God s Word Is Our Great Heritage Reformation Sunday October 27 & 28, 2012 1
Ebenezer Lutheran Church Port Hudson The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod 9100 Highway YY Leslie, Missouri Parsonage 573-459-6432 Church 573-459-6431 Rev. William F. Zastrow, Pastor Mary Sprick, Secretary ebenezerlutheran@hotmail.com ebenezerlutheranchurch.wordpress.com Reformation Sunday God s Word is Our Great Heritage AS WE GATHER: Reformation Day is an opportunity to praise God for the gift of the Church. Our Lord promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church. At times in her history it has seemed as if the Lord's promise was in peril. But despite controversy, corruption, challenges from false teachers, financial problems, and all of the other things that continue to assail the Church, still she remains, offering the pure Gospel and the life-giving Sacraments. Though often weak and assailed, the Church lives by the mercy of God, as the Body of Christ in the world---god's people chosen to be a kind of first fruits of God's creatures (Letter of James). "It is taught among us that at all times there must be and remain one holy, Christian church. It is the assembly of all believers among whom the gospel is purely preached and the holy sacraments are administered according to the gospel" (Augsburg Confession, Article VII). Thanks be to God that He so graciously preserves and protects the Church, even in our time, as He did at the time of Dr. Martin Luther! 2
PRAYER BEFORE WORSHIP: Lord God, dear Father, through Your Holy Spirit You have taught and enlightened the hearts of Your believers. Through the same Spirit give us a right understanding, to be glad at all times in His comfort and power, through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. (prayer text by Martin Luther) Amen. OPENING HYMN "God s Word is Our Great Heritage" LW 333 INVOCATION and OPENING SENTENCES In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. People: Amen. Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, praying to Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness. Our Help is in the name of the Lord. People: Who made heaven and earth. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord. People: And You forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, we poor sinners confess unto You that we are by nature sinful and unclean, and that we have sinned against You by thought, word, and deed. Wherefore we flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Thy grace for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. 3
People: O most merciful God, who has given Your only begotten Son to die for us, have mercy upon us and for His sake grant us remission of all our sins; and by the Holy Spirit increase in us true knowledge of You and of Thy will and true obedience to Thy Word, to the end, that by Thy grace we may come to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Almighty God our heavenly Father, has had mercy upon us and has given His only Son to die for us and for His sake forgives us all our sins. To them that believe on His name He gives the power to become sons of God and hath promised them His Holy Spirit. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved. Grant this, Lord, unto us all. People: Amen. INTROIT (read by the Pastor) GLORIA PATRI (Sung) People: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. KYRI (Sung) People: Lord have mercy upon us, 4
Christ have mercy upon us, Lord have mercy upon us. HYMN OF PRAISE Lord Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word LW 334 Lord, keep us steadfast in your Word; Curb those who by deceit or sword Would wrest the kingdom from your Son And bring to nought all he has done. Lord Jesus Christ, your power make known, For you are Loud of lords alone; Defend your holy Church that we May sing your praise triumphantly. O Comforter of priceless worth, Send peace and unity on earth; Support us in our final strife And lead us out of death of life. THE SALUTATION (Sung) People: The Lord be with you. And with your spirit. Almighty and gracious Lord, pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your faithful people. Keep us steadfast in Your grace and truth, protect and deliver us in times of temptation, defend us against all enemies, and grant to Your Church Your saving 5
People: peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. + WORD + FIRST READING Revelation 14:6-7 (An angel proclaims the eternal Gospel of Christ.) This is the Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God. PSALM OF THE DAY Psalm 46 (Be Still and know that I am God) God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in ' trouble. People: Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. People: God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; He utters His voice, the earth melts. 6
People: The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come, behold the works of the Lord, how He has brought desolations on the earth. People: He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the chariots with fire. Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! People: The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. EPISTLE Romans 3:19-28 (We are accountable to God) This is the Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God. ALLELUIA (Sung) All: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE GOSPEL People: Glory be to You, O Lord. (Sung) 7
John 8:31-36 (The truth will set you free.) The Gospel of the Lord. People: Praise be to You, O Christ. (Sung) The Apostles Creed I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen. HYMN "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" LW 298 SERMON OFFERING OFFERTORY (Sung) All: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me, Cast me not away from Your presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. 8
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with Your free spirit. Amen. GENERAL PRAYER THE LORD S PRAYER HYMN "The Church s One Foundation" LW 289 The Collect for the Word People: Blessed Lord, who has caused all Holy Scripture to be written for our learning, grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life which You have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. BENEDICTION People: The Lord bless You and keep You The Lord make His face to shine upon You and be gracious unto You, The Lord lift up his countenance upon You and give You peace. Amen, Amen, Amen. 9
OUR MISSION AND MINISTRY IN OUR PRAYERS: Dear Lord, we pray for the sick and recovering members of our congregation, especially Esther Hoemann, recovering from knee surgery; Eric Hohlt and Wilma Helling, Judy Allmeroth, who will be having knee surgery soon. Jim Kormeier, who will be have more cancer tests this week. We also remember our many shut-ins Rube Deppermann, Yvonne Gleitz, Edna Deppermann, Delores Roehrs, Beth Pelster, Hulda Althage, Adeline Keune, Mathilde Ohse, Ardell Wagner and Ed Gardner, an all those we hold dear in our hearts. We pray for our congregation, that we may be diligent in the work of our Lord in this Church, and joyfully offer the time, talents, and material resources God has supplied to us for the work of His kingdom. We pray for the Church, that we may proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ with boldness and courage and that fear may not distract or dampen the joyful proclamation of the Word of God. We pray for our Missionaries Robin McCoy, that she will remain in good health as she teaches in Bangkok, Thailand; John Strasen and Mike and Cindy Rodewald and family in Africa. We pray for the nations of the world, that peace may reign among the peoples and those who lead us in this and every place, that they may act with the highest moral character and for the justice and freedom of all people. 10
We pray for our many men and women of our Armed Forces stationed around the world and here at home; and the people who respond to emergencies, our law enforcement people, and the firefighters who help protect us. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ To our members and guests who are here for our pork sausage dinner today. We are very glad you are here with us! May the Lord refresh you with peace and love during our worship services. Please join us here at Ebenezer again soon! Please sign the guest register near the front door of the Church with your name, address and Church affiliation. Ebenezer Mission Society will be having a bake sale, pickle and miscellaneous items in our old church basement during the pork sausage dinner. Come on down and look this over. All proceeds go to Ebenezer Mission Society mission projects. The Quarterly Voter s Meeting was held this past Monday evening. Highlights of the meeting will be in the November newsletter. A Note from our Voter s Meeting Our paved parking lots are a blessing, but they require regular maintenance. This year we have spent almost $6,000 repairing, re-sealing and re-striping them. If you would like to make a contribution specifically for this, please put it in a plain envelope marked Parking Lot Fund and drop it in the offering plate. Thank you! 11
The Evangelism Committee has set up an area in the back of Church, where you can put food items or donate money for the Leslie Food Pantry. We will still have an Ingathering for the Food Pantry at our Thanksgiving services. The Congregation is invited to help decorate our Church for Christmas holidays on Sunday, November 25 th. We will have a chili lunch right after Church before we begin decorating. Hope you can help! Fundraiser for Youth Ministry St. Paul Lutheran Church in Union will have an All You Can Eat Community Turkey Dinner on Sunday, November 11 th Serving from 11 AM to 2 PM. Please see the poster on our bulletin board near the Church entrance. Immanuel Lutheran Church in Washington will have their 70 th Annual Men s Club Pork Sausage and Sauerkraut Dinner on Sunday, November 4, 2012 serving from 11 AM to 6 PM. Please see the poster on our bulletin board near the entrance to our Church. The New Haven Community Christmas Concert will be held December 2 nd at 3 PM at the E & R Church in New Haven. Several of our members will be singing with the choir at the concert. There are several copies of the latest newsletters from the Rodewalds and from Robin McCoy on the table near the Church entrance. 12
Ladies Our Altar Guild here at Ebenezer is still looking for more ladies to help. You only serve one month out of the year. If anyone would like to help us by serving our Church in this way, please contact Mary Sprick. Ladies Aid For over 80 years our Ladies have been meeting to serve our congregation, community, and missions through Ebenezer Ladies Aid. Although most of our ladies are older we have a great time in fellowship on the first Friday of every month in fellowship. Pastor has a Bible topic and the ladies conduct a short business meeting. The ladies always have a delicious dessert after their meeting. Please come this Friday, November 2 at 1:30 PM in our fellowship hall. All ladies are welcome to attend. 13
Those Serving Today Organist Saturday Organist Sunday Head Usher Saturday Head Usher Sunday Altar Guild Acolytes Bell Ringer Laura Nichols Ruth Marschel Tracey Bade Marvin Kassebaum Diane Nicks and Judy Allmeroth Katelyn Bopp and Justine Huellinghoff Paul Kassebaum Our Offerings in Response to Christ s Grace: Our giving last week: Weekly envelopes $ 973.00 Plate 136.50 Sunday School 18.00 Walnut sales 22.26 $1,149.76 14
Worship Attendance: Attendance Saturday 45 Attendance Sunday 65 Total 110 Sunday School Attendance: Adults 18 Children 4 This Week at Ebenezer Monday Pork Sausage dinner clean-up 9:00 AM Wednesday Confirmation 6:30 PM Thursday Friday Saturday We The People Bible Study 10:00 AM Adult Confirmation Class 7:00 PM Ladies Aid 1:30 PM Worship with Holy Communion 5:00 PM 15