The Service in PDF format is at: February 23, 2025 Service
Video of service is at: YouTube
Peace Lutheran Church
We welcome you in the name of the Lord Jesus. We are honored with your presence. If you do not have a church home, you are invited to join us regularly. Please introduce yourself to Pastor Jeremy Lucke or one of the Ushers as you leave today and sign the guest book in the entryway. We continue to observe the guidelines for health safety. If you have any questions, please see an usher. Everyone is welcome.
The ringing of the bell and the lighting of the Christ candle mark the beginning of our service and a time for quiet meditation, prayer and inward reflection as we begin our worship.
Children are welcome at our worship services. If you prefer, Peace Lutheran has a playroom equipped for children three years old and younger. The room is unstaffed and can be accessed in the fellowship hall where the service is also being live streamed for your convenience and enjoyment.
Holy Communion is celebrated every first and third Sunday and will follow the order of service in the bulletin. If you are a baptized Christian and share our faith in Jesus as Savior and have been instructed in the meaning and use of the Lord’s Supper, you are invited to partake. We have pre-wrapped communion wine or juice and wafers. We also have gluten-free wafers available. If you desire a gluten-free wafer, ask the server. May the body and blood of Jesus, present in the bread and wine, be a blessing to you.
There are times during the service when you will be asked to stand if you are able. Please feel free to remain seated if standing is difficult.
Offering. Peace Lutheran Church understands and teaches that Offerings are voluntary and to be from the heart. Whether we give or do not give does not determine our salvation. Whether we give much or little does not determine our standing before God. Sharing an Offering is an opportunity to quietly practice generosity with our neighbors.
Serving You
Pastor Pastor Jeremy Lucke
Music Director Colleen Schulze
Choir Director Diane Crocker
Supt. Of Sunday School Anne Schroeder & Karyn Stanley
Admin Assistant Daniel Dusek
Parish Nurse Kathy Durling
Webmaster Jim Holroyd
Audio-Visual Johnathon Holroyd, George Abele, Nicholas Abele, Merv Munster, Callie Santora, Joyce Long, Oscar Gutbrod, Sam Worth, Rick Durling, Jim Holroyd, Debbi Weiler, Dan Dusek
Praise Team Rick Durling, Patrick Kamins, Ginny Tonelli, Karyn Stanley, Nora Stanley, Diane Crocker, Kaia Lucke, Anne Schroeder, John Mergl
Today, February 23, 2025
Musician Colleen Schulze
Reader Claire Lucke
Flowers Harrington Family
AS WE GATHER… Jesus repeatedly focused on the inseparability of loving God and loving others. When asked about what the greatest commandment was, Jesus identified two—love God and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:34-40). The Apostle Paul made the same point in his first letter to the church in Corinth. He warned that great faith, great generosity, and even great spiritual gifts—without love—are worth nothing. Today we are reminded that a true measure of how much we love God is closely related to how much we love others.
RINGING OF THE BELL
Following the ringing of the bell, we take a few moments in silence to prepare our hearts and minds for today’s worship.
Leader: In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
Leader: Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
People: who walk in the law of the Lord.
Leader: Blessed are the peacemakers,
People: for they shall be called sons of God.
Leader: The Lord has made known His salvation.
People: He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
BEING REAL WITH GOD AND ONE ANOTHER
Leader: God calls on us to be blameless, to live in peace with one another, to not hold grudges or be angry with anyone. But we have failed to live as God has instructed. We have created division and discord. We have refused to be reconciled with others. We come before our heavenly Father to ask for His forgiveness.
~~~~~ Silent Reflection ~~~~~
Leader: Heavenly Father,
People: we confess that we have not always walked in Your ways. We confess that we have ignored and avoided conflict rather than seek reconciliation. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive our sins. Bring Your reconciliation and peace that surpasses all understanding into our lives.
Leader: Even though we have held on to our anger and resentment of others, our heavenly Father sent Jesus to be our reconciliation and peace. By the blood of Jesus, we are reconciled to God and can approach Him in all confidence. By the blood of Jesus, we are reconciled with one another. As a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen. We are reconciled and at peace with God. We are forgiven in Christ.
SONG OF PRAISE: “On Eagle’s Wings”
You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord
who abide in His shadow for life
Say to the Lord,
“My refuge, my Rock in whom I trust.”
.
And He will raise you up on eagle wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His hand.
.
The snare of the fowler
will never capture you,
and famine will bring you no fear
under His wings your refuge,
His faithfulness your shield.
.
And He will raise you up on eagle wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His hand.
.
You need not fear the terror of the night,
not the arrow that flies by day,
though thousands fall about you,
near you it shall not come.
.
And He will raise you up on eagle wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His hand.
.
For to His angels He’s given a command
To guard you in all of your ways;
Upon their hands they will bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
.
And He will raise you up on eagle wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His hand.
Leader: Let us pray. O Lord, You bless the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the persecuted. Mercifully hear the prayers of Your people when they call upon You, and give us faith to believe Your kingdom belongs to the humble of heart; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who with the Holy Spirit are one God, world without end.
People: Amen.
HEARING FROM GOD’S WORD
OLD TESTAMENT LESSON Jeremiah 17:5-8
The man who trusts the Lord is blessed.
5 Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. 7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.
8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
Love God, love others.
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Leader: This is the Gospel of the Lord. People: Praise to You, O Christ.
SERMON HYMN “They’ll Know We are Christians”
Author: Peter Scholtes; Tune St. Brendan’s. © 1966, F.E.L. Publications, assigned to The Lorenz Corp., 1991
We are one in the Spirit,
we are one in the Lord,
We are one in the Spirit,
we are one in the Lord,
And we pray that all unity
may one day be restored:
And they’ll know we are Christians
by our love, by our love,
Yes they’ll know we are Christians
by our love.
.
We will walk with each other,
we will walk hand in hand,
We will walk with each other,
we will walk hand in hand,
And together we’ll spread the news
that God is in our land:
And they’ll know we are Christians
by our love, by our love,
Yes they’ll know we are Christians
by our love.
.
We will work with each other
We will work side by side
We will work with each other
We will work side by side
And we’ll guard each man’s dignity
And save each man’s pride:
And they’ll know we are Christians
by our love, by our love,
Yes they’ll know we are Christians
by our love.
.
All praise to the Father,
from whom all things come,
And all praise to Christ Jesus,
his only Son,
And all praise to the Spirit,
who makes us one:
And they’ll know we are Christians
by our love, by our love,
Yes they’ll know we are Christians
by our love.
SERMON
“LOVE of others is the measure of Maturity”
Pastor Jeremy Lucke
People: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
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 at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty.
From thence He will 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.
We offer our thanksgiving for what God has first given us—ourselves, our time, our possessions.
INSTALLATION OF OFFICERS FOR 2025
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH (A Bidding Prayer)
Leader: In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For the gift of divine peace and of pardon, with all our heart and with all our mind, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For the Holy Christian Church, here and scattered throughout the world, and for the proclamation of the Gospel and the calling of all to faith, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For this nation, for our cities and communities, and for the common welfare of us all, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For seasonable weather and for the fruitfulness of the earth, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For those who labor, for those whose work is difficult or dangerous, and for all who travel, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For all those in need, for the hungry and homeless, for the widowed and orphaned, and for all those in prison, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For the sick and dying and for all those who care for them, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For . . . [additional bids for prayer may be inserted here] . . . let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: Finally, for these and for all our needs of body and soul, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Amen.
CHORAL ANTHEM “Come to the Table”
By: Allen Pote. Copyright 1992, 1994 by Coronet Press.
Come, come, come to the table and bring your joy,
Bring all your gladness and come, come,
Come to the table.
Eat the bread, drink the wine,
come rejoice in the Lord.
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Bring all our sorrow, bring all your pain,
Bring all the heartaches you bear.
Bring who you are and hope to become,
Come to the table to share.
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Come, come, come to the table, remember Christ,
Remember his love when you come, come, come to the table.
Come in faith, come to serve, come rejoice in the Lord.
Share in the bread, share in the wine, share in the risen Lord.
Share as a family, one in community, one in the name of the Lord.
.
Come, come, come to the table to follow Christ forgiven and free,
You must come, come, come to the table
Come in faith, come in love, come rejoice
Rejoice in the Lord. Come rejoice in the Lord,
rejoice in the Lord.
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
DISTRIBUTION HYMNS
Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there is hatred,
let me bring your love.
Where there is injury,
your pardon Lord.
And where there’s doubt,
true faith in you.
.
Make me a channel of your peace.
Where there’s despair in life,
let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness…only light.
And where there’s sadness ever joy.
.
Oh Master, grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console,
To- be understood …as to understand.
To-be loved as to love with all my soul.
.
Make me a channel of your peace.
It is in pardoning that we are par-doned.
In giving to all men that we receive,
And-in dying that we’re born to eternal life.
And in dying that we’re born to eternal life.
Every day they pass me by,
I can see it in their eye;
Empty people filled with care,
headed who knows where.
On they go through private pain,
living fear to fear.
Laughter hides the silent cries
only Jesus hears.
.
People need the Lord.
People need the Lord.
At the end of broken dreams
He’s the open door.
People need the Lord.
People need the Lord.
When will we realize
people need the Lord.
.
We are called to take His light to a world
where wrong seems right;
What could be too great a cost for sharing life
with one who’s lost.
Through His love our hearts can feel
all the grief they bear.
They must hear the words of life
only we can share.
.
People need the Lord.
People need the Lord.
At the end of broken dreams
He’s the open door.
People need the Lord.
People need the Lord.
When will we realize
people need the Lord.
Leader: The blessing of God Almighty—the Father, who gave His Son for the life of the world; the Son, who has revealed to us God’s grace, mercy and love; and the Spirit, by whose fruit we are seen to be children of God—bless you now and forever.
People: Amen.
CLOSING SONG: “All Creatures of Our God and King”
(vs. 1,2 and 7 only)
All Creatures of our God and King,
Lift up your voice with us and Sing:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
O burning sun with golden beam
And silver moon with softer gleam;
Refrain: Oh, praise him! Oh, praise him!
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!
O rushing wind and breezes soft,
O clouds that ride the winds aloft:
Oh, praise him! Alleluia!
O rising morn, in praise rejoice,
O lights of evening find a voice.
Refrain
Let all things their Creator bless
And worship God in humbleness.
Oh, praise him! Alleluia!
Oh, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One,
Refrain
Leader: Go in peace! Serve the Lord!
People: Thanks be to God!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
A NOTE FROM MAGGIE……… Life is such a journey with all kinds of chapters. I am very blessed to have such caring and loving friends and church family. I have to keep reminding myself to be patient and remember God is in control! Thank you for your prayers!
ONLINE BIBLE STUDY………….. Are you desiring a closer walk with Jesus in 2025? Pastor is holding online zoom sessions to share how you can walk with Jesus in everyday life. Let him know if you’d like to be a part of the discussion and he will share the zoom link with you. This is the final session this week on prayer. The session begins at 10 am on Wednesday and will last 45 minutes. Jesus taught one method of prayer. We call it the Lord’s Prayer. This prayer allows us to align our lives with God’s will for us. “See you” this Wednesday.
TABLES OF PEACE……………. Would you like to get to know the members of the congregation better? If so, consider signing up to join a Tables of Peace group. Each group gets together monthly either at the church or in someone’s home to share a meal and engage in conversation. It’s a great way to socialize with your Peace family. The sign-up sheets for February to April are in the hallway between the narthex and the fellowship hall.
LENT SOUP SUPPER………….. The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 5. We will be journeying through the season of Lent with Soup Suppers at 5:00 pm each Wednesday with a brief Lent service to follow at 6:00 pm. These Wednesday night suppers and gatherings conclude on Wednesday, April 9. Come and enjoy. Plan ahead. To make these gatherings run smoothly, we need people to sign up and provide soup and bread. Please consider sharing something for your Peace family. Sign up on the bulletin board in the fellowship hall. And see Sally Stouder if you have any questions! Thank you!
COMMUNITY FOOD DRIVE………….. Philomath Community Services is organizing a food drive that will benefit the food bank and the PCS Gleaners. Thank you to those who helped distribute the bags yesterday in the community. We now need a team to walk around and collect the bags on Saturday, March 1 from 9 am to 11 am. Can you help? We hope so as the need is great. Please let Pastor know if you could assist. Thank you!
PRAYER WARRIORS EMAIL……………… Did you know that each week prayers are shared through an email to Peace Prayer Warriors? The emails are shared each Friday and include specific prayer requests from the week. Would you like to receive those emails? Contact Pastor or Peggy Krueger if you do.
March Men’s breakfast……….. Men of Peace, please join us for the March Men’s breakfast at Benchwarmers, located at 1895 NW 9th Street in Corvallis. We will meet at 8:30 on Saturday March 1st and our guest speaker will be Mr. Allan Fleming, with the Campus Crusade for Christ OSU. Talk to Oscar for more information.
