November 26, 2023 Service - Peace Lutheran Church

The Service in PDF format is at: November 26, 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.

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, Rick Durling

Praise Team Rick Durling, Patrick Kamins, Karyn Stanley, Nora Stanley, Diane Crocker, Kaia Lucke, Sarah Grassel, Caleb Santora

Today November 26, 2023

Musician Colleen Schulze

Reader Youth Reader

Flowers Bill & Peggy Krueger

Children’s Message Pastor J.

PRE-SERVICE MUSIC

AS WE GATHER……….. Today is the Last Sunday of the Church Year. This Sunday is traditionally filled with themes of Christ’s roles as King and Judge. But consider these words from Psalm 95: “We are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.” We are God’s chosen sheep. He is our Shepherd. We follow Him as He goes to seek the lost, bring back the stray, and bind up the injured.

RINGING OF THE BELL……………. After the ringing of the bell, in silence, we prepare our hearts and minds for worship.

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

OPENING HYMN “Come, Thou Almighty King”

Come, Thou Almighty King,

Help us Thy name to sing;

Help us to praise;

Father all-glorious,

O’er all victorious,

Come and reign over us,

Ancient of Days.

Come, Thou Incarnate Word,

Gird on Thy mighty sword;

Our prayer attend.

Come and Thy people bless,

And give Thy word success,

And let thy righteousness

On us descend.

Come, Holy Comforter,

Thy sacred witness bear

In this glad hour!

Thou, who almighty art,

Now rule in ev’ry heart,

And ne’er from us depart,

Spirit of pow’r.

To Thee, great One in Three,

Eternal praises be

Hence evermore!

Thy sov’reign majesty

May we in glory see,

And to eternity

Love and adore.

INVOCATION

Leader: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

THE VENITE “O COME, LET US SING”

Leader: Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

People: O Come, let us worship Him.

Leader: Oh come, let us sing to the LORD;

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

Leader: Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving;

let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!

Leader: For the LORD is a great God,

and a great King above all gods.

Leader: The deep places of the earth are in His hand;

the strength of the hills is His also.

Leader: The sea is His, for he made it,

and His hand formed the dry land.

Leader: Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!

Leader: For he is our God,

and we are the people of His pasture,

and the sheep of His hand.

Leader: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Leader: Blessed be God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

People: O Come, let us worship Him.

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS

Leader: Indeed, our heavenly Father has called us to be His people. He has led us to green pastures and still waters. Yet, there have been times when we have treated our fellow sheep with disdain, when we have wandered away from our Shepherd. But our Good Shepherd does not abandon us, and we confess our sins before Him and one another.

Silence for reflection

Leader: Heavenly Father,

People: we confess that we have wandered away from You. We confess that we have acted shamefully toward our brothers and sisters in Christ. We have sinned in our thoughts, words, and actions. We have failed by our inactivity. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us,

O Lord, that we might follow You to the green pastures and still waters of everlasting life.

Leader: Our heavenly Father has heard Your confession and sent His only Son, Jesus, to be our Good Shepherd. Jesus searches for each one of His sheep. He brings back those who have strayed. He binds up the injured. He even lays down His life for the sheep.

By Christ’s death and resurrection, God forgives you all your sins. 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 sought by our Shepherd. We are forgiven in Christ.

PRAYER

Leader: Let us pray. Heavenly Father, You care for all people regardless of their wealth or heritage, and You have made us heirs of Your salvation. Strengthen us, that we care for the poor, weak, and lonely, and that all our neighbors may know Your gracious love; 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

OLD TESTAMENT Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

“For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.

I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

“Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.

Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God!

HOLY GOSPEL MATTHEW 25:31-46

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Reader: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to You, O Christ!

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

SERMON HYMN “Blessed Assurance”

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.