The Service in PDF format is at: October 25,2020 Service
No video for this week’s service
Peace Lutheran Church
Reformation Day
October 25, 2020
As We Gather…Martin Luther’s great hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” is based on Psalm 46. When the psalm was first written, it gave courage to God’s Old Testament people. Centuries later, when Luther wrote the hymn, the world was filled with plagues and death, and the devil was recognized as active in the lives of everyday people. Further, neither the Roman Catholic Church nor the government accepted the teachings of the reformers. Now, in our day, we face cyber warfare, pandemics, terrorists, political polarization, and family divisions. Because of our baptism into the death and resurrection of Christ, we need not fear. Our gracious God is a very present help in this time of trouble. He is our refuge against the powers of the created world around us and forces of evil from every source.
Opening Song: “In Christ Alone”
(recorded on Friday, April 24, 2020 with Dan Johnson and Diane Crocker)
By: Keith Getty & Stuart Townend © 2001 Thankyou Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing
In Christ alone my hope is found,
His 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 still,
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 the 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!
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
P: For by grace you have been saved through faith.
C: And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.
P: not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
C: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.
P: which God prepared beforehand,
C: that we should walk in them.
P: The Word of God announces both His punishment and His pardon, His judgement and His grace. The Law of God, summarized in the Ten Commandments, reminds us of our continual need for the Lord’s forgiveness. As we gather for worship, let us first pray to the Lord, confessing our sins to Him and calling upon Him to have mercy upon us.
Silence for self-examination to reflect on our sin and our need for the Savior
P: With humble hearts, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Heavenly Father, Your Word of truth confronts us in our sin. It convicts us of the bad things we have thought, said, and done, and of the good things we have failed to think, say, and do. Forgive our sins against You and our sins against one another. Through Your Son, Jesus, have mercy upon us and forgive us. By the power of His death on the cross and His resurrection from the grave, reunite our lives to Your life. Equip us by Your Holy Spirit to love and to serve others as You have first loved and served us. Amen.
P: Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Friends in Christ, let us abide in Jesus’ Word, which brings us the freedom of His forgiveness. Almighty God, in His great mercy, has given His Son to die for you and for Jesus’ sake forgives you all your sins. Upon this your confession, I, as a called and ordained servant of Christ, forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
R: Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
R: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God!
R: So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
R: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ!
Message Pastor Jeremy Lucke
P: As You have promised, Lord, hear Your people when they call, and answer us according to Your mercy,
P: For those who are marked with the sign of the cross and sealed with the Holy Spirit, that the children of God may hold forth the word of truth throughout the world, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord Jesus, may we abide in Your Word.
P: For Peace Lutheran Church, that we may see the great need for the truth of God’s Word in our local community and shine Christ’s light in our neighborhoods, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord Jesus, may we abide in Your Word.
P: For all who serve in positions of leadership in our government, along with those who serve in our armed forces, that our Mighty Fortress would protect them as they serve to protect our freedoms, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord Jesus, may we abide in Your Word.
P: For all those with illness of heart, mind, and body, (especially…), that they may be set free from their infirmities and rest in the healing presence of our Savior, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord Jesus, may we abide in Your Word.
P: For these and all other concerns we have, that, as we bow before heaven’s throne, we know that Christ alone brings our petitions before our loving Father, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord Jesus, may we abide in Your Word. Amen.
P: 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 + give you peace.
C: Amen.
Closing Song: “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” LBW 229
Text: Martin Luther, 1483-1546; tr. hymnal version, 1978, Tune: Martin Luther, 1483-1546, © 1978 by Lutheran Church in America, The American Lutheran Church, The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Canada, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
A mighty fortress is our God, A sword and shield victorious;
He breaks the cruel oppressor’s rod And wins salvation glorious.
The old satanic foe Has sworn to work us woe!
With craft and dreadful might He arms himself to fight.
On earth he has no equal.
No strength of ours can match his might! We would be lost, rejected.
But now a champion comes to fight, Whom God himself elected.
You ask who this may be? The Lord of hosts is he!
Christ Jesus mighty Lord, God’s only Son, adored.
He holds the field victorious.
Though hordes of devils fill the land All threat’ning to devour us,
We tremble not, unmoved we stand; They cannot over pow’r us.
Let this world’s tyrant rage; In battle we’ll engage!
His might is doomed to fail; God’s judgment must prevail!
One little word subdues him.
God’s Word forever shall abide, No thanks to foes, who fear it;
For God himself fights by our side With weapons of the Spirit.
Were they to take our house, Goods, honor, child, or spouse,
Though life be wrenched away, They cannot win the day.
The Kingdom’s ours forever!