ST. PAUL EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH CHURCH OF THE LUTHERAN CONFESSION LAKEWOOD, COLORADO

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1 ! ST. PAUL EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH CHURCH OF THE LUTHERAN CONFESSION LAKEWOOD, COLORADO 7th Sunday after Pentecost (Confirmation Sunday) July 8,

2 About the Cover: Luther Seal at the top: It s a picture of living in faith. In the heart we know the love of Jesus who took the darkness of our sin to the cross to give us forgiveness. The empty cross shows that He is risen and alive as our Savior. Because of Jesus in our heart, we rest as on roses of peace (white rose) and joy (blue background) for all eternity (gold ring). The triangle with three drops: Baptism is water applied in the name of the Triune (Three-in-One) God. The Father who gives us all things (hands), the Spirit who brings Peace through faith (dove), and the Son who died to take away all our sins (cross), are three persons but one God (Matthew 28:19). The cup and wafer: The Lord s Supper assures us of forgiveness through the body and blood of Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:26-28). The book: The Bible reveals Jesus and all that we need to know about God and the salvation He gives us (2 Timothy 3:14-17). The bottom three images represent the Means of Grace (the Gospel in Word and Sacrament) through which our Lord brings to us His grace, life, and salvation in Jesus. The path running behind shows that as we journey through life we should faithfully use God s Means of Grace which He will use to keep us on the one path to heaven (John 14:6). 2

3 ST. PAUL EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH 2470 Wadsworth Blvd, Lakewood, CO (303) Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC) Thomas Schuetze, pastor ( ) Larry Reed, president Mike Sprengeler, SS Superintendent Ruth Greening, Suzannah Miller, Lisa Sprengeler, organists ORDER OF WORSHIP: SERVICE OF WORD & SACRAMENT Pre-Service Devotion: Psalm 1 (pew bible, p.481) The Hymns: 711, 660, 689, 922 Scripture Lessons: Ephesians 6:10-18, John 15:1-8 Psalm of the Day: From Psalm 19 Confession of Faith: The Apostles Creed (page 15, liturgy insert) Sermon Text Luther s Small Catechism, Baptism Parts 3 & 4 ON YOUR CONFIRMATION DAY AND EVERY DAY: REMEMBER THE POWER & MEANING OF YOUR BAPTISM! Offering of Our Hearts and Gifts Prayers & the Lord s Prayer The Rite of Confirmation Communion Liturgy (liturgy insert, pp.17-21) Benediction & Closing Hymn (922) A Warm Welcome To Our Worship Guests. The members of St. Paul are pleased to meet you and glad that you are here to worship with us today. We are a congregation committed without reservations to the entire Truth of God s Word, the Bible. We have found joy and hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have found moral guidance, a way of life, and the promise of eternal life in the Holy Scriptures. It is gives us pleasure to share these blessings with you. We invite you to sign our guest book and to come and worship with us again. 3

4 TODAY S SCRIPTURES Epistle Lesson Ephesians 6:10-18 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Psalm of the Day From Psalm 19 P The heavens declare the glory of God: C The skies proclaim the work of his hands. P Their voice goes out into all the earth: C Their words to the ends of the world. P The law of the Lord is perfect: C Reviving the soul. P The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy: C Making wise the simple. P The precepts of the Lord are right: C Giving joy to the heart. P The commands of the Lord are radiant: C Giving light to the eyes. P They are more precious than gold: C They are sweeter than honey. P By them is your servant warned: C In keeping them there is great reward. P May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart: C Be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Gospel Lesson John 15:1-9 I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to 4

5 you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love." Sermon Text Baptism Parts 3 & 4 from Martin Luther s Small Catechism Baptism Part 3: How can water do such great things? The water doesn t actually do anything by itself. The power is in God s Word, which is in and with the water, and in faith which trusts this Word of God in the water. Without the Word of God it is just plain water and there is no Baptism. But with the Word of God it really is a Baptism, that is, a gracious water of life and washing of rebirth through the Holy Spirit. Just as Saint Paul says in the third chapter of Titus: According to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying (Titus 3:5-8). Baptism Part 4: What is the meaning of this Baptism with water? It means that the old Adam in us should be drowned by daily contrition and repentance, and die with all sins and evil desires. It also means that a new man should daily appear and arise, who lives eternally before God in righteousness and purity. Where is this written? Saint Paul says in the sixth chapter of Romans: We were buried with Him through Baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). 5

6 ANNOUNCEMENTS Sun (7/8) 9:30 am Worship Service with Rite of Confirmation & Holy Communion 10:45 am Confirmation Reception Thurs (7/12) 6:30 pm Day-Care Exploratory Mtg (at the home of Kathy Souchek) Sunday (7/15) 8:30 am Choir Practice 9:30 am Worship Service 10:45 am Bible Class EXTENDED CALENDAR Summer Clean-Up Day: Saturday, July 21, beginning at 8:30 am Mary & Martha Ladies Meeting: Sunday, July 22, 10:45 am Colorado Springs Worship Service: Sunday, July 22, 2:30 pm Quarterly Voters Meeting: Sunday, July 29, 10:45 am Mission Festival Service at St. Paul: Sunday, August 19, 9:30 am Elders Meeting: Sunday, August 26, 8:30 am SERVING US AT GOD S HOUSE DURING JULY Ushers: Bob Rankin, Mike Sprengeler Elder: Don Claeys Communion Assistant: Larry Reed THE RITE OF CONFIRMATION will be observed in today s service for Joshua Ruegge. He recently completed three years of instruction on the six chief parts of Christian doctrine as summarized in Martin Luther s Small Catechism. The Bible memory verse Josh selected for his Confirmation Day is Matthew 6:33 Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Josh also picked the closing hymn for today s service (#922): Go, My Children, with My Blessing (beautiful choices!). THE FLOWERS ON THE ALTAR TODAY are in honor of Joshua Ruegge s confirmation and are placed there by his godparents, Mike & Lisa Sprengeler. FOLLOWING THE SERVICE all are invited to remain for a confirmation reception for Joshua to be held downstairs. CHOIR MEMBERS, PLEASE NOTE that rehearsals are scheduled for Sundays, July 15 and August 5, at 8:30 am. We will continue practicing our songs for our Mission Festival Service (scheduled for Sunday, August 19). THE FOLLOWING MATERIALS (providing information on the work accomplished at the recent CLC Convention in Eau Claire, Wisconsin) have been printed and are available for your perusal, on the shelf under the tract rack. Help yourself. Convention Summary (synopsis of actions taken by the Convention) Convention Chronicles (daily newspaper of the Convention) Convention Floor Committee #4 Report on the Joint Statement 6

7 FINAL REMINDER FOR CANDIDATES FOR ILC PROFESSOR CALL The Board of Regents for Immanuel Lutheran High School, College, and Seminary invites all pastors, professors, male teachers, and voting members of member congregations of the Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC Constitution) to nominate an individual or individuals to fill the vacancy which will be created by the retirement of Professor Paul Schaller at the end of the academic year. The position would require the ability to teach in a variety of areas, which may include courses in English (high school and college) and history (high school, college, and potentially seminary). With the duties including teaching God's Word to adult males, the person is to be a male (1 Tim. 2:12). To fill a current need on campus, this individual would need to be able to provide spiritual counsel and encouragement to students in the Word of God, understanding and addressing the particular challenges that students often face today, preferably someone who is pastorally experienced. This person may potentially serve as the Dean of Students, one who counsels and disciplines students on campus. The position would, God-willing, commence with the academic year. Those submitting nominations are strongly encouraged to verify that the individual would be willing to serve and would need to include information regarding their nominee's educational background and teaching and/or professional experience, also indicating how the person might help our school in supervising extracurricular activities or serving in administrative positions. Since the mailing deadline has passed, nominations are to be received by no later than midnight July 15, 2018, to: Dr. Daniel Schierenbeck (danschierenbeck@gmail.com)

8 DAILY BIBLE READINGS FOR HOME DEVOTIONS JULY 9-14 Mon Exodus 40:34-38 At bedtime (and all night long) the Israelites could look past their tentflaps and see God s pillar of fire hovering over the tabernacle; then at daybreak the LORD morphed His fire into His cloud. When God s cloud stayed put, everybody stayed put. When God s cloud moved forward, everybody packed up and followed. God grant that we appreciate His presence with us all night long and all day long! Praise the Lord! Tues Leviticus 10:1-7 We sinful humans can convince ourselves that we can improve on God s agenda, as Nadab and Abihu did but didn t live to tell about it. Their father didn t have a word to say about it either, for he knew better (3). Two cousins put the smoldering corpses into body bags and dumped them out in the desert. No funeral! No eulogies! No kidding! Wed Leviticus 16:1-10 Because of that debacle, God nailed down specifics for the clergy (1-6). The scapegoat ritual was added to their agenda in order to visualize God s way of coping with human perfidy. God lets us get out from under our guilt by confessing our sins and transferring the whole dirty load onto a substitute who suffers the consequences of our perfidy all by himself (20-22). We get the picture, and we appreciate it, dear Savior! Thurs Leviticus 18 Sexual attraction can lure souls to destruction; it worked then, and it works now. Celebrities commit sex crimes, as do sports notables, professionals, and backyard perverts; it s no longer news. So God laid out a list of sex sins for His people to note and avoid. Why? Because God had chosen the Israelites as His elite people, they shouldn t throw dirt on Him. We too should be known for our purity as followers of the LORD our God. Fri Leviticus 19 We should be upright in our dealings with our neighbors; it s morally right to respect our parents and stay straight with God; it s civic uprightness to be generous, not cheat, defraud, or abuse anyone; we should be impartial, govern our personal sex lives, our farm festivals, and don t even look like we are mimicking the heathen (26-28). God reminds us over and over that He is the Lord of our lives so let s listen up and shape up! Sat Leviticus 26 reads like a free-verse poem of life with God; He promises that blessings will follow compliance, while blasting will follow disobedience. Just to nail the point home, penalties will be assessed at 700% of the value of the original debt and if that doesn t scare you (23), you should hear what it means to irritate, aggravate, and insult God (24-39). Glory be to God, there s an escape clause which seems to be a footnote but merits a lot of publicity: Yet for all that... I will not cast them away, nor shall I... break My covenant with them. Hallelujah! 8