10:30AM SERVICE
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. SERVICE NOTE Trinity: Today the Christian Church celebrates that we believe in a Triune God. Triune comes from the Latin Tri (three) and unus (one). Our God is triune because he tells us that he is three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but only one God. The Festival of the Holy Trinity marks the beginning of the second half of the Church Year. Since Advent, God s people have concentrated on the Life of Christ. For the next six months we will concentrate on the Teachings of Christ. We begin the Half Year of the Church. FOR THE CHILDREN A Staffed Nursery is available for your use at any time during the service. It is located in Rooms 1 and 2. A Cry-Room is available if your little ones need a moment. It is located near the balcony stairs at the back of the sanctuary. A speaker and window let you see and hear the service. Children s Activity Sheets give activities and lessons pertaining to the Scripture lessons for the day. Ask an usher at the door into the sanctuary. 2
FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH A Changeless Message for a Changing World Pastor Jonathan Schroeder Church Office: 770-253-4007 Home Phone: 770-253-6565 Fax: 770-253-4007 Email: Schroeder.email@gmail.com Those who serve: Vicar: Mark Reichert Home Phone: 608-548-4955 Email: mark.d.reichert@gmail.com Organist: Mary Beth Eckhardt JUNE 3, 2012 PENTECOST 1 Welcome! Thank you for joining us for worship this morning. In our service we gather before our almighty God to offer him our worship and praise. We also gather to strengthen ourselves through the study of God s holy and powerful word. Restrooms are located in the hallway directly opposite the entrance to the sanctuary. Hearing assistance devices are available. Speak to an usher. Large print service folders are available. Speak to an usher. TODAY S THEME: THE FESTIVAL OF THE HOLY TRINITY 3
DIVINE SERVICE II OPENING HYMN: #193, Come, Now, Almighty King INVOCATION L(eader): In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. C(ongregation): Amen. CONFESSION OF SINS L: Dear friends, let us approach God with a true heart and confess our sins, asking him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us. C: Lord of life, I confess that I am by nature dead in sin, For faithless worrying and selfish pride, For sins of habit and sins of choice, For the evil I have done and the good I have failed to do, You should cast me away from your presence forever. O Lord, I am sorry for my sins. Forgive me, for Jesus sake. L: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. In his great mercy, God made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in our sins. Hear the word of Christ through his called servant: C: Amen. I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 4
KYRIE 1 L: In peace, let us pray to the Lord. For the well-being of all people everywhere, that they may receive from you all they need to sustain body and life, hear our prayer, O Lord. C: Lord, have mercy. L: For the spread of your life-giving gospel throughout the world, that all who are lost in sin may be brought to faith in you, hear our prayer, O Christ. C: Christ, have mercy. L: For patience and perseverance in this life, that we may not lose the hope of heaven as we await your return, hear our prayer, O Lord. C: Lord, have mercy. L: Lord of life, live in us that we may live for you. C: Amen. 1 The word Kyrie is a Greek word from the phrase Kyrie eleison which means, Lord, have mercy! This is the most heartfelt cry of a believer to his Lord. It is not a cry for forgiveness, but a cry for mercy that our Lord and King hear us and help us in our necessities and trouble. Christians have been praying the Kyrie at Sunday worship for more than 1700 years (that s why its name is Greek, the language most commonly spoken at the time). This morning, may it also be our heartfelt cry to our Lord and King. 5
YOU ARE GOD; WE PRAISE YOU Te Deum 2 L: Refrain C: Refrain 2 The Te Deum is an ancient song of the Church. Its title comes from the first two words in Latin You are God. It was written by Ambrose on the occasion of the baptism of Augustine. This song of praise adds our voices to the choirs of angels and martyrs in glorifying our God. 6
PRAYER OF THE DAY L: Let us pray. The leader says the Prayer of the Day. C: Amen. 7
THE WORD OF GOD CHILDREN S SERMON FIRST 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." 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!" 8
PSALM OF THE DAY: PSALM 150 Read responsively with the leader L: Praise God in his sanctuary; C: praise him in his mighty heavens. L: Praise him for his acts of power; C: praise him for his surpassing greatness. L: Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, C: praise him with the harp and lyre, L: praise him with tambourine and dancing, C: praise him with strings and flute, L: praise him with the clash of cymbals, C: praise him with resounding cymbals. L: Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. C: PRAISE THE LORD. SECOND LESSON: 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. 9
VERSE OF THE DAY GOSPEL LESSON L: The Gospel according to John chapter 3. C: Glory be to you, O Lord. 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." 10
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. L: This is the Gospel of the Lord. C: Praise be to you, O Christ. HYMN OF THE DAY: #195, Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty SERMON Is Doctrine worth dying for? John 3:1-17 11
Selected Portions of the ATHANASIAN CREED 3 L: 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: Men: 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. 3 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 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 Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal. 12
Women: 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. All: 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. L: 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. 13
THANKSGIVING OFFERING The members of Faith 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. PRAYER OF THE CHURCH 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. 14
THE SACRAMENT Faith Lutheran Church practices close communion. We ask that only members partake of the Sacrament. L: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. L: Lift up your hearts. C: We lift them up to the Lord. L: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. C: It is good and right so to do. L: It is truly good and right that we should at all times and in all places give you thanks. O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who has called us to be his own so that we may live under him in his kingdom and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. Therefore with all the saints on earth and hosts of heaven, we praise your holy name and join their glorious song: 15
WORDS OF INSTITUTION L: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat. This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. C: Amen. Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink from it all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me. The peace of the Lord be with you always. 16
DISTRIBUTION SONG OF DEPARTURE: #449, Children of the Heavenly Father LORD S BLESSING L: 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. + + + 17
Announcements Early Service: Every Sunday at 8:00am. In an effort to serve our expanding congregation, two services will be held each Sunday morning. We hope that this additional worship opportunity can be used by many people! The schedule is: 8:00am Worship 9:15am Sunday School and Bible study 10:30am Worship A New FaithBuilders Class begins June 3th: Our FaithBuilders class is for people interested in becoming members of Faith, or for people just looking to build their faith through the study of the basic teachings of the Bible. Classes are held on Sunday at 9:15am and the same topic is repeated on Tuesdays at 7:00pm. If you would like to attend, contact Pastor Schroeder. Childcare is available. Everyone is welcome! Moms, looking for some family friendly fun? Please consider bringing your children and joining us at Faith Lutheran church on Tuesday, June 12th at 10:00 AM. The children will play outside and then we will all eat lunch together. Please bring a sack lunch for you and your children. If you have questions or need more information, please contact Tiffany Harris at tiffany.harris123@gmail.com. Soccer Camp 2012: Our 2012 Soccer Camp will be held from 9AM to 12PM on June 18 th 21 st. This year s theme is God So Loved the World. The camp is open to all children who will be in Kindergarten through Sixth Grade starting in the fall, and the cost is $50 per camper. Please visit our website, soccer.georgiafaith.com, for more information and to register. Invite friends to register too. Registration is now open and fills up fast - so don t delay! Snacks: We are looking for donations of pretzels, cheese crackers, goldfish crackers, granola/cereal-type bars and freeze pops. Sign-up sheets are located in the gathering space on a table near Vicar s desk. Items can be marked soccer camp and left in the kitchen. Thanks for your help with this important outreach ministry! Upcoming Schedules: Cleaning: Week of Jun 4 Jun 9: Family 1 (Ellis) Family 2 (Pfliger) Week of Jun 11 Jun 16: Family 1 (Everhart) Family 2 (TBA) Lawn Mowing: Week of Jun 4 Jun 9: Lawn A (Harris) Lawn B (Lanier) Week of Jun 11 Jun 16: Lawn A (Robertson) Lawn B (Collins) Nursery: Sun, Jun 10: Duncan/Ricker Sun, Jun 17: Pfeifer Video: Sun, Jun 10: Tyler Buth Sun, Jun 17: Lauren Curtis 18