Faith-Filled Women, Faithful God Mother s Day 7 th Sunday of Easter May 7 & May 8, 2016 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 AS WE GATHER: Thank God for mothers! The celebration of Mother s Day is not part of the traditional Church Year calendar. Rather, it is an informal celebration that presents an opportunity to give thanks to God for His gift of mothers. In observing the day, we are connected with the biblical record of mothers and grandmothers and are reminded that motherhood is a special vocation. Although the customary celebration of Mother s Day is focused on family relationships, we can extend our gratitude to God for His faithfulness to all the faithful women who have been blessings in every generation. PRAYER BEFORE WORSHIP: Now thank we all our God With hearts and hands and voices, Who wondrous things has done, In whom His world rejoices; Who from our mothers arms Has blest us on our way With countless gifts of love
And still is ours today THE DIVINE SERVICE HYMN Now Thank We All Our God LW 443 INVOCATION In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. HOLY BAPTISM (Sunday) Bryce Matthew Eckelkamp page 199 OPENING SENTENCES Proverbs 1:7 9; 15:33 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Hear, my son, your father s instruction, and forsake not your mother s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor. CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Let us now make confession of our sins to God, our heavenly Father. 2
Merciful Lord, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean, undeserving of Your mercy. We admit that we have sinned against You in countless ways. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; we have done those things we ought not to have done. We have not always been the family members we could be, taking for granted the gifts that come to us through our mothers and other Christian women. We have not always given our family lives the priority they should have and have been thoughtless in our words and careless in our deeds. We sincerely repent of our sins and humbly ask Your grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. By the renewing work of the Holy Spirit, lead us to change what is sinful in our lives that each day we may grow in righteousness and godly living to the glory of Your holy name. God has promised forgiveness to those who repent and turn to Him in contrition. In kindness and love, He promises pardon, life, and salvation because of the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, I forgive you of all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. As you believe, so may it be. Amen. INTROIT Psalm 149:2 4; antiphon: v. 1 3
Men: Women: Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, His praise in the assembly of the godly! Let Israel be glad in his Maker;let the children of Zion rejoice in their King! Let them praise His name with dancing, making melody to Him with tambourine and lyre! For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with salvation. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, His praise in the assembly of the godly! KYRIE (The congregation s responses are sung to the tune FRANCONIA LW 228) In peace, let us pray to the Lord. People (Sung): Your mercy show us, Lord. Oh, hear us as we pray. Unto us grant Your mercy, Lord, Your peace at end of day. For the peace from above and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord. People (Sung): Your mercy show us, Lord. Oh, hear us as we pray. Unto us grant Your mercy, Lord, Your peace at end of day. 4
For the peace of the whole world, for the wellbeing of the Church of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord. People (Sung): Your mercy show us, Lord. Oh, hear us as we pray. Unto us grant Your mercy, Lord, Your peace at end of day. For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord. People (Sung): Your mercy show us, Lord. Oh, hear us as we pray. Unto us grant Your mercy, Lord, Your peace at end of day. Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord. Amen. HYMN OF PRAISE For All the Faithful Women HS98 880 To all the faithful women Who served in days of old To You shall thanks be given; To all their story told. They served with strength and gladness In tasks Your wisdom gave To You their lives bore witness, Proclaimed Your power to save. All praise to God the Father! All praise to Christ the Son! All praise, the Holy Spirit, Who binds the Church as one! With saints who went before us, 5
With saints who witness still We sing glad alleluias And strive to do Your will. SALUTATION The Lord be with you. And also with you. PRAYER OF THE DAY Let us pray. Almighty God, it is by Your grace that we are nurtured and grow. Look with favor upon Your people as they live out their callings to Your glory. Bless all mothers, grandmothers, greatgrandmothers, and aunts as they give expression to their faith in You through the witness of their words and the testimony of their lives. Give courage, patience, and strength to all who have special vocations of care and responsibility that Your people may know peace and joy in every generation. This we ask for the sake of Jesus, our Savior. Amen. OLD TESTAMENT READING 1 Samuel 2:1 10 (Hannah cares for her child, Samuel.) This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. CANTICLE HS98 880 6
To Hannah, praying childless Before the throne of grace, You gave a son whose service Would be before your face. Grant us her perseverance; Lord, teach us how to pray, To trust in your deliverance When darkness hides our way. For mothers in your service We praise You, Fount of grace! You give them children precious To nurture in Your place. Grant them bold perseverance To stand firm in Your Way And trust in Your deliverance As for their homes they pray. EPISTLE 2 Timothy 1:1 7 (Paul reminds Timothy of his faithful upbringing.) This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. CANTICLE My Soul Rejoices HS98, p. 19 HOLY GOSPEL John 19:25 27 (Jesus commends His mother to His disciple s care.) The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the nineteenth chapter. Glory to You, O Lord. (The Gospel is read.) 7
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to You, O Christ. CANTICLE HS98 880 We sing of Mary, mother, Fair maiden, full of grace. She bore the Christ, our brother, Who came to save our race. May we, with her, surrender Ourselves to your command, And lay up on your altar Our gifts of heart and hand. 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 OF THE DAY Sing Praise to God, the Highest Good LW 452 Sing praise to God, the highest good, 8
SERMON The author of creation, The God of love who understood Our need for his salvation. With healing balm our souls he fills And every faithless murmur stills: To God all praise and glory! All who confess Christ s holy name, Give God the praise and glory. Let all who know his power proclaim Aloud the wondrous story. Cast every idol from its throne, For God is God, and he alone: To God all praise and glory! OFFERING OFFERTORY Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me, Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free spirit. Amen. PRAYER OF THE CHURCH LORD S PRAYER (Matthew 6:9 13) HYMN We Thank You, Lord, for Mothers HS98 880 We thank You, Lord, for mothers 9
Who Your great kindness share Through loving deeds for others As emblems of Your care. May we true honor show them And joyfully express That they are gifts among us To cherish and to bless. Text: Gregory J. Wismar. 2015 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Tune: KUORTANE, Finnish, 19th cent. Public domain. CLOSING COLLECT 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 Thy 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 Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen. BENEDICTION The LORD bless you and keep you. The LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The LORD look upon you with favor and give you peace. Numbers 6:24 26 Amen. 10
CLOSING HYMN Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow LW 461 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below; Praise him above, O heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost Our Mission and Ministry We welcome our members and guests who are here with s today. May the Lord refresh you with peace and love during our worship service on this Seventh Sunday of Easter. Please join us here at Ebenezer again soon! Please sign the guest register near the front entrance with your name, address, and Church affiliation. Welcome to the Family: We welcome Bryce Matthew Eckelkamp to our Christian family and to Ebenezer Lutheran Church through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Bryce is the son of Sarah and Doug Eckelkamp and the brother of Jake. Bryce was born on March 29, 2016. Sponsors are Brian Brune and Becky Brune. May God bless the Eckelkamp family as they grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We will have a short meeting right after Church this morning to discuss our plans for a Church Picnic. Please stay for this important meeting. News from Camp Trinity: Camp Trinity will be hosting its Annual Shamrock Day June 4th. It is great fun for the whole family. The day will begin at 8 a.m. with a 5K Cross Country Race and 1 Mile Fun Run. There will be a Fishing Derby & Sand Castle Building Competition, followed by a Devotional 11
Awards Ceremony lead by Pastor David Preus, LCMS Missionary in the Dominican Republic. BBQ lunch will be served from 11:30-2:00 p.m. All are welcome to stay around for the afternoon and enjoy the pool, canoes, hiking trails, Bounce House, etc. Call (573)237-2072 or email camptrinity73@yahoo.com for more information or visit Camp Trinity's website http://www.camptrinity.org./ Register by May 20th for early bird discount. There are registration forms on the table at the back of Church. Wednesday Morning and Evening Bible Study We will resume Bible study on Wednesday, May 11 at 10:00 AM and 7:00 PM. Last week we had the introduction to the Ten Commandments and next week we discuss in depth the First Commandment. Please come even if you missed the first session, since each class will be on one commandment and you won t feel left out or have to catch up. Members have asked Pastor if he could have also an evening Bible Class on the 10 commandments based on Luther s Small Catechism. The study will be called the Big Ten. Pastor will be using slides and videos along with the Small Catechism and materials from Catechetical Helps by Rev. Erwin Kirth. Volunteers Needed On Sunday, May 22 nd we will have an afternoon of making decorations for our Vacation Bible School. This will be held right after Church with a lunch provided. Volunteers are needed for this fun, helpful event!! The Ebenezer Mission Society will meet Tuesday, May 17 th at 7:30 PM. Please note the change of date. All women of the congregation are invited to join in learning and discussing our mission projects. 12
Those Serving Today Organist Saturday Organist Sunday Head Usher Saturday Head Usher Sunday Altar Guild Acolytes Bell Ringer Laura Nichols Ruth Marschel Tracey Bade Lee Kassebaum Barb Gilbert and Mary Adams Kayleigh Crego Danielle Gerding Paige Thurmond Cody Adams Offerings and Attendance Weekly Contributions $1,956.00 Plate 417.75 Sunday School 28.91 Recycle 51.75 $2,454.41 Attendance: Saturday Worship 58 Sunday Worship 114 Sunday School Attendance: Children 10 Adults 19 This Week at Ebenezer Wednesday Saturday Bible Study 10:00 AM and 7:00 PM Worship with Holy Communion 5:00 PM 13
You re invited... June 4 Camp Trinity New Haven, MO Annual Shamrock Day 5K Race, 1 Mile Fun Run/Walk 8:00 a.m. Fishing Derby & Sand Castle Building 9:30 a.m. (BBQ Lunch is part of registration for derby and race participants) Swimming, Canoeing, Bounce House Nature Crafts Free Snow Cones Softball Tournament Hiking Hayrides (Friday night) BBQ 11:30a.m.-2p.m.($8 adults $4 children (under 10)) Rest and Relaxation in God s Beautiful Creation! For more info email camptrinity73@yahoo.com Or Call (573)237-2072 Thank You: We wish to thank all who helped with our Ascension service and dinner, especially the Sunday School Teachers, Board of Education and the Board of Elders. 14
WE WISH ALL OF OUR MOTHERS A BLESSED AND HAPPY MOTHER S DAY! 15