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REFORMATION SUNDAY

October 27, 2019

AS WE GATHER:  In speaking of the message of the Reformation, Martin Luther stated: “All I have written and taught has been according to my conscience and sworn duty as a humble teacher of the Holy Scripture, for the praise of God, for the benefit and salvation of all Christendom, and for the good of the entire German nation.” He knew the message was much more than the man. He wanted his hearers to be assured of their salvation, which is alone in Christ, the Messiah. Through his sermons and hymn texts and writings, he presented the Gospel simply and directly. Today we honor and celebrate his faithful rediscovery of that Good News!

RINGING OF THE BELL

WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS

PROCESSIONAL SONG: “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”        LBW 229

Verses 1 & 2 All, Verse 3 Choir, Verse 4 All

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!

 

OPENING BLESSING

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

C: Amen!

L:  For by grace you have been saved through faith.

C: And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 

L:  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

C: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,

L:  which God prepared beforehand,

C: that we should walk in them. 

 

BEING HONEST ABOUT OURSELVES…

L:  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.

(A moment of silence 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 Christ, 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. 

 

SONG OF PRAISE: “Freely, Freely”                                                   TOSB 47

God forgave my sin in Jesus’ name,

I’ve been born again in Jesus’ name;

And in Jesus’ name I come to you

To share His love as He told me to.

He said, “Freely, freely you have received:

Freely, freely give.

Go in my name, and because you believe,

Others will know that I live.”

All pow’r is giv’n in Jesus’ name,

In earth and heav’n in Jesus’ name

And in Jesus’ name I come to you

To share His pow’r as He told me to.

He said, “Freely, freely you have received:

Freely, freely give.

Go in my name, and because you believe,

Others will know that I live.”

SERVICE OF THE WORD

THE SCRIPTURE LESSONS

The First Lesson:                                                                                 Psalm 46

C: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Men:     Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

Women:         though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

L:  There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.

Men:     The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; He utters His voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

L: Come, behold the works of the Lord, how He has brought desolations on the earth.

Women:         He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the chariots with fire.

L:  “Be still and know that I am God. I Will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!”

C: The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

 

EPISTLE:                                                                                     Romans 3:19-28

God justifies us through faith in Christ.

     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.

 

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE

 

GOSPEL:                                                                                             John 8:31-36

God sets us free as we abide in Jesus’ Word

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,

32 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 commits 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.

.

CHOIR ANTHEM: “In Christ Alone”                                             By Keith Getty

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!

 

SERMON

 

AFFIRMATION OF OUR FAITH:

Luther’s Explanation of the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed

C: I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father in eternity, and also a true human being, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord.  He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned human being.  He has purchased and freed me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver but with his holy, precious blood and his innocent suffering and death.  He has done all this in order that I may belong to him, live under him in his kingdom, and serve him in eternal righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and rules eternally.  This is most certainly true.    

 

OFFERINGS

The offerings gathered are a sign of our whole lives offered to God in humble gratitude for his greatest of all offerings, his Son offered for our salvation.

 

THE PRAYERS OF GOD’S PEOPLE

P:  Let us pray for the whole people of God, and for all people according to their needs:

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. 

L:  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. 

L:  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. 

L:  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.

 

THE LORD’S PRAYER

C: 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 glory forever and ever.  Amen. 

 

SPECIAL PRAYER

CLOSING BLESSING

L:  Brothers and sisters, you have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus.

C: We rejoice in this gift of God! 

L:  You are made to be His workmanship, walking daily in His Word.

C: We rejoice in the Word that sets us free! 

L:  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: “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less”                LBW 293

My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;

No merit of my own I claim, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils his lovely face, I rest on his unchanging grace;

In ev’ry high and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil.

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, his covenant, his blood Sustain me in the raging flood;

When all supports are washed away, He then is all my hope and stay.

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

When he shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in him be found,

Clothed in his righteousness alone, Redeemed to stand before the throne!

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

 

DISMISSAL

P:  Go in peace!  Serve the Lord!

C: Thanks be to God!