! ST. PAUL EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH CHURCH OF THE LUTHERAN CONFESSION LAKEWOOD, COLORADO 7TH SUNDAY OF EASTER (SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION) MAY 13, 2018 1
ST. PAUL EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH 2470 Wadsworth Blvd, Lakewood, CO 80214 (303) 233-5000 www.denverlutheran.com Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC) www.clclutheran.org Thomas Schuetze, pastor (303-428-5524) 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 47 (pew bible, p.504) The Hymns: 895, 494, 493 (1-3), 493 (4-5) Scripture Lessons: Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:16-23 Sermon Text John 17:11-19 YOUR ASCENDED LORD IS PRAYING FOR YOU 1. That God s Word will protect you from evil. 2. That God s Word will consecrate you for His service. Offering of Our Hearts and Gifts Prayers & the Lord s Prayer Benediction & Closing Hymn (493, stanzas 4-5) 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
TODAY S SCRIPTURES First Lesson Acts 1:1-11 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So when they met together, they asked him, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them: It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. Men of Galilee, they said, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven. Easter Acclamation P The Lord is risen! C He is risen indeed! Alleluia! P God ascends to His throne. C There are shouts of joy and the blast of trumpets as the Lord goes up. P The Lord is risen indeed! C This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven. P By this we know that we abide in God and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. C And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. P See, I am coming soon," says the Lord. C I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. P Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. C Surely, I am coming soon, says the Lord. P Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! C He has given us of His Spirit. 3
Second Lesson Ephesians 1:16-23 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. Sermon Text John 17:11-19 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. [NKJV] 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. + + + + + ANNOUNCEMENTS Today (5/13) 9:30 am Worship Service 10:45 am Sunday School (Philip & the Ethiopian, NT 36) 10:45 am Bible Class Sunday (5/20) 8:30 am Elders Meeting 9:30 am Worship Service 10:45 am Sunday School (Stephen, NT 37) 10:45 am Bible Class 4
EXTENDED CALENDAR Colorado Springs Worship Service, Sunday, May 27, 2:30 pm West-Central Delegate Conf, Bismarck ND: Tue-Thu, May 29-31 SERVING US AT GOD S HOUSE DURING MAY Ushers: Ed Chiappetti, Larry Reed Elder: Mike Sprengeler Communion Assistant: Ed Chiappetti NEW IN YOUR MAILBOX TODAY St. Paul 2018 Directory Project Kinship Spring Update TRAVEL ALERT: Next Sunday is the date for the 2018 Colfax Marathon. Please take note, as you may need to leave for church earlier than usual due to this event. The Lakewood Police Department has provided access passes for our church members to show police officers at the north entrance point (corner of Wadsworth Blvd and 26th Ave). The passes may be found on the guest register podium. 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). Pastor Schuetze and Don Claeys will serve as representatives of St. Paul at the convention. The dates are June 21-24. Note: The Prospectus may also be accessed online on the CLC Website at this address: www.clclutheran.org. THE WEST-CENTRAL DELEGATE CONFERENCE will be hosted this year by St. Paul Lutheran Church, Bismarck, ND. Pastor Schuetze and Fred Brethauer will serve as representatives of St. Paul at this conference. The dates are May 29-31. CALL NEWS: Kirsten Gullerud, St. Stephen Lutheran, Mountain View CA, has returned the call from Redeemer Lutheran, Cheyenne WY, to serve as a teacher in its school. ++ Mrs. Erin Radichel has accepted the call to teach Kindergarten afternoons at Immanuel Lutheran, Mankato MN. ++ Immanuel Lutheran College teacher graduate Michaela Winters has accepted the call to teach at Messiah Lutheran school, Hales Corners WI. 5
CONCLUDING ACTIVITIES AT IMMANUEL: This Friday (May 18) will be the final day of classes at Immanuel Lutheran High School, College, and Seminary. In giving the Lord God glory for the various achievements by students and student groups, Class Day will be held at 3 pm in the Fieldhouse. The band will play during this event. At 7:30 pm there will be a concert of sacred music sung by the Mass Choir and Tour Choir, held at Messiah Lutheran Church. On Saturday (May 19) there will be the concluding Graduation worship service at 10 am in the Immanuel Fieldhouse. We pray that the students will take what they have learned from the Word of God and treasure the Gospel by expressing their gratitude to the Lord Immanuel in their daily walk with Him (from ILC Board of Regents chairman, Pastor John Hein). + + + Mother s Day Prayer Dear Lord, we thank You for the gift of life You granted us through our mothers. We also thank You for the time and love they have given us during our lives. Bless mothers everywhere with love, patience, understanding and strength to carry out their special work. Lead children everywhere to be thankful for their mothers. Keep families everywhere faithful to Your Word. We pray this for Jesus sake, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, through all eternity. A Christian Mother God gave us a treasure from heaven above This treasure was a mother to guard and to love There s nothing so precious in all the earth Than this dearest woman who gave me my birth When I was a child sitting on her knee Wondrous were the stories she related to me She told me about Jesus and His tender love Of angels guarding us sent from above She told me the story of dark Calvary Where our Savior gave His life for you and me. (author unknown) 6
DAILY BIBLE READINGS FOR HOME DEVOTIONS MAY 14-19 Mon Genesis 45:1-8 Joseph (a true Israelite) was a servant of God, savior of his family and countrymen, and typified Jesus. When he made himself known to his brothers, they were dismayed at his presence. Joseph knew that God had allowed him to be enslaved for the salutary purpose of preserving life by a great deliverance as the Father did with Jesus. Indeed, since God programmed Joseph for the blessing of suffering humanity (7-8), Joseph pre-figured Jesus for God s ancient people Israel. Marvelous. Tues Luke 9:51-56 When the time had come is loaded with meaning, for God s time clock had been set back in Eden, and the hour hand moved a notch as each century passed. Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets had their day, as did the kingdoms of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, and Rome. It was getting late on the clock of salvation, so Jesus headed for Jerusalem and the final count-down. Praise the Lord for His flawless timing! Wed Acts 13:1-12 Meanwhile, God has extended the count-down with battery power that s unique and everlasting. I am referring to the Holy Spirit, who empowered the apostles to leave home, travel to foreign lands, and locate a public official who was under Satan s influence. The Spirit performed a miracle (9-12) that validated the apostles message. Glory be to God! Thurs Psalm 19 Our planet is located in the Goldilocks zone, just at the right distance from the sun, with liquid H 2 O, etc., etc. a miraculous place for life. Actually, the entire Universe is God s miracle (1-4). In addition, God has revealed Himself very precisely in His Word, and that s the tool He uses to impact the human heart (7-11). God deserves some apologies for failures to acknowledge Him as Creator, Preserver, Savior, and Sanctifier (12-14). Fri John 15:26-16:4 Pentecost, the third central festival of the Church Year, has produced major changes in humanity. Jesus sent His Holy Spirit as our Helper, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Godhead (26-27). One of the Spirit s activities is to bolster God s children to face religious ostracism, persecution, and even death (2). Not a big problem for us yet, but in other countries it s a major problem of daily life. Lord, have mercy on them! Sat 1 Peter 4:7-11 Since today may be my/your last day on planet Earth, we should be serious and watchful, devout, warm-hearted, generous, and hospitable (7-9). Why? Because God has given us the precious gift of being able to serve others! Whether we are good at presenting God s Word or good at assisting others to navigate through life, we do what we can with what we have. We do want to glorify God and to serve Jesus, don t we? 7