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~Hymn 461 Come, Ye Thankful People, Come ~Invocation P: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen. P: O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good. C: And His mercy endures forever. ~Collect (p. 166) P: Almighty God, most merciful Father, You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing: We give You most humble and hearty thanks that You have crowned the fields with Your blessing, and have permitted us once more to gather in the fruits of the earth; and we beseech You to bless and protect the living seed of Your Word sown in our hearts, that in the abundant fruits of righteousness we may always present to You an acceptable thank-offering; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen. ~Anthem: Four or More, For the Blessings of Our Days, Welsh tune arr by MT Krones Thine the glory, Thine the praise, Lord, we bow in gratitude For the blessings of our days; For Thy grace, and Thy great good, For the comfort of Thy might, For the fields of ripened grain, In the darkest hours of night. Fruitful valleys, prairies, plains. Lord we thank Thee here today, For the mountains majesty, Be Thou ever near, we pray, Stretching forth from sea to sea; Ever strengthen Thou our land, Lord, we thank Thee, Thine the praise, With the presence of Thy hand. For the blessings of our days. 2
~Old Testament Lesson Deuteronomy 8:1-10 Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you. Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. ~Psalm 92, responsively P: It is good to give thanks to the Lord, C: And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; P: To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, C: And Your faithfulness every night, P: On an instrument of ten strings, C: On the lute, And on the harp, With harmonious sound. P: For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work; C: I will triumph in the works of Your hands. P: O Lord, how great are Your works! C: Your thoughts are very deep. P: A senseless man does not know, Nor does a fool understand this. When the wicked spring up like grass, And when all the workers of iniquity flourish, It is that they may be destroyed forever. C: But You, Lord, are on high forevermore. 3
P: For behold, Your enemies, O Lord, For behold, Your enemies shall perish; All the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. C: But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil. P: My eye also has seen my desire on my enemies; My ears hear my desire on the wicked Who rise up against me. C: The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. P: Those who are planted in the house of the Lord C: Shall flourish in the courts of our God. P: They shall still bear fruit in old age; C: They shall be fresh and flourishing, P: To declare that the Lord is upright; C: He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. ~Men s Choir: Psalm 100 Refrain: Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord a new song. Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; We are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Refrain Refrain Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise; Give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations. 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. 4
~Gospel Lesson Matthew 6:25-34 Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. ~Hymn 466 We Praise Thee, O God, Our Redeemer ~Epistle Lesson & Homily Text Acts 17:22-31 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, For we are also His offspring. Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead. ~Homily Theme To Whom Should We Give Thanks? 5
~Offering & Hymn 463 For the Beauty of the Earth ~Prayers ~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 pow r and the glory forever and ever. Amen. ~Benediction (p. 87) 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. C: Amen, amen, amen. ~Hymn 63 Now Thank We All Our God Preacher and Liturgist: Pastor John Petersen Organists: 6:30PM: Cassie Johnson / 10AM: Mark DeGarmeaux Men s Choir: 4 or More / Director: Carl Bloedel Please note that this Sunday, November 26, we have no Sunday School classes or Bible studies. Divine services are at the usual times of 8:30 AM and 10:45 AM 6
Join us for these Worship Services 2017 Schedule Wednesday, December 6 (Midweek Advent) 5:00-6:15 PM Hot Sandwiches served by the Bethany Auxiliary 6:30 PM To Whom Does Jesus Come? With Comfort to the One Who Waits (Luke 1:26, 31-33), Pastor Luke Ulrich Wednesday, December 13 (Midweek Advent) 5:00-6:15 PM Sloppy Joes served by the Evangelism Committee 6:30 PM To Whom Does Jesus Come? With Enlightenment to the One Who Doesn t Understand (Matthew 1:20-23), Pastor John Petersen Wednesday, December 20 (Midweek Advent) 5:00-6:15 PM Benefit dinner served by the Saidler family 6:30 PM Readings & Hymns Sunday, December 24, Christmas Eve 10:00 AM Divine Service 4:30 PM Christmas Eve Service 7:00 PM Candlelight Service Monday, December 25, Christmas Day Office Closed 10:00 AM Divine Service Sunday, December 31, New Year s Eve 8:30 AM Divine Service NO Bible studies or Sunday School classes 10:45 AM Divine Service 6:30 PM New Year s Eve Service Monday, January 1, New Year s Day Office Closed No evening service 7
Welcome! In the name of our risen Savior we welcome you to Mt. Olive and thank you for worshiping with us today. If you are a guest please fill out a guest card (found in the hymnbook rack) or sign our guest book in the entry. We invite you to come and worship with us again soon. Large Print copies are available from the usher stand in the back of the sanctuary. For the Hearing Impaired: Our facility is equipped with a hearing assistance system. Please ask an usher for a receiver. Advent Supper Hot Sandwiches Wednesday, Dec. 6 th 5:00 6:15 PM served by the Bethany Auxiliary 8