Due to technical problems, we do NOT have an audible version of this service. You can watch and listen to it on YouTube by checking the following link. September 17, 2023 Service
The following is a copy of the Bulletin for your reference.
Peace Lutheran Church
2540 Applegate Street
Philomath, OR 97370
(541) 929- 5504
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 September 17, 2023 – Outside Service
Musician Colleen Schulze
Praise Team
Reader Debbi Weiler
AS WE GATHER…………. God’s creation is filled with amazing creatures, some of which dedicate their lives to making peoples’ lives fuller and better. Since 1942, the Guide Dogs for the Blind association has graduated more than 16,000 person and dog teams from its training programs. The canine guides assist their human teammates each day of their lives together. The guidance they give is expert and dependable. Good guidance in every stage of life is essential! Throughout Scripture, our Lord promises His presence and His divine guidance to sustain and direct His people. Seeking the Lord’s guidance and responding to His promptings brings blessing to our lives!
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
OPENING SONG: “For the Beauty of the Earth”
Text: Folliott S. Pierpoint, 1835-1917, alt. Tune: Conrad Kocher, 1786-1872.; ©Public Domain
For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies;
Christ our Lord, to you we raise
This our sacrifice of praise.
.
For the wonder of each hour,
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale and tree and flow’r,
Sun and moon and stars of light:
Christ our Lord, to you we raise
This our sacrifice of praise.
.
For the joy of ear and eye,
For the heart and mind’s delight,
For the mystic harmony
Linking sense to sound and sight:
Christ our Lord, to you we raise
This our sacrifice of praise.
.
For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth and friends above;
For all gentle thoughts and mild:
Christ our Lord, to you we raise
This our sacrifice of praise.
OPENING BLESSING AND FOCUS
Leader: In the name of the Father,
People: who created the ocean and the sky, the rivers and the clouds, the rain and the snow.
Leader: In the name of the Son,
People: who stilled the storm of the sea and quieted the thunder with his voice.
Leader: In the name of the Spirit,
People: who hovered over the waters of creation and was present in the winds of Pentecost. Amen.
Leader: Sometimes in life, we don’t know where to go.
People: God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.
Leader: Sometimes in life, we wonder what is in store for us.
People: God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.
Leader: Sometimes in life, we feel afraid and alone.
People: There is only One we can turn to. With confidence we seek the Lord today.
WE CONFESS
Leader: Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened unto you.”
People: “For everyone who ask receives, and those who seek find, and to each who knocks it will be opened.”
Leader: God knows our needs before we ask and in our asking prepares us to receive the gift of his grace. Let us open our hearts to God’s healing forgiveness and forsake all that separates us from him and from one another. Let us be mindful of all personal evil done in thought, word, and deed and confess to God what has wounded others and us through our sin.
~~~~~ Time of Silence & Reflection ~~~~~
Leader: We confess,
People: Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus, Maker of all things, Judge of all people, we admit and confess our sinfulness. We have turned away from you and from each other in our thoughts, words, and actions. We do repent and are truly sorry for our sins. Have mercy on us, kind Father, because of the obedience of our Brother, Jesus, your Son. Forgive us all that is past, renew us with the power of the Holy Spirit, and move us to faithful service in the kingdom of Jesus our Lord.
Leader: Almighty God, in His boundless love sent His Son, Jesus, to die and rise for our forgiveness and eternal life. Because of Jesus, we are restored, body and soul. Therefore, by Jesus’ authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
PRAISE SONG Psalm 5
Bill Sprouse Jr.; © 1975 CCCM Music; Universal Music – Brentwood Benson Publishing
Give ear to my words, O Lord
Consider my meditation.
Hearken unto the voice of my cry,
My King and my God.
.
For unto Thee will I pray,
My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning
O, Lord, in the morning
Will I direct my prayer,
Unto Thee and will look up.
(Repeat all)
PRAYER FOCUS
Leader: Let us Pray. O God—You delight not in pomp and show, but in a humble and contrite heart. Too often in our lives we seek after knowledge as if it will solve our problems. We understand Your wisdom is what we need to guide us in life and through our problems. Give us a heart to seek Your wisdom for our lives. We pray this in Jesus’ name.
People: Amen.
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
FIRST LESSON Exodus 5:1-8a, 6:1-9
5 Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’ ”
2 But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go.”
3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.”
4 But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people away from their work? Get back to your burdens.”
5 And Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens!” 6 The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen,
7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as in the past; let them go and gather straw for themselves.
8 But the number of bricks that they made in the past you shall impose on them, you shall by no means reduce it, for they are idle.
6 But the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”
2 God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself known to them.
4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners.
5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.
6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.
7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’ ”
9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.
Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God!
HOLY GOSPEL Matthew 18:21-35
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.
24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’
29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.
31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.
32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.
35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
Leader: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to You, O Christ!
SERMON HYMN “The Old Rugged Cross”
George Bennard, Words: Public Domain, Music: Public Domain
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
The emblem of suff’ring and shame
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain
Chorus: So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it some day for a Crown
O the old rugged cross so despised by the world
Has a wondrous attraction for me
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary
Chorus
In the old rugged cross stained with blood so divine
A wondrous beauty I see
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died
To pardon and sanctify me
Chorus
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true
Its shame and reproach gladly bear
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away
Where His glory forever I’ll share
Chorus
SERMON
“Hitting the Brick Wall”
Pastor Jeremy Lucke
APOSTLES’ CREED
People: I believe in God, the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
And was born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate.
Was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
And is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again 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 everlasting. Amen.
OFFERING
We offer our thanksgiving for what God has first given us—our selves, our time, our possessions.
OFFERTORY
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Leader: Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Leader: For the Church here and around the world, witnessing to the good news in Christ, that we see the worth within one another, the value our heavenly Father places on us, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For those who do not know Christ but support the work of the Church to meet people’s physical, social, and spiritual needs, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For people who serve in positions of governmental authority among the nations, for those who raise crops and tend herds, and for all who connect resources with the needs of their fellow citizens, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For all who struggle to put bread on the table and a roof over their families, those who face injustice and discrimination, and all who are denied human rights, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For all near and dear to us who call out to God in their distress, (including……….), let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: For ourselves, that we recognize the gifts God has placed among us by which we may care for one another and our community, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Leader: Grant us, heavenly Father, that what we ask for in faith we may obtain through Your unfailing mercy for the sake of Your Son, Jesus, our Lord.
People: Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
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 the glory,
Forever and ever. Amen
Commune together
BENEDICTION
Leader: Now may the God of heaven and earth, of sky and sea, bless you and keep you. May his face shine upon you, his children, and be gracious unto you. May our Creator look upon you with favor and give you peace.
People: Amen.
CLOSING SONG “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”
Text: Joachim Neander, 1650-1680; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1829-1878, alt. Tune: Ernewerten Gesangbuch, Stralsund, 1665; © 1978 by Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis and Board of Publication, Lutheran Church in America, Philadelphia
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,
the King of creation!
O my soul, Praise Him,
for He is your health and salvation!
Let all who hear,
Now to His temple draw near;
Joining in glad adoration!
.
Praise to the Lord,
who o’er all things is wondrously reigning,
And, as on wings of an eagle,
uplifting, sustaining.
Have you not seen
All that is needful has been
Sent by His gracious ordaining?
.
Praise to the Lord,
who will prosper your work and defend you;
Surely His goodness and mercy
shall daily attend you.
Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend you.
.
Praise to the Lord,
Oh let all that is in me adore Him!
All that has life and breath,
come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen
Sound from His people again,
Gladly forever we adore Him.
Dismissal
Leader: Go in Peace. Serve the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God!
Announcements
Updating Pictures of the congregation. We are continuing to take photos of the congregation to update the pictures in the hallway between the narthex and fellowship hall. Carole and Trudy will be available today to take pictures after service. It’s surprising how many people use the pictures in the hallway to learn each other’s names, so please consider updating or adding your picture to our wall.
New church directory. We are starting to work on the new church directory. As we make plans, we are considering an online directory so that it can be maintained with up-to-date information. This would allow members to see the directory directly from their computer or phone. Additionally, individual members can update their own information and it would be completely up to them how much information they would like to include. We feel this service would provide a secure means of storing your information to a level commensurate with our current internal measures. Of course, a print version of the directory will also be available. If you have any questions or concerns, please let Daniel know.
New Bible Study. David Leding started a new Bible Study today leading an exploration into the Augsburg Confession using a small book, “The Lutheran Toolkit” and The Augsburg Confession as our guide. We will continue this study for the next several weeks. As Lutherans we are a confessional body of believers in the risen Lord Jesus Christ and one of our primary confessions is the Augsburg Confession. By digging deeper into this confession, we will together learn more about the roots of our church and the teachings that are the foundation of our Lutheran heritage.
Winter Storm Preparedness. Have you felt the weather changing? It’s time to start thinking about getting things ready for winter. The Philomath Chamber of Commerce is hosting a presentation this Thursday, September 21st in the Fellowship Hall at 11:45. You are very welcome to attend. Please RSVP to Daniel if you plan to attend. Lunch is also available for $20.
Holiday Bazaar Update. Bazaar News…
Are you planning any late summer/early fall “spring cleaning” projects around your house? Do you have lots of gently used items that you don’t want anymore?
Please consider donating them to our Granny’s Attic! This is a highly popular section of the bazaar where we will sell those items at thrifted prices. Please, no clothing.
Donations will be accepted Oct. 22 – 29th. Please see Jani B. if you have questions.
More to come…
Getting the Choir back together. The Peace choir is back and singing again. If you like to sing, the choir would be glad to have you. Please see Colleen or Diane for more information.
Hymn sing at Stoneybrook. Today at 3:00pm we will be doing a hymn sing at Stoneybrook. It’s a wonderful time to get together with folks who live at Stoneybrook. Please join us if you are able.