The Service in PDF format is at: January 15, 2023 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. Offerings may be placed in the plates by the doors as we exit the sanctuary.
Serving You
Pastor Pastor Jeremy Lucke
Music Director Colleen Schulze
Choir Director Diane Crocker
Supt. Of Sunday School Brandy Stokes & 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, Caleb Santora, Joyce Long, Oscar Gutbrod, Sam Worth, Rick Durling, Jim Holroyd, Nora Stanley, Debbi Weiler, Daniel Dusek
Today, January 15, 2023
Musician Colleen Schulze
Reader Debbi Weiler
Flowers Santora Family
AS WE GATHER: “Epiphany” means a “showing forth” or “revelation” of a divine being. It can also mean having a meaningful insight about something related to an individual’s life. In the season of Epiphany, we rediscover that, like Jesus, we have a calling to bring glory to God. In words of counsel to first-century Christians, Peter wrote: “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that . . . they may see your good deeds and glorify God” (1 Peter 2:12). Not only is Jesus, the great Servant, shown forth in this season, we as His servants are on display as well. May we show forth servanthood in ways that glorify God!
Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
People: Amen.
BEING HONEST ABOUT OURSELVES…
Leader: We confess our sins. Kind and loving Father,
People: we come before You in prayer today, asking for forgiveness. We have not loved as we ought to love, we have not given as we ought to give, and we have fallen short of the mark of truly being Your obedient sons and daughters. We recognize our sin and in this moment of silence, we privately remember our shortcomings in love and life.
~~~~~ Silence for reflection ~~~~~
YOU ARE FORGIVEN
Leader: God, our heavenly Creator, hears the prayers of all people and answers those prayers. Our prayer for forgiveness is answered in the person of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, who died for our sin that we might have new life. The distance between God and ourselves has been brought together by love made perfect in the sacrifice of Jesus. To those who believe God’s word of truth comes power to be the people of God. Praise God for the gift of love to us.
People: Amen.
PRAISE SONG: “Great is Thy Faithfulness”
Thomas Obediah Chisholm; William Marion Runyan; Words: Public Domain ; Music: Public Domain
Great is Thy faithfulness
O God my Father
There is no shadow
Of turning with Thee
Thou changest not
Thy compassions they fail not
As Thou hast been
Thou forever wilt be
Chorus: Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning
New mercies I see
All I have needed
Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness
Lord unto me
.
Summer and winter
And springtime and harvest
Sun moon and stars
In their courses above
Join with all nature
In manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness
Mercy and love
Chorus
Pardon for sin
And a peace that endureth
Thy own dear presence
To cheer and to guide
Strength for today
And bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine
With ten thousand beside
Chorus
WORD
Leader: Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, who governs all things in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the prayers of Your people and grant us Your peace through all our days; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.
THE SCRIPTURE LESSONS
First Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Paul writes of the Lord’s faithfulness to His people.
Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,
5 that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—
7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
The Holy Gospel: Matthew 11:25-30
Jesus invites us to come to him.
25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;
26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Leader: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to You O Christ.
SERMON HYMN: “Let us Ever walk with Jesus”
Text: Sigismund von Birken, 1626-1681; tr. hymnal version, 1978. Tune: Georg G. Boltze, 18th cent.
Let us ever walk with Jesus,
follow his example pure,
Through a world that would
deceive us and to sin our spirit lure,
Onward in his footsteps treading,
Pilgrims here, our home above,
Full of faith and hope and love,
let us do our Father’s biding.
.
Let us suffer here with Jesus
and with patience bear our cross,
Joy will follow all our sadness;
where he is there is no loss,
Though today we so no laughter,
we shall reap celestial joy:
All discomforts that annoy shall
give way to mirth here after.
.
Let us gladly die with Jesus,
Since by death he conquered death,
He will free us from destruction,
Give to us immortal breath,
Let us mortify all passion
Than would lead us into sin;
Then by grace we all may win
Untold fruits of his creation,
Jesus, unto you I die,
There to live with you on high.
.
Let us also live with Jesus.
He has risen from the dead
That to life we may awaken,
Jesus since you are our head,
We are own living members;
where you live, there we shall be
In your presence constantly,
living there with you forever.
Jesus if I faithful be life eternal grant to me.
SERMON
“Accepting Jesus’ Invitation”
Rick Durling
People: I believe in God, the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
And born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
And is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again 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.
Leader: O Lord, let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to You, for You are our Rock and our Redeemer. Answer us according to Your promises and for the sake of Jesus Christ. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Leader: Merciful God, You formed Your Son in the womb of Your servant Mary to be a light for the nations. Preserve that light among Your people. Gather us around Your Word and Sacraments, enlighten and strengthen us by Your grace, and grant that we might reflect the light of Christ to those around us.
Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Leader: God of glory, the heavens declare Your handiwork, and each day and night testify to Your majesty. Bless all teachers and students, that in their explorations of the arts and sciences they may see Your creativity and glorify You. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Leader: Holy God, Your Son became the Lamb of God to take away all of our sins and infirmities by His death and resurrection. Remember all who are in need of Your help and healing [especially _____________]. Deliver them according to Your merciful will, and preserve them in the certainty that their sins are taken away. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Leader: Grant that we who have celebrated the incarnation of our Lord, Jesus Christ, may die to sin and rise to new life, that we may treasure up and ponder in our hearts the Christ announced by Your forerunner; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.
SACRAMENT
Leader: I Corinthians 11:23-25 says, “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
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 HYMN “How Great Thou Art”
Stuart Wesley Keene Hine; Copyright 1949 and 1953 Stuart Hine Trust CIO Stuart K. Hine Trust (Administration: USA All rights by Capitol CMG Publishing, except print rights for USA, North, Central and South America administered by Hope Publishing. All other non USA Americas rights by the Stuart Hine Trust. Rest of World – Integritymusic.com.)
O Lord my God
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds
Thy hands have made
I see the stars
I hear the rolling thunder
Thy pow’r thru’out
The universe displayed
Chorus: Then sings my soul
My Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art
How great Thou art
Then sings my soul
My Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art
How great Thou art
.
When through the woods
And forest glades I wander
And hear the birds
Sing sweetly in the trees
When I look down
From lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook
And feel the gentle breeze
Chorus
And when I think
That God His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die
I scarce can take it in
That on the cross
My burden gladly bearing
He bled and died
To take away my sin
Chorus
When Christ shall come
With shout of acclamation
And take me home
What joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow
In humble adoration
And there proclaim
My God how great Thou art
Chorus
Leader: The Lord bless us and keep us.
The Lord make His face shine on us and be gracious to us.
The Lord look upon us with favor and give us peace.
People: Amen.
CLOSING SONG: “This is My Father’s World”
Text: Malbie D. Babcock, 1858-1901, Tune: Franklin L. Sheppard, 1852-1930, adapt.; © 1978 by Lutheran Chuch in America, The American Lutheran Church, The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cananda, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
This is my Father’s world,
and to my list’ning ears
all nature sings,
and round me rings
the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world;
I rest me in the thought
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.
.
This is my Father’s world;
the birds their carols raise;
the morning light, the lily white,
declare their maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world;
He shines in all that’s fair.
in the rustling
grass I hear him pass;
He speaks to me ev’ry where.
.
This is my Father’s world;
oh, let me not forget
that, though the wrong
seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world,
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is king, let the heavens ring;
God reigns, let the earth be glad!
DISMISSAL
Leader: Go in peace! Serve the Lord!
People: Thanks be to God!
Announcements
Upcoming Dates. The memorial service for Bob will be held on January 21st at 11:00 am. The memorial for Dona will be held on February 4th at 1:00pm. Please embrace your church family here at Peace during this challenging time.
Wednesday Bible Study. The Bible is not so much like a magazine that can be skimmed and put down. The Bible is more like a mine that needs to be carefully searched. All are welcome to our mining expedition of I Timothy. We’ll be meeting in the fellowship hall on Wednesday, January 11 and Wednesday, January 25 at 2 pm. Just bring your Bible and an open heart for discovery.
Eat, Chat, Pray. You are cordially invited to join us for Eat, Chat, Pray every Wednesday morning at 7:30 am in the fellowship hall. Our group is growing, please join us.
Salmon & Jazz Dinner. This year the Philomath Rotary Club is bringing back the Salmon & Jazz dinner. It will be held on February 18 starting at 5:00 pm. Dinner will be your choice of salmon or chicken. The high school jazz band will perform and there will be a silent auction and will be lots of fun for everyone. It will be held at Philomath High School. Tickets are $35 and are available from Daniel.
Check your Boxes. Please take a moment to check your box in the fellowship hall. There are several pieces of correspondence in them. It’s great to see those getting used.
