We worship one God in three persons

We worship one God in three persons

3461 Merle Ave Modesto, CA 95355 (209) 551-0563 www.stpetermodesto.org W Trinity Sunday MAY 31, 2015 elcome! Thank you for joining us for worship this morning. We gather for worship in order to receive from God the gift of forgiveness and to be strengthened by his Word. We also gather to offer him our praise and thanksgiving for what he has done for us in Christ. Welcome Worshiper Cards are located in the book racks. Please fill one out and place it in the offering plate later in the service. Restrooms are located in the entryway. Two Nursery-Rooms are available in the entryway if your little ones need a moment during the service. They are located to your left as you exit the sanctuary. You are able to hear and see the service in these rooms. Please stay for our church picnic after worship! PRAYER BEFORE WORSHIP Holy God, triune God, the only true and living God, accept our worship and adoration this morning. Although we cannot understand your immensity, we join with the voices of the angels and the saints praising and glorifying your name. Help us today to see your love in creating and saving us. Amen. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Flowers adorning our altar this morning are given to the glory of God by Renda Barnett in loving memory of her parents Henry and Aleene Barnett. Minister: Pastor Ryan Cortright Pianist: Bob Fromuth Cover artwork by Ian M. Welch. Copyright 2015 Ian M. Welch. All Rights Reserved. Scripture is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NIV, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.

What is faith? How does your faith intersect with your everyday life? How does coming to worship help me in my faith? This summer our Sunday morning worship will be focused on answering these questions. What does this mean? is a question that everyone who studies God s Word should ask. God did not reveal his Word to us simply so that we have something to study and talk about. He gave us his Word so that we might know Him and apply his Word to every aspect of our lives. Faith is not boring. What we do in worship is not mindless tradition. Everything has a purpose. Everything is meant to call us to repentance and focus us on our Savior. Each Sunday this summer our service will begin with an explanation of one element of worship so that we grow in our understanding and appreciation of the richness of historic Christian worship. WORSHIP EXPLAINED: THE INVOCATION IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Christian worship begins with the invocation. The pastor speaks the words, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit while making the sign of the cross. These words are intended to remind worshipers who they are as they gather to worship. The words of the invocation are the same words used in Christian baptism. A person is baptized into the name of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In baptism God puts his name on us and marks us as his own. In worship we gather as God s own children. The invocation reminds us of this! 1

OPENING HYMN Holy God, We Praise Your Name arrg. Kent Reeder The choir will sing the first stanza. The congregation will join in singing stanzas 2-4. CALL TO WORSHIP BAPTISM Page 12 in front of the red Christian Worship Hymnal Liliana Mae Davis Daughter of Richard and Brooke Davis 2

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PRAYER OF THE DAY M: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. M: Let us pray. 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. C: Amen. THE WORD OF GOD THE FIRST LESSON Numbers 6:22-27 22 The LORD said to Moses, 23 Tell Aaron and his sons, This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: 24 25 26 The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace. 27 So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them. 4

CHOIR Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found; Was blind, but now I see. Twas grace that taught my heart to fear; And grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed. My chains are gone, I ve been set free. My God, my Savior ransomed me. And like a flood His mercy reigns, Unending love, amazing grace. Amazing Grace My Chains are Gone Arrg. by Tom Fettke The Lord has promised good to me; His Word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be As long as life endures. My chains are gone, I ve been set free. My God, my Savior ransomed me. And like a flood His mercy reigns, Unending love, amazing grace. The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, The sun will cease to shine. But God who called me here below, Will be forever mine. THE SECOND LESSON Ephesians 4:1-6 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit just as you were called to one hope when you were called 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. THE VERSE OF THE DAY Isaiah 6:3b Alleluia. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory. Alleluia. 5

THE GOSPEL LESSON Matthew 28:16-20 T hen the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. M: This is the Gospel of the Lord C: Praise be to you, O Christ! SELECTED PORTIONS OF THE ATHANASIAN CREED A CONFESSION OF FAITH FOR TRINITY SUNDAY This creed is named after St. Athanasius, a staunch defender of the Christian faith 1600 years ago. 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 saving faith. The section of the Athanasian Creed included here is the portion that confesses the Bible s teaching about the Triune God. This portion serves as a very fitting confession of faith for Trinity Sunday. A translation of the entire text of the Athanasian Creed may be found on pages 132-133 in the Christian Worship Hymnal. M: 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. All: 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. 6

M: 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. All: In the same way the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, 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. So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord; yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord. M: 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. All: 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 worshipped as one God, and one God worshipped as three persons. Whoever wishes to be saved must have this conviction of the Trinity. 7

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THE SERMON Matthew 28:16-20 What Does This Mean? Our New Identity in Baptism THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER THE OFFERING The members of St, Peter Congregation have joined together to do the Lord s work in this community and around the world. Guests at St. Peter are welcome to participate in the offering but need not feel obligated to do so. THE PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING M: Lord of heaven and earth, you make all things beautiful. You have provided green forests and refreshing streams. You have arranged the orderly procession of day and night for our work and rest. C: Thank you for the beauty of your creation. M: Thank you for roofs that shelter us, for clothing that protects us, and for food and drink. Thank you for our work, for projects that are done well, and for the approval of supervisors and teachers. Thank you for all who serve at night to make our days more pleasant. C: Thank you for associates at work, for their encouragement and praise, and for the joys of human friendships. M: Thank you for our cities and our country sides, for farms and factories, for streets and highways, and for all of life that flows so swiftly before us. C: Thank you for children at play, their boundless energy, and their shouts of joy. M: Thank you for the morning greetings we receive, and for all the smiles that come from faces loved by you. C: Thank you for Christian parents, for their affection and their care. Special prayers and intercessions may follow. M: Hear us, Lord, as we give thanks for personal blessings. Silent prayer. 10

M: Thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, for his coming to us in Word and sacrament, for his giving and forgiving, and for listening to our prayers. Receive our gifts and offerings as our sacrifice of praise. C: Lead us in thankful living today and always. Amen. THE LORD S PRAYER 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. BLESSING M: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look on you with favor and give you peace. C: Amen. The words of this blessing are recorded in Numbers 6:24-26. For over 3500 years, these words have been spoken as a blessing on God s people. Not only do they remind us that God will watch over us in the upcoming week, but the fact that Lord is repeated three times reminds us that we worship the triune God. The pastor makes the sign of the cross to remind us that our triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, put his name on us at our baptism. We depart recalling that we are children of God! 11

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