ST. PAUL EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH

Transcription

1 ! ST. PAUL EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH CHURCH OF THE LUTHERAN CONFESSION LAKEWOOD, COLORADO FESTIVAL OF THE HOLY TRINITY MAY 27,

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 insert inside front cover of maroon hymnal) Pre-Service Devotion: Psalm 96 (pew bible, p.532) The Hymns: 507, 571, 590, 805 Scripture Lessons: Isaiah 6:1-8, Romans 8:14-17 Psalm of the Day: Psalm 150 Confession of Faith: The Athanasian Creed (p.9) Sermon Text John 3:1-17 BORN AGAIN INTO THE FAMILY OF THE TRIUNE GOD 1. What it means that you have been born again. 2. Why everyone needs to be born again. 3. How our almighty Triune God makes it happen. Offering of Our Hearts and Gifts Memorial Day Prayer / Responsive Prayer (pp.4-5) / Lord s Prayer Benediction & Closing Hymn (805) A Warm Welcome in Christ to our Worship Guests. We are glad for the opportunity to share with you the Gospel of forgiveness through Jesus! Please introduce yourself to the pastor and sign our guest book. We invite you to come worship with us again. If you would like to know more about St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church and our national organization, the Church of the Lutheran Confession, please speak with the pastor. He will be happy to call on you to share our confession and mission with you. Large print bulletins are available in the tract rack or by request from an usher. 2

3 TODAY S SCRIPTURES First Lesson Isaiah 6:1-8 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory. At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. Woe to me! I cried. I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty. Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for. Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, Here am I. Send me! Psalm of the Day Psalm 150 P Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: C Praise him in his mighty heavens. P Praise him for his acts of power: C Praise him for his surpassing greatness. P Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, C Praise him with the harp and lyre, P Praise him with tambourine and dancing, C Praise him with the strings and flute, P Praise him with the clash of cymbals, C Praise him with resounding cymbals. P Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. C Praise the Lord. Second Lesson Romans 8:14-17 Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. 3

4 Sermon Text John 3:1-17 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him. In reply Jesus declared, I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. How can a man be born when he is old? Nicodemus asked. Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother s womb to be born! Jesus answered, I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, You must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. How can this be? Nicodemus asked. You are Israel s teacher, said Jesus, and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 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 Memorial Day Prayer Heavenly Father, Lord of the nations, our country does not deserve Your kindness and favor. Yet, in spite of our ungodliness and flagrant disregard for Your holy commandments, You continue to bless us with liberty, peace, and protection from our enemies. We thank You. We pray that You would turn the people of America to repentance and faith in Christ Jesus, the Savior of all mankind. As we remember on Memorial Day those who have died for our civil freedom, make us grateful for their sacrifice. Lead us to pray more regularly for our country, its leaders, and armed forces. Let peace continue to reign within our borders, so that Your people may freely share the Gospel of forgiveness in Christ throughout our land. Amen. 4

5 RESPONSIVE PRAYER FOR THE FESTIVAL OF THE HOLY TRINITY P Glory to You, O Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Glory to You. You have invited us to pray and promised to hear us and answer us according to Your merciful will. For wisdom and faith, for the fear of the Lord and confidence in His Word, for peace to rule our hearts and for love to rule our lives, let us pray to the Lord: P For the baptized and the confirmed, for Christ to be fully formed within us, for courage to walk as children of the light and for strength in the face of temptation, let us pray to the Lord: P For all pastors, teachers, and church workers; for those preparing for the Lord s service; for those who will hear and believe through them, let us pray to the Lord: P For contented hearts and peaceful minds, for an end to conflict and discord, and for unity of faith and the faithful confession of the Holy Trinity, let us pray to the Lord: P For those who are troubled in mind and heart, for the grieving in their sorrow, for all the sick and those who suffer, and all those we name in our hearts, let us pray to the Lord: P For all the people of God; for lives of holiness, righteousness and obedience; and for joyful hearts even in the face of adversity, let us pray to the Lord: P For thankful hearts, for the faithful support of the Church and the work of the Lord, here and throughout the world, let us pray to the Lord: P For the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the dead, and the life everlasting, let us pray to the Lord: P For these and all such things as the Lord knows we need and for faith to trust in His purpose and His timing, let us pray to the Lord: P Help, save, comfort, defend us and bring to completion all that You began, O Triune God Father, Son. and Holy Spirit one God, now and forever. C Amen. 5

6 ANNOUNCEMENTS Today (5/27) 9:30 am Worship Service 10:45 am Bible Class 2:30 pm Colorado Springs Worship Service Tue-Thu West-Central Delegate Conf, Bismarck ND Sun (6/3) 9:30 am Worship Service with Holy Communion 10:45 am Bible Class UPCOMING SYNOD EVENTS Girls Basketball Camp at ILC, Eau Claire: June 14 16, 2018 Arise & Shine 20 s/30 s Retreat, Pillager MN: June Camp Koyquin (6th-12th Graders), Pillager, MN: June CLC Delegates Convention, Eau Claire: Thu-Sun, June SERVING US AT GOD S HOUSE DURING MAY Ushers: Wayne Ruegge, Joshua Ruegge Elder: Larry Reed Communion Assistant: Mike Sprengeler DURING JUNE Ushers: Mark Hartmeister, Larry Reed Elder: Ed Chiappetti Communion Assistant: Wayne Ruegge THE WEST-CENTRAL DELEGATE CONFERENCE is this week Tuesday through Thursday, hosted by St. Paul Lutheran Church, Bismarck ND. Pastor Schuetze and Fred Brethauer will serve as representatives of St. Paul at this conference. (See back page of your May issue of the Lutheran Spokesman for the conference agenda.) CONVENTION PROSPECTUS: Hard copies of the 2018 CLC Convention Prospectus have been printed and be found in the tract track. Help yourself. The theme for this year s convention is Behold Your God! (based on Isaiah 40:9-11). Two essays under this theme will be delivered during the convention: 1) The Lord God came with a strong hand! (Professor John Ude) and 2) The Lord God comes with a gentle embrace! (Pastor David Ude). Don Claeys, Mike Sprengeler, and Pastor Schuetze will serve as representatives of St. Paul at the convention. The dates are June Note: The Prospectus may also be accessed online on the CLC Website at this address: 6

7 JUNE BIRTHDAY (ANNIVERSARY) BLESSINGS TO... Naomi Peters, June 2 Diana Vigil, June 29 Jon Norberg, June 8 (Terry & Debbie New, June 28) Sarah Potter, June 18 DIRECTORY CORRECTION: Suzannah Miller s phone number (p.11 of the new directory) should be: Please note. Thanks. BIBLE CAMP ANNOUNCEMENTS Camping in the beauty of the Black Hills, studies in the beauty of God s Word. All ages are welcome, children will need to be accompanied by a chaperon or family. There will also be many outdoor activities such as hiking, swimming, caving, fishing, kayaking, bonfires, s mores. The dates are Friday evening July 13 through Tuesday morning July 17. To sign up or for more information, call Pastor Aaron Ude at (605) or him at aaronude@gmail.com. Arise and Shine (20's & 30's Retreat) is less than a month away! (June at Camp JIM, Pillager, MN.) If you re in your 20 s or 30 s, please try to join us for this faith-building weekend. This year's theme is Discipl(in)e." If you would like to receive a free retreat t-shirt, the registration deadline is May 31. You may still register after that, but you will not receive a t-shirt. For more info & to register, go to our website: The cost is $140/adult (12 & up) and $100/child. Child care is provided at no charge. We ask families to register by May 25 so we can arrange child care assistance. If you have questions, please contact: Pastor Sam Rodebaugh - sam.rodebaugh@ gmail.com - (414) Josh Ohlmann - joshohlmann@swbell.net - (314) Kym Stelter - kjstelter@gmail.com - (507)

8 DAILY BIBLE READINGS FOR HOME DEVOTIONS MAY 28 JUNE 2 Mon Genesis 1:26-31 The three persons of the Godhead are reflected in the pronouns Us and Our, while His and He reveal God working as a unit. While God created all other creatures in groups (wholesale), He made humans as individuals; each of us lives as His child, each dies individually and enters heaven one-at-a-time. God made humans in His own image, and He has spared no expense to renew His image in us via Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Tues Psalm 19:1-6 Astronomers and astrophysicists should tune in on the Universal message about our Universe for it declares the glory of God, and everybody can know it (1-4). God put our sun at the center of our solar system to serve Earth as our home. [Nat-Geo has been hosting a TV program that lauds the miraculous (absolutely miraculous!) location of Earth situated at just the right distance from the sun to maintain life on our planet.] Wed Romans 1:19-23 Christians are not the only people who know that Creation did not evolve; it has a Creator with eternal power and supremacy, who has revealed Himself via the existence of the cosmos. We call it the natural knowledge of God, for it s a knowledge based on Nature, and a knowledge built into our nature besides. HOWEVER, humans did not glorify Him as God but degenerated into worship of humanoid idols and gallumping beasts and even creepy critters. So much for mankind becoming smarter and smarter over the centuries since Adam and Eve! Lord, have mercy! Thurs Isaiah 48:9-19 God defends His character and good name: I am the God who is lenient with you because that s My nature (9), and what you consider harsh treatment is for your own good (10) as I uphold My good name (11). I not only did the creating of heaven and Earth (12-13), I have been working ever since (14-15) as Redeemer and Sanctifier (16-17). You could have had a better life if you had just followed My directions (18-19). Fri John 3:1-15 Nicodemus had been prepared for this Bible-Class on Spirit-re-birth via Baptism but it was still as mysterious to him as the forces of nature. He needed to realize that he was speaking to the Son of Man, whose home is heaven, who could handle the awesome work of self-sacrifice, surviving death (14) and salvaging souls for eternal life (15). Sat Romans 11:33-36 caps a lengthy discourse on God s protocol of tough love and mercy on humanity which proves He is smart enough to cope with every possible contingency, for He knows more about us than we know about ourselves (33). God did not acquire His wisdom from philosophers or scientists, for all things (in heaven and on Earth) are OF Him and THROUGH Him, and TO Him, our Trinity God. To Him be glory forever. Amen! 8

9 TODAY S CONFESSION OF FAITH: THE ATHANASIAN CREED Pastor: 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 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. 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 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. 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 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. Lord, grant and preserve this true Christian faith unto us all. Amen. 9

10 Isaiah s Vision of the Triune God (Isaiah 6:1-4) Isaiah, mighty seer in days of old, The Lord of all in spirit did behold. High on a loft throne, in splendor bright, With robes that filled the temple courts with light. Above the throne were flaming seraphim, Six wings had they, these messengers of Him. With two they veiled their faces as was right, With two they humbly hid their feet from sight, And with the other two aloft they soared; One to the other called and praised the Lord: Holy is God, the Lord of heavenly hosts! Holy is God, the Lord of heavenly hosts! Holy is God, the Lord of heavenly hosts! His glory fills the heavens and earth! The beams and lintels trembled at the cry, And clouds of smoke enwrapped the throne on high. Isaiah s Response (Isaiah 6:5-8) Stirred by this vision brighter than the sun, I cried, Oh, woe is me! I am undone! My lips and all my people s are unclean; For my own eyes the King of kings have seen! The vision faded, and the angelic hymn Had died. Then flew one of the seraphim And bore a coal from where the altar stood And where a lamb was bound upon the wood. Upon my mouth he laid the living coal And said, Lo, this has made you clean and whole. Your sin is purged, and your iniquity Has been removed and taken far away. Also I heard Jehovah speaking thus: Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then, readily responding to the plea, I said, Here am I, Lord, send me, send me! 10