( lrsander@hotmail.com) or Colleen Johnson ( colleenjohnson54@yahoo.com). Registration and payment due by June 15. Teacher aids needed: If you have an interest in being a full time or part time aid in the lower division classes at Mount Olive Lutheran School for this coming school year, call our school office at We plan to fill these positions by August 1. Thank you to everyone at Mt. Olive for all of your prayers and thoughts and hugs at the time of Karl s illness and death. Thank you for the many cards, the Bible passages and hymn verses you offered for our comfort and support. Thank you also for the memorial gifts and the contribution to the GoFundMe page to help Rachel and Joel start a new chapter in their lives. It is a great blessing to be a part of the loving and caring Christian family of Mt. Olive. We await the day when we will see Karl again in heaven, and God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. ~Ross and Betsy Hermanson and families. Sunday School offerings for Lutheran Mission of Salvation - India totaled $ Calendar change: The Tuesday morning Women s Bible Study does not meet June 25 (during VBS) nor on Independence Day (July 4). Jesus Cares Ministry does not meet on Independence Day (July 4), either. 11

12 Synod LYA Registration:. If you have your own transportation, the last day to register is July 3. If you needed a seat on our bus, the last day to register was June 6. The registration fee for this year s Lutheran Youth Association (LYA) trip to Cincinnati, Ohio on July 27-30, 2017 is $300. The convention s theme is Saved Through Water. Go to: to register. The link redirects you to If you have questions, please contact Jeremy or Angela Merseth: # or ammerseth@gmail.com Playdate & Picnic in Alexander park with Moms On a Mission (M.O.M.s) Wednesdays in June from 9:30AM-NOON. Bring your own picnic lunch if you'd like to stay. 12

13 ELS Synod Convention ELS Historical Society program is Sunday, June 18. Cross-stitch cordially invites you to their program on Monday, June 19, 7PM in the YFAC Theater, Bethany Lutheran College. On the program: Tim and Ellen Erickson [ 25 Years The Mission in Chile ], Seminarian Jacob Kempfert [Devotion], Paul Gullixson [Piano], Cross-stitch updates, and a special offering to reopen the LMSI Seminary. Refreshments to follow. 13

14 Hymn Festival commemorating 500 years of the Reformation Tuesday, June 20, at 7:30 PM in Trinity Chapel. The program includes works for organ, brass, percussion, choir and congregation. Jacob B. Weber is organist and featured composer. The program will be live-streamed at <els.org/2017convention> with the program posted prior to the event. Calling all singers! We rehearse for the hymn festival in the S.C. Ylvisaker Fine Arts Center, Room 101, on Sunday, June 18 from 12:30 to 2:45 (then we'll all sing some of the festival music for Synod Sunday Service at 3PM), and on Tuesday, June 20 at 6:00 PM. The Hymn Festival is at 7:30 PM. Mr. Jacob Weber has presented us with a rich banquet of music for the evening! If you have any questions, contact Dennis Marzolf (dennis.marzolf@blc.edu). Community Blood Drive: On Thursday, June 15, from 1 6PM, Mount Olive hosts a blood drive. If you would like to schedule an appointment, call , visit their website and enter sponsor code MTOLIVEKATO, or use their blood donor app. 1 pint of blood can save 3 lives! St. Mark (Mankato, WELS) celebrates 75 yrs. on Sunday, June 25, Join us for the celebration. Church services on June 25 at 10AM and 2PM. We will also dedicate our new altar, baptismal font, ambo and liturgical banners in our recently renovated chancel. From 11:30 to 1:30 a dinner is served. Meal reservations must be made by Thursday, June 15; call Michele Wiederich at or signup on St. Mark s Web Site at The response is printed in red at the bottom of the page. Following the 2:00pm service, coffee and refreshments will be served. Marketing Coordinator & Designer position now available through Kingdom Workers. The job description is available online at Contact Kingdom Workers at or info@kingdomworkers.com 14

15 The both VBS deadlines are today! 15

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