The Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost November 6, 2016 Saint James Evangelical Lutheran Church 460 West Annapolis Street - West Saint Paul, MN 55118 Church Office: (651) 457-9232 Fax: (651) 457-1893 www.saintjameslutheran.com stjlc@saintjameslutheran.com facebook.com/stjwsp @stjameswsp Pastor Michael Albrecht 651-457-6796 malbrecht@saintjameslutheran.com Pastor Dale Critchley 651-689-3253 dcritchley@saintjameslutheran.com Terese Thune Youth Director 651-336-2117 tthune@saintjameslutheran.com Pastor Ralph Rokke 651-457-3955 rrokke@saintjameslutheran.com Pastor Richard Stadler 651-338-8621 rstadler@saintjameslutheran.com Shirley Hess Parish Nurse 651-210-3380 pnstjlc@saintjameslutheran.com
WELCOME TO WORSHIP! Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost November 6, 2016 THE TITLE FOR TODAY S SERMON IS: When Everything Crumbles. When everything falls apart around you, when you have nothing left, is it possible to feel blessed in the middle of that? GUESTS AND VISITORS, we are delighted that you are worshiping with us today! Please take a moment to fill out a Welcome, Guest card which is available in the pew racks and place it in the offering. For every guest who completes this form, Saint James will donate $5 to the Neighbor s Food Shelf. Also, stop by the Visitor Welcome Center as you leave and pick up a small gift. Thank you for coming, and please come back and visit again soon. You are always welcome here at Saint James. LARGE PRINT COPIES OF THE SERVICE ARE AVAILABLE IN THE NARTHEX. SPECIAL POCKET HEARING SYSTEMS are available from the ushers for anyone desiring an amplified broadcast of the service. PREPARING FOR WORSHIP Read Psalm 148. What distracts you from praising the Lord? What would your list of praises include? Take some time to praise God for His goodness to sinful people. THE NURSERY is not staffed but is available for parents who have young children who become noisy or restless during the service. We are thankful for families who teach their children to worship by bringing them to church. When your little ones become noisy, feel free to take them to the narthex or the nursery to settle them down. The service can be seen and heard on TV in both locations. 2
THE ORDER OF SERVICE PRELUDE: Aria Jan Bender/Flor Peeters SUNDAY SCHOOL PROCESSION: (10:30) Be Like a Tree GATHERING HYMN: Christian Worship #235 Praise the Almighty; My Soul, Adore Him Those able, please stand for final stanza PASTORAL GREETING Pastor Critchley INVOCATION PERSECUTED CHURCH LITANY P: O God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth, have mercy upon us, C: O God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth, have mercy upon us. P: O God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy upon us, C: O God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy upon us. P: O God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the Faithful, have mercy upon us, C: O God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the Faithful, have mercy upon us. P: O holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, three persons and one God, have mercy upon us. C: O holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, three persons and one God, have mercy upon us. P: Lest we forget your own persecution and death upon the cross for the redemption of your servants. C: Activate us, O Persecuted Lamb of God. P: Lest we forget the crushing grief of your mother, Mary, sorrowing before the cross at your bloody sweat and agony, C: In your mercy activate us, O Lord. P: Lest we forget how your holy apostles, bereft of their master, walked in fear while they awaited your Holy Spirit, the Comforter, C: In your mercy activate us, O Lord. P: Lest we forget John the Baptist, who proclaimed you Lamb of God to the world, C: In your mercy activate us, O Lord. P: Lest we forget your martyr Stephen, crying out to you to forgive his persecutors as they stoned him to death, C: In your mercy activate us, O Lord. P: Lest we forget your apostles who died for preaching your Gospel, C: In your mercy activate us, O Lord. P: Lest we forget all the saints and martyrs who served you faithfully throughout the ages, C: In your mercy activate us, O Lord. P: To your glorious Resurrection, P: To the truth of your Holy Word, 3
P: To your saving grace, P: To your living presence, P: To your loving arms, P: To the balm of your mercy, P: To your brilliant light, P: To your comforting Spirit, P: To your faithful service, P: We beseech thee to help us to love the Holy Trinity with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind and with all our strength, C: We appeal to you, good Lord. P: Help us to love our neighbor as ourselves, C: We appeal to you, good Lord. P: Help us to pray for and sustain your persecuted Church, wherever it is called upon to suffer for you, C: We appeal to you, good Lord. P: Help us to love the enemies of your Church and to pray for their conversion, C: We appeal to you, good Lord. P: Help us to witness to your truth with strong voices, in the conduct of our daily lives and against all adversity, C: We appeal to you, good Lord. P: From all thoughts of vengeance, P: From all thoughts and deeds of violence, especially against the weak, the unborn and the defenseless, P: From all thoughts of hatred and malice, P: From all unkindness, uncaring and uncharitableness, P: From hypocrisy and pride, P: From hardness of heart, greed and neglect of our persecuted brethren, P: From lack of courage in defending your Church and Holy Word, P: From failing to show mercy and forgiveness to others, P: From false doctrine, false prophets, half heartedness and backsliding, P: From failure to forbear slander, imprisonment and pain for your sake; from denial of your name and Gospel in the face of death, P: Upon Christian women, widowed in acts of persecution and children orphaned in the same, C: Have mercy, O Lord. 4
P: Upon your people made sick, starving, or deprived from your Holy Supper by persecution, C: Have mercy, O Lord. P: Upon your servants forced into slavery, captivity and exile through the evil of others, C: Have mercy, O Lord. P: Upon your people turned to anger from witnessing vile acts of violence against their loved ones, C: Have mercy, O Lord. P: Upon all those who commit grievous sins against your faithful through hatred, contempt or ignorance of Your Holy Word, C: Have mercy, O Lord. P: We appeal to you, Gracious Father, Fount of all Love, heal and protect your divided and persecuted Church, C: We appeal to you, Gracious Father, Fount of all Love, heal and protect your divided and persecuted Church. P: We appeal to you, Holy Redeemer, to forgive the sins of your poor servants, C: We appeal to you, Holy Redeemer, to forgive the sins of your poor servants. P: We appeal to you, Holy Spirit, Comforter of the afflicted, assist and strengthen those who are oppressed for their Christian faith, C: We appeal to you, Holy Spirit, Comforter of the afflicted, assist and strengthen those who are oppressed for their Christian faith. P: Lamb of God, have mercy upon us, C: Lamb of God, have mercy upon us. P: O Christ hear us, C: O Christ hear us. P: O Christ arise and help us, C: O Christ arise and help us. C: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. P: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, C: Amen. P: Blessed Savior, you taught that it is a blessed thing when men revile us, persecute us and say all manner of evil against us falsely for your sake. Grant us the courage to be steadfast in our faith in you in the face of all evil and danger. Keep us constant in our worship and fervent in our praise. Take away all fear of dying for your sake and fill our hearts with joy at your promise of a great reward in Heaven; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, now and forever. C: Amen. Please be seated 5
PRAYER OF THE DAY & COMMEMORATION OF ETERNAL CORONATIONS Today we remember these loved ones who have died since All Saints Day last year: Alice Hinnenthal December 14, 2015 Harry Hansen May 9, 2016 Martin Mollenkamp December 15, 2015 Alice Krengel May 11, 2016 Claude Anderson December 31, 2015 Emmett Parker May 17, 2016 Lorraine Ducklinsky January 26, 2016 David Miller May 18, 2016 Cary Halverson February 15, 2016 David Erickson June 1, 2016 David Morgan March 1, 2016 Phyllis Grolla July 29, 2016 Sylvia Weerts April 3, 2016 Thomas Metzen Sr. August 10, 2016 Helen Ricketts April 11, 2016 Darleen Ohmann September 12, 2016 Steven Olson April 22, 2016 We can often feel overwhelmed with the chaos around us, but God is with us and will carry us through it until the struggle is a distant memory for eternity. FIRST READING: Revelation 7:9-17 9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen. 13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come? 14 I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Reading Response P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God! ANTHEM: (10:30) Jerusalem, My Happy Home Schulz0Widmar The true lasting unconditional love of Christ makes no sense in our performance driven world. But when we focus on the work of Christ on our behalf, we find hope and peace. THE EPISTLE LESSON: 1 John 3:1-3 1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. Reading Response P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God! VERSE: Christian Worship, page 40 6
THE GOSPEL LESSON: Matthew 5:1-12 1 Seeing the crowds, [Jesus] went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Gospel Response P: This is the Gospel of the Lord. C: Praise to You, O Christ! HYMN OF THE DAY: LSB #982 Blest Are They Those able, please stand Jesus promises we ll have trouble in this world. It s a strange marketing technique! Yet we re assured that He will use our struggles to bring blessing to us and to others through us. Please be seated Children are invited to come forward during the hymn for the Children s Message. 1985 GIA Publications, Inc. Used by permission: CCLI, no. 272318. 7
SERMON: Text: Matthew 5:1-12 Theme: When Everything Crumbles Those able, please kneel CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION P: We kneel before the throne of God with the saints of old, confessing our sin and clinging to the righteousness, the purity of Christ. C: Heavenly Father, we are Your children now, yet we daily tarnish the family name with our sin. We trust worldly wisdom. We re selective with mercy. We sow conflict. Our hearts are anything but pure. But salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, so for the sake of the Lamb of God Who was slain, we pray: have mercy on us. P: See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. God loves us not for our purity, but for the pure, innocent suffering and death of Christ on our behalf. Therefore, as a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all your sin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen! Those able, please stand NICENE CREED: Christian Worship, page 31 Please be seated Give online at give.4gvn.us You can find step by step directions in the I Give Online card available in the pew racks. OFFERING: Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your income. Proverbs 3:9 OFFERTORY: O Sacred Head Now Wounded Bach Those able, please stand HYMN OF REDEDICATION: LSB #828 We Are Called to Stand Together Please be seated 30 HOUR FAMINE PRESENTATION PRAYER FOR OURSELVES AND OTHERS LORD S PRAYER 8
FIRST BLESSING LITURGY OF THE SACRAMENT: Christian Worship, pages 21-23 The Sacrament of the Altar is a special blessing for God s people: our sins are forgiven, our faith is strengthened, and our resolve to live for the Lord is renewed. We believe the word of Jesus that under the bread and the wine we receive the Real Presence of our Savior, His Body and His Blood, for the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. All who are baptized and confirmed and confess this understanding of the Lord s Supper are welcome to receive the sacrament with us. We enjoy fellowship in a close communion with each other as we receive the Body and Blood of our Lord together. Visitors who wish to continue to commune with us on a regular basis, or those who have questions are encouraged to speak with one of the pastors. Parents are welcome to bring their non-confirmed children with them to the altar. The pastor will pronounce a blessing on them. Parents should instruct such unconfirmed children not to stand on the cushions and to keep their hands folded, so the pastor will know who should not receive the sacrament. DISTRIBUTION HYMNS (10:30) Saint James Choir: Lord of Mercy, Lord of Grace Pethel I Then Shall Live Those able, please stand Non-alcoholic white wine is available in each tray for anyone who prefers it. Gluten-free wafers are also available. To indicate that you prefer gluten-free, please raise your index finger when the wafers are brought to you. Please be seated None CCLI Song No. 19643 1981 William J. Gaither, Inc. ARR UBP of Gaither Copyright ManagementGloria Gaither Jean SibeliusFor use solely with the SongSelect Terms of Use. All rights Reserved. www.ccli.comccli License No. 11018860 Christian Worship #551 For All the Saints 9
POST-COMMUNION THANKSGIVING: Christian Worship, page 24 Those able, please stand BENEDICTION POSTLUDE: Rise Up, O Saints of God! Rick Seaton Acknowledgments: Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Created by Lutheran Service Builder 2006 Concordia Publishing House. 10
SERVING IN OUR WORSHIP TODAY Pastor Dale Critchley (preaching) Pastor Ralph Rokke Choir Director and Organist: Tom Rowland Saint James Choir Ushers: (8:00) Bill Grabuski and Team #1 (10:30) Steve Lehmann and Team #2 Audio Video Team: Hannah Critchley, Sharon Ferrara, Glenn & Wendy Gatzke, Jerry Hinz, Len & Diane Munson, Jerry Peterson, Becky Martinez, Lorna Redding, Michael Schroeder, Leif Thune and Gil Ude Screen Slide Production: Ami Heesch SAINT JAMES FOUNDATION Remember the Foundation in your will your gift can make a difference for generations to come. Suggested Wording: In thanks to God for the gift of His Son Jesus, and for all His blessings to me in my lifetime, I gift and bequeath to Saint James Lutheran Church Foundation at 460 West Annapolis Street, West Saint Paul, MN 55118 the amount of $ or (specify the asset.). PEOPLE TO PRAY FOR Let us remember to pray for some of our veteran members: Bill Rahn, Laverne Smith, Don Stephan, Irene Steenberg, Gil Ude MISSIONS TO PRAY FOR This week please pray for The Lutheran Heritage Foundation, as they translate Lutheran theological works into 88 different languages, publishing and introducing them into 70 countries around the world. FLOWERS The flowers behind the crucifix are given in loving thanksgiving and celebration for our precious November Roses, especially our littlest, Alice Rose, on her first birthday. The flowers in the chancel vases are given in loving memory of Lester and Rosemary Vanda, provided by Ken and Mary Kay Noack. Stewardship Thought O God, Thou hast given so much to us, give one thing more grateful hearts. Amen. (Contributed by a Saint James member) Living as a Local Missionary If your workplace has sports or other activities available, get involved. If you re not athletic, help with the planning or just come to cheer on your coworkers. If you would like to order FLOWERS to be placed in the chancel, please contact Altar Guild Flower Chairwoman Kathy Stadler at 651-450-6452 or stadlerek@comcast.net. 11
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