The Bulletin is at: 10-29-2017 – Bulletin
The Service in PDF format is at:10-29-2017 – Reformation Service
or the service is as follows:
Reformation Sunday
October 29, 2017
Prelude Music
As We Gather: “It is still all about Jesus.” It was all about Jesus when the Lord God first promised a Savior to Adam, Eve, and their descendants. It was all about Jesus with every foretelling of the coming Christ by the prophets. It was all about Jesus at the manger, the cross, and the empty tomb. It was all about Jesus as the apostle Paul penned, “We hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (Romans 3:28) It was also all about Jesus when Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses on October 31, 1517. As we observe the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, we celebrate that it always has been, and always will be, all about Jesus!
Ringing of the Bell
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.
Being Honest About Ourselves…
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.
(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 Forgiveness “Are You Washed in the Blood?”
- Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Refrain: Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless?
Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
- When the bride-groom cometh, will your robes be white,
Pure and white in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Refrain: Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless?
Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
- Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?
There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean;
O be washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Refrain: Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless?
Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
C: Amen.
Service of the Word
P: The Lord be with you
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray: Almighty and gracious Lord, pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your faithful people. Keep us steadfast in Your grace and truth, protect and deliver us in times of temptation, defend us against all enemies, and grant Your Church Your saving peace. We pray this through Jesus, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
The Scripture Lessons
The First Lesson: Revelation 14:6-7
God’s messenger brings the eternal gospel.
Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Epistle Lesson: 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.
Choir Anthem “In Christ Alone” By Keith Getty
God sets us free as we abide in Jesus’ Word.
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.
Sermon Song – “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” LBW 229
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!
Sermon
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.
P: Let us pray for the whole people of God, and for all people according to their needs: 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.
Service of the Sacrament
Words of Institution
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.
Distribution
“The Church’s One Foundation” TOSB 202
The Church’s One Foundation Is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
She is his new creation By water and the Word.
From heav’n he came and sought her To be his holy bride;
With his own blood he bought her, And for her life he died.
Elect from ev’ry nation, Yet one o’er all the earth;
Her charter of salvation: One Lord, one faith, one birth,
One holy name she blesses, Partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses with ev’ry grace endued.
‘Mid toil and tribulation And tumult of her war,
She waits the consummation Of peace forevermore;
Till with the vision glorious Her longing eyes are blest
And the great Church victorious Shall be the Church at rest.
Yet she on earth has union with God, the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion With those whose rest is won.
O happy ones and holy! Lord five us grace that we,
Like then, the meek and lowly. On high may dwell with thee.
“The Solid Rock” TOSB 222
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.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness seem to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every 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
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
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;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
“To God Be the Glory” TOSB 241
- To God be the glory, great things He has done,
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son.
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that all may go in.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father,
Thro’ Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He has done.
- O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To ev’ry believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father,
Thro’ Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory,
great things He has done.
- Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done,
And great our rejoicing thro’ Jesus the Son;
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father,
Thro’ Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory,
great things He has done.
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 – “Built on a Rock” LBW 365
Built on a rock the Church shall stand, Even when steeples are
Falling; Crumbled have spires in every land, Bells still are
Chiming and calling, Calling the young and old to rest, Calling the
Souls of those distressed, Longing for life everlasting.
Not in our temples made with hands God, the Almighty, is
Dwelling; High in the heavens his temple stands, All earthly
Temples excelling. Yet he who dwells in heaven above deigns to
Abide with us in love, Making our bodies his temple.
We are God’s house of living stones, Built for his own
Habitation; He fills our hearts, his humble thrones, Granting us
Life and salvation. Were two or three to seek his face, He in their
Midst would show his grace, Blessings upon them bestowing.
Yet in this house, an earthly frame, Jesus the children is
Blessing; Hither we come to praise his name, Faith in our
Savior confessing. Jesus to us his Spirit sent, Making with
Us his covenant, Granting his children the kingdom.
Through all the passing years, O Lord, Grant that, when church
Bells are ringing, Many may come to hear God’s Word
Where he this promise is bringing; I know my own, my own know me;
You, not the world, my face shall see; My peace I leave with you.
P: Go in peace! Serve the Lord!
C: Thanks be to God!
Post – Service Music