The Service in PDF format is at: March 17, 2024 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 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, Debbi Weiler, Daniel Dusek
Praise Team Rick Durling, Patrick Kamins, Karyn Stanley, Nora Stanley, Diane Crocker, Kaia Lucke, Sarah Grassel, Caleb Santora
Today, March 17, 2024
Musician Colleen Schulze
Reader Margaret Phillpott
Flowers Narvers (in memory of Moms)
AS WE GATHER: Today’s Epistle speaks of Jesus, our High Priest. High Priests are called to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people as well as themselves. Jesus is a different sort of high priest who offers Himself as sacrifice, once for all, that we might be forgiven and granted eternal salvation. In the Gospel, Jesus proclaims that He came not to be served, but to serve. He came to offer His life as a ransom for us. As we follow Jesus, we are called to reflect His actions and attitude of service and sacrifice. May we likewise go to serve and sacrifice for others.
Leader: In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
A WORD ABOUT OUR WORSHIP TODAY
Psalm 51
Leader: Cast me not away from your presence,
People: And take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Leader: Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
People: And uphold me with a willing spirit.
Leader: O Lord, open my lips.
People: And my mouth will declare your praise.
CONFESSING TO GOD
People: Lord, we come before you in prayer today, asking for forgiveness. Jesus says, “Whoever desires to be great among you must become like a servant.” We have missed the mark of serving others. Busy with our own desires, we have forgotten to pay attention to the needs, hurts and challenges of others. Lord, with your forgiveness also give us new eyes and renewed energy to serve. Open our hearts and eyes to what you would like us to do.
RECEIVING FORGIVENESS
Leader: Jesus says today that “he came not to be served, but to serve.” He serves you in a special way today as he grants forgiveness. As a called and ordained servant of the Jesus, I announce the grace of God to all of you. In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
SONG: NOW THE FEAST AND CELEBRATION
People: (Chorus) Now the feast and celebration,
all of creation sings for joy,
for joy to the God of life and love and freedom;
praise and glory forevermore!
Leader: Now is the feast of the Lamb once slain, whose blood has freed and united us to be one great people of God.
People: (Chorus)
Leader: Power and riches, wisdom and might, all honor and glory to Christ forever.
People: (Chorus)
Leader: For God has come to dwell with us, to make us people of God; to make all things news.
People: (Chorus)
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Leader: Let us pray. Almighty God, You are our great High Priest. Teach us to follow Your example of service and sacrifice for others, so that more people may know of the forgiveness that can only be found in You; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.
HEARING FROM GOD’S WORD
Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34
The Lord writes his new covenant on the hearts of his people.
31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord.
33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Leader: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
Jesus explains that proper discipleship entails servanthood.
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”
38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,
40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.
42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Leader: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to You, O Christ.
SERMON SONG: “In Christ Alone”
Keith Getty; Stuart Townend; 2001 Thankyou Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light my strength my song
This Cornerstone this solid Ground
Firm through the fiercest
drought and storm
.
What heights of love
what depths of peace
When fears are stilled
when strivings cease
My Comforter my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
.
In Christ alone who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
.
Till on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live
.
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
.
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the
precious blood of Christ
.
No guilt in life no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
.
No power of hell no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand
SERMON
Pastor Jeremy Lucke
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.
OFFERING
We give our offerings as a sign of our lives offered to God.
Leader: In peace let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For the peace from above and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For all public servants, for the government and those who protect us, that they may be upheld and strengthened in every good deed, let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For those who are ailing (names………) and those who grieve, that they may be strengthened in body and spirit, confident of the love of Christ, let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For those who work to bring peace, justice, health, and protection in this and every place, let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For those who bring offerings, those who do good works in this congregation, those who toil, those who sing, and all the people here present who await from the Lord great and abundant mercy, let us pray to the Lord:
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For favorable weather, for an abundance of the fruits of the earth, and for peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord,
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: We pray this through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
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
COMMUNION DISTRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION HYMNS
“I Know That My Redeemer Lives”
Text: Samuel Medley, 1783-1799, alt; Tune: attr. John Hatton, d.1793; Public Domain.
I Know that my Redeemer lives!
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, he lives, who once was dead;
He lives, my everliving head!
.
He lives triumphant from the grave;
He lives eternally to save;
He lives exalted, Throned above;
He lives to rule his Church in love.
.
He lives to grant me rich supply;
He lives to guide me with his eye;
He lives to comfort me when faint;
He lives to hear my soul’s complaint.
.
He lives to silence all my fears;
He lives to wipe away my tears;
He lives to calm my troubled heart;
He lives all blessings to impart.
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
Leader: The Lord Almighty—Father, + Son and Holy Spirit—bless us and direct our days and our deeds in His peace.
People: Amen.
Edward Mote & William Batchelder Bradbury; © Words: Public Domain, Music: Public Domain
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
Chorus: On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
Chorus
His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
Chorus
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
Chorus
Pastor: Go in Peace. Serve the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
Announcements
Midweek Lenten Services. Our last soup supper and Lenten service is this Wednesday. Soup supper will start at 5:00pm and the service will start at 6:00pm.
SOUP SIGN UP. Thank you to everyone who signed up to bring soup and other food to the soup suppers during Lent. This week the following people will provide the meal:
- Soup: Elaine Schwartz, Lou Ann Mergl, David & Susan Leding
- Bread & Butter: Kay Glathar & Janet Randall
- Cookies: Ellen Holroyd
Sunday School. Because of all the activities on Easter Sunday, there will be no Sunday School that day.
SEDER MEAL CELEBRATION AND SIGN-UP. Our celebration of the Seder Meal will be Thursday, March 28 at 6:00pm in the Fellowship Hall. This is not a meal rather a remembrance of the foods that the Jewish people used to remind them of their exodus from slavery from the Egyptian pharaohs. We encourage you to eat before you come. After the Seder, we will join Pastor in going to the Sanctuary for Holy Communion.
To provide adequate seating and food samples, please sign up on the sheet posted on the bulletin board located in the hall to the Fellowship room. Please take a reminder ticket if you like. We also need participants to provide items for the Seder meal. Please sign up for the items you can provide on the list posted on the bulletin board. All items are to be brought to the kitchen and labeled for the Seder service by March 21. Please let Peggy, Ellen or Janette know if you would like to help with the set-up, food preparations or clean-up for the Seder celebration; we will need you. Peggy Krueger, Ellen Holroyd, and Janette Payne.
Preparing for Easter. Easter is two weeks away, and we need your help. Below are the items needed, and we are hoping you can bring at least one or more.
Please consider bringing finger foods only to fellowship Easter Sunday as we expect to have guests and children for the Easter egg hunt. Please don’t bring anything that needs a fork or spoon to eat so that we will have an easy cleanup.
Every year a wooden cross is placed at the entrance to the church, and it is decorated with cut flowers. Please bring cut flowers to help decorate the cross anytime on Good Friday up until Saturday at noon when the cross will be decorated. Flowers can be placed in the buckets of water in front of the church. Be looking in your yard and think about contributing flowers.
Please consider bringing an Easter lily to church to help decorate the Sanctuary. Place them in the kitchen on the counter.
Plastic eggs were given out last Sunday for the children’s Easter egg hunt. Please place them on the kitchen counter when filled with candy, money, stickers, etc. anything fun that can fit in an egg.
Easter Egg Hunt. The Easter Egg Hunt will take place immediately following the worship service next Sunday, March 31. All children in grades 6 and below are welcome to come. Please invite your neighbors and friends.
Book Swap/Author Talk: Mark your calendar – Saturday, April 13 at 11:00 am- 12:30pm. This is a free event for the ladies of Peace as well as any friends/community members or interested parties. See Diane for any questions.
