The Service in PDF format is at: March 19, 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, March 19, 2023
Musician Colleen Schulze
Reader Carole Gutbrod
Flowers Munster
AS WE GATHER
Recently published health guidelines suggest that it is of significant benefit that each adult walk about 10,000 steps each day. The guidelines do not suggest where or how or even when that walking should be done during the course of a day. It simply commends the walking itself. Walking is important for our lives! Paul wrote to the Christians at Ephesus to “walk as children of light” and to seek what is “good and right and true” (Ephesians 5:8b, 9b). May our walking with our Lord be blessed each day—no matter how many steps we take along the way!
CHORAL ANTHEM “Shepherd Psalm”
Gentle Shepherd, Lord of all,
In Your care, I’ll never want.
Lay me down in pastures green:
Guide, protect, supply my need;
Guide, protect, supply my need.
.
By the water, still and pure,
Cleanse and keep my soul secure.
For Your Name, my way protect,
Led in paths of righteousness;
Led in paths of righteousness.
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Tho’ the vale of death be near,
Shadows dark, I need not fear.
Care and comfort You provide,
Keep in safety by Your side;
Keep in safety by Your side.
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Goodness, mercy follow me,
‘Til the day I dwell with Thee.
In Your house forevermore,
Safely home on heaven’s shore;
Safely home on heaven’s shore!
.
Life below, I leave behind;
Son of God, forever shine!
When my time on earth is done,
I’ll awake to heaven’s Sun;
I’ll awake to heaven’s Sun!
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Gentle Shepherd, Lord of all,
In Your care, I’ll never want.
Lay me down in pastures green:
Guide, protect, supply my need;
Guide, protect, supply my need.
Leader: In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
OPENING SENTENCES Isaiah 42:5–7
Leader: Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
People: who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:
Leader: “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,
People: to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Joel 2:13; Isaiah 42:16
Pastor: In the darkness of the world around us and amid our own blindness to His will and ways, God calls us to confess our sins.
People: Return to the Lord, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.
~~~~~ Silence for reflection and self-examination ~~~~~
Leader: God of God, Light of light,
People: we confess that by nature we are sinful and unclean, born in darkness. We are often blind to Your Word and Your work in our lives, sinning against You and against one another in thought, word, and deed. For the sake of Jesus, who is the light of the world, forgive me all my sins, that my eyes may be opened and my heart enlightened to look to You in faith and hope.
Leader: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. Through His death on the cross, Jesus Christ has shined His eternal light of forgiveness, peace, and life on you. In the stead and by the command of our Lord Jesus Christ as a called and ordained servant of the Word, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
Text: Joseph H. Gilmore 1834-1918, alt. Tune: William B. Bradley, 1816-1868; © 1978 by Lutheran Church in America, The American Lutheran Church, The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada, The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod.
He leadeth me: oh, blessed thought!
Oh, words with heav’nly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be,
Still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
Chorus: He leadeth me, he leadeth me,
By his own hand he leadeth me.
His faithful foll’wer I would be,
For by his hand he leadeth me.
.
Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom,
By waters calm, o’er troubled sea,
Still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
Chorus
Lord, I would clasp thy hand in mine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content, whatever lot I see,
Since ‘tis my God that leadeth me.
Chorus
And when my task on earth is done,
When by thy grace the vict’ry’s won,
E’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
Since God through Jordan leadeth me.
Chorus
Leader: Let us pray.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning; and though we deserve only punishment, You receive us as Your children and provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant that we may acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.
14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
Leader: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud
7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?”
9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”
11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.”
12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” 13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.
14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.
15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.
17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight
19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.”
22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.)
23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” 24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.”
25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?”
28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.”
30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.
31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.
32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”
37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”
40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?”
41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.
Leader: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to You, O Christ.
SERMON SONG: “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
Pastor Jeremy Lucke
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH APOSTLES’ CREED
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 X everlasting. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH (Based on the Lord’s Prayer)
Leader: Friends in Christ, I urge you all to lift up your hearts to God and pray with me as Christ our Lord has taught us and freely promised to hear us.
God, our Father in heaven, look with mercy on us, Your needy children on earth, and grant us grace that Your holy name be hallowed by us and all the world through the teaching of Your Word and the fervent love shown forth in our lives. Graciously turn us from the temptations that come our way to profane Your name. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Leader: May Your kingdom come to us and expand. Bring all sinners and those who are blinded and bound in the devil’s kingdom to know Jesus Christ, Your Son, by faith that the number of Christians may be increased. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Leader: Strengthen us by Your Spirit according to Your will, both in life and in death, in the midst of both good and evil things, that our own wills may be crucified daily and sacrificed to Your good and gracious will. Into Your merciful hands we commend all who are in need, praying for them at all times: Thy will be done. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Leader: Grant us our daily bread, preserve us from greed and selfish cares, and help us trust in You to provide for all our needs. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Leader: Forgive us our sins as we also forgive those who sin against us so that our hearts may be at peace and may rejoice in a good conscience before You, and that no sin may ever frighten or alarm us. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Leader: Lead us not into temptation, O Lord, but help us by Your Spirit to subdue our flesh, to turn from the world and its ways, and to overcome the devil with all his wiles. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Leader: And lastly, O heavenly Father, deliver us from all evil of both body and soul, now and forever. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Leader: We trust, O Lord, in Your great mercy to hear and answer us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
People: Amen.
DISTRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION HYMN S “Bind us Together”
Bob Gillman; © 1977 Thankyou Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)
Bind us together Lord,
Bind us together with cords
that cannot be broken,
Bind us together Lord,
Bind us together
Bind us together with love.
.
There is only one God.
There is only one King.
There is only one body.
That is why I sing.
.
Bind us together Lord,
Bind us together with cords
that cannot be broken,
Bind us together Lord,
Bind us together
Bind us together with love.
DISTRIBUTION HYMN 2 “Amazing Grace”
1 Amazing grace (how sweet the sound)
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
was blind, but now I see.
2 ‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed!
3 Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come:
’tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
and grace will lead me home.
4 The Lord has promised good to me,
his word my hope secures;
he will my shield and portion be
as long as life endures.
Leader: The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and X give you peace.
People: Amen.
CLOSING HYMN “Just a Closer Walk with Thee”
Jack Schrader; © Words: Public Domain Music: 1980, 1997, 2009 Hope Publishing Company
I am weak but Thou art strong;
Jesus keep me from all wrong.
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk let me walk close to Thee.
.
Chorus: Just a closer walk with thee
Grant it Jesus is my plea.
Daily walking close to Thee
Let it be dear Lord let it be.
.
Through this world of
toil and snares
If I falter Lord who cares.
Who with me my burden shares,
None but Thee dear Lord,
none but Thee.
Chorus
When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more.
Guide me gently safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore to Thy shore.
Chorus
Pastor: Go in Peace. Serve the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
Announcements
LENTEN SOUP SUPPERS. We will be continuing Soup Supper this week on Wednesday, March 22. The supper will start at 5:00pm and service at 6:00pm. Please check the sign-up sheets are in the hallway between the Narthex and Fellowship Hall to see if you can bring something to share.
Change to Easter Schedule. We will not be having the Easter morning breakfast as originally planned. Everything else for Holy Week is a go.
Altar Flower Sign up. Please consider signing up to bring flowers for the altar. Elder Merv is going to be taking down names of people who might bring flowers–he will be positioned in the narthex after church today.
FELLOWSHIP. Fellowship is a wonderful time to connect with our church family. We are returning to our pre-pandemic model and the first Sunday of every month will be the “potluck” Sunday. The rest of the Sundays are for snacks and coffee. If anyone wants to bring a more involved dish to share on those “other” Sundays, they are certainly welcome to, but there is no obligation and/or expectation to do so.
Church Cleanup Day. Saturday, March 25 will be the annual church cleanup day. The event will start at 8:00 and go until we are finished. We should be done by 11:00 or 12:00. We will be cleaning up both the inside and outside of the church. If you are available, we would enjoy having you help – many hands make light work.
