ST. PAUL EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH

Transcription

1 ! ST. PAUL EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH CHURCH OF THE LUTHERAN CONFESSION LAKEWOOD, COLORADO 19TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST SEPTEMBER 30,

2 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 THE WORD (printed on liturgy insert inside front cover of maroon hymnal) Pre-Service Devotion: Psalm 53 (pew bible, p.508) The Hymns: 527, 668, 664, 718 Scripture Lessons: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Matthew 13:1-11,19-27 Psalm of the Day: From Psalm 48 Sermon Text Philippians 3:12 4:1 PRESS ON TOWARD THE GOAL! 1. Follow the course well. 2. Look forward to the finish. Offering of Our Hearts and Gifts Prayers & the Lord s Prayer Benediction & Closing Hymn (718) VISITORS, WELCOME! The members of S. Paul are pleased to meet you and are happy that you are here to worship with us today. We are a congregation committed without reservation 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 gives us pleasure to share these blessings with you. Please sign our guest book and come worship with us again! 2

3 TODAY S SCRIPTURES First Lesson 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. Psalm of the Day From Psalm 48 P Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise: C In the city of our God, his holy mountain. P It is beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth. C God is in her citadels. He has shown himself to be her fortress. P As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD Almighty, in the city of our God: C God makes her secure forever. P Within your temple, O God: C We meditate on your unfailing love. P Walk about Zion: C Go around her, count her towers, P Consider well her ramparts, view her citadels: C That you may tell of them to the next generation. P For this God is our God for ever and ever: C He will be our guide even to the end. Second Lesson Matthew 13:1-11,19-27 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear. The disciples came to him and asked, Why do you speak to the people in parables? He replied, The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 3

4 Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Sermon Text Philippians 3:12 4:1 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends! All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. 4

5 ANNOUNCEMENTS Today (9/30) 9:30 am Worship Service 10:45 am Sunday School (Tower of Babel, OT 5) 10:45 am Bible Class 3:00 pm Area Mission Festival Service, hosted by Redeemer, Cheyenne (see note below) Sun (10/7) 8:30 am Church Council Meeting 9:30 am Worship Service 10:45 am Sunday School (Call of Abraham, OT 6) 10:45 am Bible Class 12:00 noon Church Picnic at the parsonage (see note below) EXTENDED CALENDAR Fall Clean-Up Day: Saturday, Oct.13 Mary/Martha Ladies Meeting: Sunday, Oct.14, 10:45 am Church Movie Night: Friday, Oct.19, 7:00 pm Quarterly Voters Meeting: Sunday, Oct.21, 10:45 am SERVING US AT GOD S HOUSE DURING SEPTEMBER Ushers: Mike Sprengeler, Don Claeys Elder: Larry Reed Communion Assistant: Mike Sprengeler DURING OCTOBER Ushers: Bob Rankin, Mark Hartmeister Elder: Don Claeys Communion Assistant: Larry Reed A MISSION FESTIVAL SERVICE will be held today hosted by Redeemer Lutheran Church, Cheyenne. The service time is 3:00 pm followed by a mission presentation and potluck. Pastor Joel Fleischer of Berea Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls, SD, will serve as guest speaker. If you need a ride to this service, inform the pastor, who will be happy to provide you with transportation. A CHURCH PICNIC is planned for next Sunday, October 7, at noon at the parsonage, weather-permitting. Grilled meat (hamburgers & hot dogs) and drinks will be provided. St. Paul parishioners are invited to bring a side item to add to the menu. Circle the date! Invite a friend! 5

6 FROM THE CLC BOARD OF MISSIONS The current political climate in India has made Christian work there more and more difficult. Our missionary has faced increased scrutiny. On his last exit, in particular, he was questioned at length, which led to concerns about whether he would be allowed to enter the country on his return. The WELS missionaries have experienced similar problems. We are currently pursuing other visa options which we hope will alleviate the problems he has recently faced. Please remember him and the work of our brethren in India in your prayers with the assurance that the "effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (James 5:16). Note: With this in mind, we ask that you not mention our missionary s name in any bulletin announcements or anything put online. If someone in India would do a search for him and find something connecting him to Christian missions in India or anywhere else for that matter, that could prove dangerous for him and hinder the work there. Please be careful when using his name in connection with our mission work, in India or anywhere else. You may use the paragraph above as a bulletin announcement (notice that his name is not mentioned). Two CLC representatives will be traveling to Mexico at the end of this month to encourage our brethren there following the tragic and sudden death of two seminary students. They will be meeting with Pastor Olvera in Juarez and with the remaining seminary students, as well as worshiping with members of the congregation in Juarez during their Sunday services. Pray that the Lord would sustain this small group of believers in their all-important work of proclaiming the Gospel in a dangerous country, but to people in need of the knowledge of the only Savior from sin and death. At the recent CLC Convention, the way was paved for the calling of a Third Foreign Missionary. The Board of Missions is in the process of working out the details of funding for this new called worker as well as the location and duties for this call. The Board of Missions hopes to issue a call for the Third Foreign Missionary in the coming months CALLS NEWS: The CLC Call Committee for Educational Institutions has extended a call to serve as professor at Immanuel Lutheran College in Eau Claire, WI, to Dr. Daniel Schierenbeck of Living Word Lutheran of Blue Springs, MO. This call is for replacing Prof. Paul Schaller who plans to retire in June of Retired pastor Robert List has accepted the call to serve as vacancy pastor of Trinity, Spokane, WA, beginning October 1. 6

7 DAILY BIBLE READINGS FOR HOME DEVOTIONS OCTOBER 1-6 Mon Ezra 1-3 The North was enslaved by Assyria about 700 B.C. and a century later Babylon enslaved the South, so Canaanites reclaimed Palestine. About seventy years later God made His move to get His people back home via the extraordinary procedure of stirring up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, to repatriate the Jews and support their political/religious freedom. Tues Ezra 4:1-5 The Canaanites faked helpfulness, but God s people weren t about to share their sacred, privileged responsibilities with non-believers. God let His people struggle for years to get re-established, and nobody could relax until the Temple was re-built. They got blisters, aching backs, and faced down deceitful neighbors (just for starters), but they kept at it. Wed Ezra 4:6-6:22. What was the Captivity all about? God was using tough-love to make His people yearn for the good old days back in their homeland and the free exercise of their religion. When this sank in, God moved the heart of King Cyrus to authorize their repatriation and put his stamp on re-building Jerusalem. Chs. 7-10: Ezra led the people to re-dedicate themselves to the LORD despite family and marital problems. How did they manage to survive? The Book of Nehemiah has the answer. Stay tuned. Thurs Nehemiah 1-5 God softened the heart of Cyrus to authorize Nehemiah to supervise the reconstruction of Jerusalem. Neighboring caliphs who took umbrage were outmaneuvered and out-classed by Nehemiah. Then God used Ezra to get the Bible into people s hearts and lives. They didn t want to spoil their standing with God via bad behavior, for their lives depended on it. Fri Nehemiah 8-9 Now, hear the Word of the LORD! When Ezra s strong voice carried God s Word to the ears and into the hearts of the assembly, they were overawed. Other readers helped them to understand the words that were declared to them, reviewing God s creation, preservation, election, deliverance, protection, and His faithfulness in the face of their rebellion... concluding with their recovery. [That church service covered a lot of ground!] Sat Nehemiah Some corners that had not yet been sanctified now got dedicated such as the wall which barricaded Jerusalem against invaders, and the food storage rooms for contributions that supported the priests, Levites, and others who served at church. One priest who set up house-keeping in a church vestibule was thrown out by Nehemiah; further house-cleaning included getting serious about Sabbath regulations. Taking a stand against religious unionism came at a high price, for it split families. Jesus knew His disciples would be faced with this problem, too and prepared them for it with His assurance in Matthew 11:28-30 and Luke 9: Amen! 7

8 DAILY BIBLE READINGS FOR HOME DEVOTIONS SEPTEMBER (catching up from last week) Mon 2 Chronicles begins with Solomon, then proceeds through the divided kingdom, covering 250 years for the North (380 years for the South). We are thrilled at Solomon s understanding of sin and grace (ch. 6:12-42), revealed in his dedicatory prayer for the new Temple. If anyone sins... and repents... then hear from heaven and forgive the sin. Solomon repeats this entreaty for a number of situations, different but similar. How perceptive he was! Tues ch. 7:12-22 How did God respond to his petitions? I have heard your prayer... If My people will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear and will forgive them (18). However, the black cloud of infidelity kept darkening the sun of God s favor, for nobody can enjoy God s favor while continuing in a sinful life style. Wed ch. 10 Solomon s son Rehoboam had the chance to keep the kingdom united, but he made the foolish decision to oppose God s man Jeroboam. He also dismissed the sage advice of older statesmen in favor of the rash advice of young men who had grown up with him and were his buddies (8-11). That bad choice split the kingdom into North and South. Stay tuned. Thurs ch. 25 Many generations lived by the gun, suffering assassinations, defections, and many lost opportunities. A good example is Amaziah of the South, whom God supported in battle against the North (God has power to help and to overthrow) -- but when Amaziah defected from God, even threatening God s prophet (11), the sad result inevitably followed that the South was defeated by the North, the armies dispersed, and Amaziah was tracked down and assassinated. [When will they ever learn?] Fri ch. 32:1-23 When the South s good king Hezekiah faced off against the Assyrian braggart Sennacherib, it was really no contest, for the LORD God was not about to surrender His position or His people. So the LORD sent an angel who cut down every enemy officer in the camp of the king of Assyria, and the king returned shamefaced to his own land, where his idol rejected him and his relatives assassinated him. God s people had 130 years left until... Sat ch. 36: the religious rot in the South got so bad that the wrath of the LORD arose against His people and He brought against them the King of the Chaldeans/ Babylonians, whom God permitted to destroy Jerusalem and enslave the survivors. As slaves in a foreign land, His people learned a hard lesson: those who turn traitor to God will have to bear whatever penalty God selects to hand out, and the penalty will last as long as it takes to foster godly repentance and renewed desire to live as God directs. It took seventy years for those folks; God only knows how long it will take for others like them. 8