Where s Eternal Life? Look for Jesus Memorial Day Weekend 7 th Sunday of Easter May 27 & 28, 2017
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: Where is eternal life? Eternal life is wherever Jesus is. That includes everywhere Jesus has been in His life on this earth serving, healing, teaching, living, dying, rising, and ascending. It includes everywhere Jesus will be living and reigning at the Father s right hand in His everlasting kingdom in the new creation. Eternal life is also everywhere Jesus is now coming among His people through His Word written, spoken, and proclaimed, and His Sacraments in water, bread, and wine. Finally, eternal life is wherever Jesus is with you in your thoughts, words, and acts of kindness in daily love and service to your neighbor. PRAYER BEFORE WORSHIP: Almighty God, You are the Creator all things and the Author of all life. Grant that we may receive eternal life by knowing You, the only true God, entrusting our lives to Jesus, the One You have sent; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. THE ORDER OF WORSHIP HYMN Eternal Father, Strong to Save HS98 906 1 Eternal Father, strong to save, Whose arm does bind the restless wave, 2
Who bids the mighty ocean deep Its own appointed limits keep; O hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea. 2 O Savior, whose almighty word The winds and waves submissive heard, Who walked upon the foaming deep, And calm amid the rage did sleep; O hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea. 3 O Holy Spirit, who did brood Upon the waters dark and rude, And bid their angry tumult cease, And give for wild confusion peace; O hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea. 4 O Trinity of love and pow'r, Your children shield in danger's hour; From rock and tempest, fire, and foe, Protect them where-so-e'er they go; Thus, evermore shall rise to Thee Glad hymns of praise from land and sea. INVOCATION In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. OPENING SENTENCES Psalm 68:4 5 Alleluia! Christ is risen! 3
He is risen indeed. Alleluia! Sing to God, sing praises to His name; lift up a song to Him who rides through the deserts; His name is the LORD; exult before Him! Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in His holy habitation. CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION O God, who is One in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, We confess that we are by nature servants of disunity and division. We have not lived in harmony with You, with other people, or with ourselves. Forgive our turning away and by Your grace, restore us to oneness for the sake of Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us. Upon this your confession, I as a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. INTROIT Psalm 100 All People That on Earth Do Dwell LW 435 All people that on earth do swell, Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice; 4
KYRIE Him serve with mirth, his praise forth tell; Come ye before him and rejoice. Know that the Lord is God indeed; Without our aid he did us make. We are his folk, he doth us feed, And for his sheep he doth us take. Oh, enter then his gates with praise; Approach with joy his courts unto; Praise, laud, and bless his name always, For it is seemly so to do. For why? The Lord our god is good: His mercy is forever sure; His truth at all times firmly stood And shall from age to age endure. To Father, son, and Holy Ghost, The God whom heaven and earth adore, From us and from the angel host Be praise and glory evermore. Lord, who guided Your people to select Matthias for apostleship, have mercy on us. Christ Jesus, who is humble enough to share in suffering with Your people, have mercy on us. Lord, who prayed desiring that we may all be one, 5
have mercy on us, and grant us Your peace. Amen. HYMN OF PRAISE Christ, by Heavenly Hosts Adored LW 499 Christ, by heavenly hosts adored, Gracious, mighty, sovereign Lord, God of nations, King of kings, Head of all created things, By the Church with joy confessed, God the son forever blessed, Pleading at your throne we stand, Save your people, bless our land. On our fields of grass and grain Send, O Lord, the kindly rain, And throughout this spacious land Crown the labors of each hand. Let your kind protection be Over commerce on the sea. Open, Lord, your bounteous hand; Bless your people, bless our land. Give us rulers faithful, true, Such as love and honor you; Let the powers you ordained Be in righteous maintained. In the people s hearts increase Love of piety and peace. Thus united, we shall stand One wide, free, and happy land. SALUTATION The Lord be with you. 6
And also with you. PRAYER OF THE DAY O King of glory, Lord of hosts, uplifted in triumph far above all heavens, leave us not without consolation but send us the Spirit of truth whom You promised from the Father; for You live and reign with Him and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. FIRST READING Acts 1:12 26 (A new witness to Jesus resurrection) This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. GRADUAL All Christ has risen from the dead. God the Father has crowned Him with glory and honor, He has given Him dominion over the works of His hands; He has put all things under His feet. EPISTLE 1 Peter 4:12 19; 5:6 11 (Suffering with grace) VERSE Romans 6:9; John 14:23 ALLUEIA VERSES Alleluia! Let Praises Ring LW 437 Alleluia! Let praises ring! To God the Father let us bring Our songs of adoration. 7
To him through everlasting days Be worship, honor, power, and praise, Whose hand sustains creation. Singing, Ringing: Holy, Holy, God is holy; Spread the story Of our God, the Lord of glory. Alleluia! Let praises ring! Unto our triune God we sing; Blest be his name forever! With angel hosts let us adore And sing his praises more and more For all his grace and favor! Singing, Ringing: Holy, Holy, God is holy; Spread the story Of our God, the Lord of glory! HOLY GOSPEL John 17:1 11 (Jesus High Priestly Prayer) The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the 17 th chapter. Glory to You, O Lord. (The Gospel is read.) CREED This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to You, O Christ. Apostles Creed I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. 8
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 When Aimless Vilence Takes Those We Love HS98 890 SERMON HYMN Create in Me LW page 143 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. OFFERING OFFERTORY We Give Thee But Thine Own (Public Domain) 1. We give Thee but Thine own, Whate'er the gift may be; All that we have is Thine alone, 9
A trust, O Lord, from Thee. 2. May we Thy bounties thus As stewards true receive And gladly, as Thou blessest us, To Thee our first-fruits give! PRAYER OF THE CHURCH LORD S PRAYER (Matthew 6:9 13) HYMN Before You, Lord, We Bow LW 500 Before you, Lord, we bow, Our God who reigns above And rules the world below, Boundless in power and love. Our thanks we bring In joy and praise, Our hearts we raise To you, our king! The nation you have blest May well your love declare, From foes and fears at rest, Protected by your care. For this bright day, For this fair land Gifts of your hand Our thanks we pay. Earth, hear your Maker s voice; Your great Redeemer own; Believe, obey, rejoice, And worship him alone. Cast down your pride, 10
Your sin deplore, And bow before The Crucified. And when in power he comes, Oh, may our native land From all its rending tombs Send forth a glorious band, A countless throng, With joy to sing To heaven s high king Salvation s song! PRAYER: 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 Spirit, ever one God, now and forever. Amen. BENEDICTION Amen. Creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish, Series A, Part 2. Copyright 2016 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission. 11
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. - Major John McCrae 12
OUR MISSION AND MINISTRY We welcome our members and guests who are here with us today. May the Lord refresh you with peace and love during our worship service on this Seventh Sunday of Easter. A blessed Memorial Day weekend to all. Please join us here at Ebenezer again soon! Please sign the guest register near the front entrance with your name, address and Church affiliation. Thank you! We will have a special offering to be taken for Faith Cometh By Hearing Biblesticks at our Saturday and Sunday Worship Services this Memorial Day weekend. In our Prayers We continue to pray for Ashley Compton, the daughter of Lloyd and Karen Kassebaum as she underwent successful surgery. We continue to pray for her recovery and that all the cancer was removed. We also pray for Christina Anderson, who is taking treatments for stage four cancer. Picnic Sign-Up Sheet The Picnic is only two weeks away. Please sign the picnic work sheet at the back of Church if you want a certain time or job to work. We can use help all day especially the 2 nd shift and clean-up. If you have questions or concerns, please call or contact Don Kappelmann at 573-694-2051. Donations that are needed for our picnic include 1 gal. peeled potatoes and 2 pies or 1 pie and 1 cake, and 1 loaf homemade bread. Thrivent shirts We also have shirts from Thrivent in the basement for people who want to wear them for our picnic. Thrivent has given these shirts to us! 2
Picnic Silent Auction We will have a Silent Auction again at our Picnic on June 11 th. Please be thinking about things that you might donate. If you have some craft that you do, perhaps you might consider an item that you made. If there is a business or restaurant that you frequent, perhaps you could ask them for a donation. The auction has been successful in the past because of your help! Please consider helping again this year!! If you have questions or concerns, please contact Karen Sprick. Picnic Flyers There are also Picnic Flyers on the table at the back of Church. Please take some along to put in the places you frequent! Thank you! Our Ebenezer Mission Society met this past Monday evening and made 109 rice warming bags for Mercy Hospital in Washington. Ladies Aid We invite our Ladies this Friday to our monthly meeting at 1:30 PM. We will recognize Becky Inman a member of Ladies Aid who will be having her baby in August. It has been a long time since one of the members of Ladies Aid has had a baby. Sincere Thank You - Many thanks for the cards, gifts, prayers, and will wishes for Helen Bode's 100th Birthday on May 7th. Her day was very special in every way. Your kindness is greatly appreciated. We do a June Newsletter this week. Please have your information/articles to Mary by Tuesday 5/30/2017 3
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 Nancy Quinn and Mary Sprick Confirmation Class Cody Adams Offerings and Attendance May 20 & 21, 2017 Weekly Contributions $1,432.00 Plate 73.00 Sunday School 42.24 Sale of brush hog 585.00 $2,132.24 Attendance: Saturday Worship 33 Sunday Worship 56 Sunday School Attendance: Children 8 Adults 22 Monday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday This Week at Ebenezer Memorial Day Pastor to St. Louis Pastor to St. Louis Ladies Aid Worship 5:00 PM We do a June Newsletter this week. Please have your information/articles to Mary by Tuesday 5/30/2017 4