A Very Good Shepherd 4 th Sunday of Easter April 25 & 26, 2015
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: Good Shepherd Sunday evokes the comforting image of our risen Lord s mercy for us, His sheep. John says we see love displayed in the Good Shepherd s laying down His life for us. But there is another side to this Good Shepherd. For He is also the mighty Lord who destroyed sin and death by His resurrection from the dead. For with Peter and John before the temple officials, the same officials who had recently put Jesus to death, this resurrection faith translates into a boldness to witness and testify even in the face of threat of opposition. This day we praise our risen Lord, our Good Shepherd, by giving ourselves to Thank the Lord and sing His praise; tell everyone what He has done. PRAYER BEFORE WORSHIP: O God of mercy, God of might, by Your Son s love He laid down His life for His sheep and by the power of His holiness He gives us new life. Grant us to love You with our whole heart and boldly to proclaim His victory to the whole world; 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. HYMN I Am Jesus Little Lamb LW 517 Pastor: People: Pastor: People: O Lord, open Thou my lips. And my mouth shall show forth Thy praise Makes haste O God, to deliver me. Make haste to help me, O God. 2
All: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be forever. Amen. Hallelujah! INVITATORY Pastor: O come, let us worship the Lord; People: For he is our Maker THE VINITE (Psalm 95) (TLH page 35) O come let us sing unto the Lord Let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; And make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God And a great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The strength of the hills is His also The sea is His, and He made it; And His hands formed the dry land. Oh, come let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our maker For He is our God And we are the people of His pasture And the sheep of His hand. 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. HYMN PSALM 23 The Lord s My Shepherd, I ll Not Want LW 416 LECTION 1 John 3:16 24 (Love one another.) John 10:11 18 (I am the Good Shepherd.) 3
Pastor: People: But You, O Lord, have mercy upon us. Thanks be to You, O Lord. HYMN The Lord s My Shepherd, Leading Me LW 417 SERMON THE OFFERING Te Deum God, we praise you, Lord, we bless you. We acknowledge you as Lord. You, the Father everlasting, Be eternally adored. Angels sing, all heav'n rejoices, Cherubim and Seraphim, Join the choir of heavenly voices In the never ending hymn. Holy, Holy, You are Holy, God of Glory, Lord of Might. Earth and heaven extol your glory, Majesty of Highest Height. Martyrs, Prophets, Saints, Apostles, All the church does worship You. Father, Christ the King of Glory, Spirit, who makes all things new. Christ, you came and lived among us, Humbly of a virgin born. Grave and Death You have defeated. Heav'n was opened Easter Morn. On the throne of God you are seated, You will come and be our Judge. Count us as your saints before you, 4
Redeemed by your precious blood. Let your mercy fall upon us, In you, Lord our trust we place. Rule our hearts and minds forever, Lift us while we run the race. Guard us, guide us, and protect us. Keep us free from sin, we pray. Day by day we magnify you, You we worship and obey. Amen. PRAYERS KYRIE All: Lord have mercy upon us, Christ have mercy upon us, Lord have mercy upon us. THE LORD S PRAYER All: Our Father, who are 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 SALUTATION Pastor: The Lord be with you. People: And with thy spirit SATURDAY EVENING ALL: I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously 5
kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen. SUNDAY MORNING All: I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen. Pastor: People: Bless we the Lord Thanks be to God THE BENEDICTION Pastor: People: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen HYMN The King of Love My Shepherd Is LW 412 OUR MISSION AND MINISTRY IN OUR PRAYERS: We pray for those who are sick and not feeling well, those who are facing surgery or convalescing, including Doris Biermann, Jim and Babs 6
Kormeier, Patti Mathews, Donna Kirschenmann, Dorris Bade, Robert Bunge and Lawrence Pelster, that their sickness may be turned to better health and that they may experience the love of God through our care and concern. We especially remember in our prayers Wilbert Helling, who now has Hospice Care in Arizona, and is in very critical condition. Our prayers go out to wife Sharon, and children Dan, Barb and Debbie and their families. We also want to remember the many shut-ins and friends of our congregation and community, especially, Art Hohlt, Adeline Keune, Edna Deppermann, Helen Bode, Hugo Nething, and Wilma Helling and all those we hold dear in our hearts. We pray for our ministry here at Ebenezer and the people of this congregation, that as God s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, we say and do those things that give glory to God and spread the love of Christ in all the world. We pray also for all the Pastors and Teachers of our Circuit, District, and Missouri Synod, that our Lord Jesus would sustain His Church here and around the world with His Word and Sacraments. We also ask the Lord to keep our Missionaries here in our country and around the world safe. We especially pray for Robin McCoy and her students that they will remain safe in Thailand. O God, let all the nations praise You! Guide and direct the minds and hearts of all leaders in Government that peace may prevail, evil be punished and good rewarded. Grant wisdom to our elected officials, our President, Vice President, Governors of all states, and community leaders, those who respond to emergencies of health, fire, flood and who meet the physical and emotional needs of those 7
who rely on them. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ To our members and guests who are here with us today. We are very glad you are here for worship services on this Fourth Sunday of Easter. 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 entrance with your name, address and Church affiliation. Thank you! Bible Study Please join this Thursday, April 30, at 10:00 AM or 7:00 PM for the study: Regrets, Reality and Restoration. Some questions that we will be discussing are: 1. Why is peer pressure so powerful? 2. In your opinion, what are some of the things people wish they had never done to fit in? 3. How would you advise a son or daughter to deal with peer pressure? The Study will examine Samson Judges 14. Ladies Aid Spring Luncheon The Ladies Aid of Ebenezer Lutheran Church would like to invite the all ladies of Ebenezer and friends to our spring luncheon on Friday, May 1, 2015 at noon in the dining room. We will have special guests - Rev. & Mrs. Paul Shaw of Light of Christ - Chinese Mission in St. Louis. They will share their ministry to the Chinese people that are in the area for advanced education and then return to China. Plan to join us and be our guests. Washington Circuit Ascension Service & Dinner Ebenezer Lutheran Church May 14, 2015 Dinner: 5:30 PM at the Church Provided by Ebenezer Lutheran Church and Thrivent Financial Serving will be till 6:30 8
Worship: Offering: 7:00 PM at the Lake Pavilion (bring a lawn chair if you like otherwise we have folding chairs) Plenty of Parking at Lake Free will offerings from Dinner and Offerings from Worship will go to the Washington Circuit Student Aid Fund. All Youth and Children of our congregation are invited to sing A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing stanzas 1, 2 & 7 (LW and TLH) Thank you to all who participated in the drive to help Otis Woodard s project of collecting ladies underwear. With your donation at the card making, 195 pair of underwear was sent for those in need in the Peace Park area. Thank you to all who contributed to this project! Picnic Information for the Congregation The picnic is fast approaching so all help will be appreciated! There are sign-up sheets in back of Church. Please consider helping at the project of our congregation. Please note that we would like an adult to do ice cream and older kids are welcome to help. If anyone is willing to join me (Susan Hoemann) on the committee, that would also be appreciated!! We (myself and 2 other Church members) have made some changes. We will be using disposable plates and cups, there will be ham instead of BBQ pork, and while many of you may not like the idea, we are using real instant potatoes, slaw will be creamy, but thinner shreds and more tasteful. There will be a small Silent Auction, again very much downsized, and no raffle/donation. It 9
was thought and felt that these changes would be helpful to everyone. Please know that these changes over the last couple of years are due to lack of help and also the growing older population of our congregation that are unable to work as they used to. If there are questions or concerns, please feel free to discuss with me or Pastor Zastrow. I can be reached by cell phone (573-776-3579). Thank you, Susan Hoemann Silent Auction Information We are getting ready for the silent auction for the picnic this year. The following businesses are ones that the committee members will be visiting for donations. If you frequent any other businesses, please check with them to see if they would like to make a donation. Ponderosa, Addi s, Dairy Queen, Gary Lucy Studios, Imo s Pizza, Office Supply, AM Hoerr Financial, Schroeder s Drug Store, Roettering Appliance Connection, Four Season s Florist, Rothschild s, Bank of Washington, Brune Jeweler s, First Community Bank, Jane Kanning Stampin UP, Bank of Franklin County, Diane Holdinghausen State Farm, Orscheln Farm and Home Store, Riecher s Tire and Auto, Colony House, Seitter s Market, Save-A-Lot, New Haven Lumber, Scheer s Sales, Beaufort Meat Processing, People s Bank, Modern Auto, Westlake Ace Hardware. If you have any craft item or any other items you personally would like to donate, that would be greatly appreciated!! Please have all items at Church no later than June 7 th, or if you can t bring it that early, please call Karen Sprick (636-239-5098) with what the item is, it s cost and the donor. Thank you for your cooperation and your help. Karen Sprick 10
There are letters for donations for the silent auction and posters on the table near the Church entrance. Please take some along to give to the people you want to call on. Please consider helping our Church by joining the Altar Guild. Your help would be much appreciated!! Please look on the shelves in the kitchen to see if any of the dishes or containers are yours. We will need the shelves cleaned off for the picnic. Thank you! Special Thank You to the ladies (Lois Thurman, Jane Redhage, Jeanette Bauche, Joann Menke, and Joyce Hohlt) that helped provide food, serve, and clean up after the circuit pastor's meeting on Tuesday, April, 21, 2015. Also, a thank you to members of the voters meeting that helped set up the dining room for the pastors meeting. We will be doing a May Newsletter next week. Please have your items/articles to Mary by this coming Tuesday. Thank you!!! St. John s UCC Church at Casco will have a Pasta Dinner TOAY (Sunday, April 26 th at 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. Everyone is welcome!! 11
Those Serving Today Organist Saturday - Organist Sunday - Head Usher Saturday - Head Usher Sunday - Altar Guild - Acolytes - Bell Ringer - Jenny Huellinghoff Ruth Marschel Tracey Bade Marvin Kassebaum Mary Adams & Barb Gilbert Paige Thurmond Danielle Gerling Ava Monzyk Corey Adams Offerings and Attendance Weekly Contributions $1,063.00 Plate 59.00 Sunday School 21.84 Greg Pointer Memorials 123.00 $1,266.84 Attendance: Saturday Worship 16 Sunday Worship 73 Sunday School: Children 7 Adults 19 This Week at Ebenezer Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday - Confirmation 6:30 PM Bible Class 10:00 AM & 7:00PM Regrets, Reality, Restoration Ladies Aid Luncheon 12:00 Noon Worship 5:00 PM 12