We Are God s Children

We Are God s Children Peace Lutheran Church 2090 Commerce Drive North Mankato, MN 56003

Peace Lutheran Church Evangelical Lutheran Synod Serving Christ with united hearts and hands and voices Pastor Timothy Hartwig Church Office: 507-385-1386 Cell Phone: 507-382-6826 Email: pastorhartwig@gmail.com Jesus Lambs at Peace Preschool Teacher/Director: Joslyn Moldstad Phone: 507-385-7752 Email: joslynm@chartermi.net May 31, 2015 Divine Service Sunday 9:00 AM & Wednesday 6:30 PM First Sunday after Pentecost The Holy Trinity Welcome to Peace! The purpose of our congregation is to worship God, who gives life through Word and Sacrament; to serve one another in love and fellowship; and to proclaim forgiveness and salvation to all through Jesus Christ alone. Before Worship As you prepare to worship your Lord today, spend a few quiet minutes in prayer before the service. Review the lessons, the service notes, and pray this prayer: Prayer of the Day Almighty God and Father, dwelling in majesty and mystery, filling and renewing all creation by Your eternal Spirit, and manifesting Your saving grace through our Lord Jesus Christ: in mercy cleanse our hearts and lips that, free from doubt and fear, we may ever worship You, one true immortal God, with Your Son and the Holy Spirit, living and reigning, now and forever. Amen. For the Children A Cry-Room is available if your little ones need a moment. It is the first room on the left as you walk into the church building. Sound and video are piped into the room to enable you to hear and see the service. Facilities Restrooms are located down the hall and on the right side. 2

The Divine Service Rite 1, p. 41 Opening Prayer P: O Lord, our Maker, Redeemer, and Comforter, we are assembled in Your presence to hear Your holy Word. We pray You to open our hearts by Your Holy Spirit, that through the preaching of Your Word we may be taught to repent of our sins, to believe on Jesus in life and death, and to grow day by day in grace and holiness. Hear us for Christ s sake. Amen. Hymn #15, Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty The Confession of Sin P: Let us bow before the Lord and confess our sins. 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. Therefore we flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Your grace, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. C: O most merciful God, You have 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 Your Holy Spirit increase in us a true knowledge of You, and of Your will and true obedience to Your Word, to the end that by Your grace we may come to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. The Kyrie Eleison (Lord, have mercy) 3

The Absolution P: Lift up your hearts unto God! 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 all who believe on His name He gives power to become the children of God, and has promised them His Holy Spirit. He who believes and is baptized will be saved. Grant this, Lord, unto us all. Amen. The Gloria in Excelsis Deo (Glory to God in the Highest) P: Glory be to God in the highest. 4

5

The Salutation The Collect P: Let us pray one God, now and forever. The Lesson Isaiah 6:1-8 1 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. 2 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. 3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 "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." 6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." 6

8 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!" The Epistle Romans 8:14-17 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 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." 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17 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. The Holy Gospel John 3:1-17 P: The Holy Gospel for the First Sunday after Pentecost, The Holy Trinity, is written in the 3 rd chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, beginning at the 1 st verse. 1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 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." 3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." 4 "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!" 5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' 8 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." 9 "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked. 10 "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? 11 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. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven-- the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 16 "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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 7

The Athanasian Creed P: This creed is named after St. Athanasius, a staunch defender of the Christian faith in the fourth century. It was prepared to assist the Church in combating two errors that undermined Bible teaching. One error denied that God's Son and the Holy Spirit are of one being or Godhead with the Father. The other error denied that Jesus Christ is true God and true man In one person. The Athanasian Creed continues to serve the Christian Church as a standard of the truth. It declares that whoever rejects the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of Christ is without the saving faith. C: 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. 8

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. 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 one 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. 9

This is the true Christian faith. Whoever does not faithfully and firmly believe this cannot be saved. Hymn #404, The Lord, My God, Be Praised The Sermon Romans 8:14-17 We Are God s Children P: The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto everlasting life. Amen. The Prayer of the Church P: Everlasting and merciful God, we beseech You in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: C: To have mercy upon us and to hear our prayer. P: Look in mercy upon Your Church. Protect it and sanctify it by Your truth. May Your Word be taught in its purity and Your Sacraments be rightly administered. Grant unto Your Church faithful pastors who shall declare Your truth with power and shall live according to Your will. Send forth laborers into Your harvest and open the door of faith unto all unbelievers and unto the people of Israel. In mercy remember the enemies of Your Church and grant to them repentance unto life. C: O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, hear us in the truth of Your salvation. P: Let Your protecting hand be over our country and over all who travel. Prosper what is good among us and bring to naught every evil counsel and purpose. Protect and bless Your servants, the President of the United States, the Governor of this state, our judges and magistrates and all in authority. Fit them for their high calling by the gift of Your Spirit of wisdom and fear, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. C: Hear, O Lord, and have mercy! Lord be our helper. P: According to Your promise, O God, be the defender of the widow and the father of the orphan. Relieve and comfort the sick and the sorrowful (especially our brother/sister who is ill/grieving). Graciously help those who are assaulted by the devil and who are in peril of death. Be the strength of those who are suffering for the sake of Christ s holy name. Grant that we may live together in peace and prosperity. Bestow upon us good and seasonable weather; and bless us with upright Christian counsel in all that we undertake. C: O Lord, be with all in trouble. Hear their prayers to the honor of Your Name. P: We especially commend to Your care and keeping this Your congregation which You have bought with a great price. Keep from us all offenses and bind us together in the unity of Your holy love. Grant that the little ones who are baptized in Your 10

name may be brought up in Your fear. At Your table give to those who there commune with You peace and life everlasting. C: Let all rejoice who trust in You; let them shout for joy because You defend them. P: Be merciful, O God, to all, according to Your great love in Christ Jesus, our Lord. When our final hour shall come, grant us a blessed departure from this world, and on the last day, a resurrection to Your glory. C: Amen. Grant us Your peace, O Lord! The Lord s Prayer 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. The Apostolic Benediction P: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. We Bring Our Offerings The members of Peace Lutheran Congregation have joined together to do the Lord s work in this community and around the world. Visitors need not feel obligated to participate in this offering which supports our ministry. And my God will meet your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 Offertory: "Holy Is the Lord" by Franz Schubert Holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord. Holy, holy, holy, holy is the Lord. Holy is the Father, holy is the Son. Holy is the Spirit; blessed Three in One. Please fill out the Friendship Register. Hymn #174, Children of the Heavenly Father The Collect P: We thank You, Almighty God, that You have built Your Church upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Head Cornerstone. Grant that we may be joined together in unity of spirit by their doctrine, that we 11

may be made a holy temple acceptable unto You, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. The Benediction P: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. The Closing Hymn #589, Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Thy Word The Closing Prayer P: O Lord, we render unto You our heartfelt thanks that You have taught us what You would have us believe and do. Help us, O God, by Your Holy Spirit, for the sake of Jesus Christ, to keep Your Word in pure hearts, that we thereby may be strengthened in faith, perfected in holiness, and comforted in life and death. Amen. 12

Thank you to those who served in our service today: Offertory: Susan Lepak; Organist: Aaron Ferkenstad; The ushers; Cover Artwork: Don Moldstad. To God be the Glory! Announcements Pastor Hartwig will be on vacation June 1-11. If you are in need of pastoral assistance during his absence please contact Rev. Paul Fries at (507)381-6807. Mr. Matt Behmer has been assigned to Peace as a vicar for the next year. Vicar Behmer will be installed during the worship service on June 14 th. Are you signed up for VBS yet??????? Inviting all campers ages 4 through going-to-be 6th graders to come to Camp Discovery at Peace, June 17-19, from 9am-2pm. We are planning a fantastic camp experience with lively songs, tasty snacks, super crafts, exciting games, and the most important part GOD S LIVING WORD. Grab an extra registration form for a friend who doesn t have a church. You won t want to miss these three fun days! Cost is $5 per participant. Registration forms are on the bulletin board in the narthex. Deadline is June 1, 2015. We cannot guarantee a t-shirt after this date. Sign up today! HELP NEEDED: We need lots of adults and high school aged youth to help supervise children during VBS. Be a part of these awesome three days for our church. Volunteer yourself today by talking to Denice Woller or Kristen Lukasek. ITEMS NEEDED ON LOAN: We need your small to medium artificial Christmas trees. Clearly label your tree (and your box) and put it in the cry room. We also need hammers - clearly labeled. We will give them back after VBS week. If you are able to loan either a tree or hammer, please let Denice know 351-5472 or dwoller@blc.edu. They don t need to be at church until June 15. DONATIONS NEEDED: We need your old neckties and buttons for a craft project. So clean out your closets and put those old neckties to a good cause! Finally, we are looking for scrap wood that is at least 1 foot long and 6 inches wide and 1 inch thick. Please bring any donations to the church office as soon as possible. (These will not be returned) Thank you! 13

FAMILY CAMPOUT - VBS FINALE: Friday night, June 19 th Come back for a bonfire, s mores, and campout?!?! 5:30 Cook-out! Bring your hotdogs/brats, buns and a dish to pass. Lemonade, water, condiments, and s more fixings provided. (throw in extra chairs, blankets, bug spray, and roasting sticks) 6:30 Sing around the campfire VBS kids will start off the singing Optional family campout following campfire fellowship Peace is looking for a new Music Coordinator. If you are interested in this position, please contact Pastor Hartwig. Softball season is here! Their next game will be a double-header tomorrow at Caswell Park, N. Mankato, on field 1 @ 6:15pm and field 2 @ 7:15pm. Their record is 2-2. There are copies of this season s softball schedule on the bulletin board if you would like to have one. Please come, cheer on our team, and enjoy the wonderful fellowship! If anyone is interested in having a garden plot on the church property, or if you have any questions about having a garden here, please contact Jim Howson at 507-384-1030. Don t know what to do with the kids during the summer? Bring them to the park! The Moms On a Mission (M.O.M.s) group has set up park playdates on Wednesday mornings for the summer months. All are welcome (even dads)!!! Join us Wednesdays, starting June 3, from 9-11:30am, bring a picnic lunch if you like. Come and go as you please. We will be rotating a different park each month. June is Alexander Park, July is Sibley Park, and August is Spring Lake Park. There a few field trip playdates, too. Wednesday, July 15, we will play at Treemendous Park in St. Peter, and Wednesday, August 5, we will have some beach fun at Hinniker Pond in North Mankato. If weather is rainy, playdate is cancelled. Come when you can! Questions? Contact Kristen Lukasek 507-382-7963 or mattlukasek@yahoo.com. Camp Indianhead, July 5-10. Cost is $270. The forms are available on the bulletin board in the narthex. Registration deadline is June 7 th. For bus transportation contact Lance Johnson at 507-720-2130 or ljohnson1@blc.edu. LYA 2015 Register online at www.els.org/youth. Cost is $250 before June 1 st, $300 after that. Registration closes on June 30 th. To watch our services live, go to: www.peacemankato.com/live-streaming. The service will start automatically when it is live (9:00AM). For recorded services, go to www.vimeo.com/peacemankato and you can choose which service you want to watch. 14

Last week at Peace: Divine Worship 147 Did you know it takes on average 120 hours a week of volunteer time to fill the shifts? This is about 24 hours, per church, per week or 6 4 hour shifts. Thank you to all those who volunteer to make our mission possible. Please continue to support New 2 You by volunteering, making donations, shopping our store, or praying for continued blessings on their efforts. If you would like to become a volunteer please call New 2 You at 507-385-1455. New 2 You Annual meeting/volunteer Appreciation will be held on June 17 from 6:00-7:30PM in the fireside room at St. Paul's Church, North Mankato. Please join us for dessert and fellowship. Needed: MVL is in need of two volleyball coaches for the 2015 season at the Freshmen and JV levels. For more information contact Craig Morgan at cmorgan@mvlhs.org or call 507-354-6851. MVL and Palmer Bus Co. are always looking for drivers or substitutes. Contact Randy at 507-995-5387 for more information. St. Paul s in North Mankato invites anyone interested to our Book Retreat at the Heartwood Center near Trego, WI (formerly Schwan Retreat Center). Poster and sign-up sheet are on the bulletin board in the narthex. For more information, contact Galen Archerd 507-278-4978 or Dean Lavitschke 507-625-7927. Bethany Lutheran College Events Summer Honor Choir Camp applications for current 9-12 th graders are on the bulletin board in the narthex. Camp is June 20-25 th at Bethany Lutheran College and is directed by Dennis Marzolf. Early applications are encouraged. Application deadline is June 5 th. Bethany Art Camp is held in June for grades 5-12. Brochures with registration forms are on the spin rack by the entry doors. ALL CAMP INFO can also be found at www.blc.edu. Bethany Lutheran College has an immediate opening for the position of ESL Instructor / International Student Recruiter. The complete posting is posted on the bulletin board. 15

16