Seventh Sunday of Easter — May 24, 2020

Today’s Theme for Worship: The Seventh Sunday of Easter is the last Sunday of the Easter season: we still hear echoes of Christ’s victory shout! It is the Sunday after the Ascension: we rejoice because our Savior is ruling at his Father’s right hand! This Sunday is also a bridge to Pentecost. The promise of the Holy Spirit fills us with special hope.

Opening Hymn: 171 vv 1,5,6 A Hymn of Glory Let Us Sing

1 A hymn of glory let us sing! New songs throughout the world shall ring:

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Christ, by a road before untrod, Ascends unto the throne of God.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

5 Be now our joy on earth, O Lord, And be our future great reward.

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Then, throned with you forever, we Shall praise your name eternally.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

6 O risen Christ, ascended Lord, All praise to you let earth accord.

Alleluia! Alleluia!

You are, while endless ages run, With Father and with Spirit one.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Text: The Venerable Bede, 673-735, abr.; tr. composite.

P: The grace of our Lord + Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.

C: And also with you.

Confession of Sins

P: We have come into the presence of God, who created us to love and serve him as his dear children. But we have disobeyed him and deserve only his wrath and punishment. Therefore, let us confess our sins to him and plead for his mercy.

C: Merciful Father in heaven, I am altogether sinful from birth. In countless ways I have sinned against you and do not deserve to be called your child. But trusting in Jesus, my Savior, I pray: have mercy on me according to your unfailing love. Cleanse me from my sin, and take away my guilt.

P: God, our heavenly Father, has forgiven all your sins. By the perfect life and innocent death of our Lord Jesus Christ, he has removed your guilt forever. You are his own dear child. May God give you strength to live according to his will.

C: Amen.

P: In the peace of forgiveness, let us praise the Lord.

♬ Oh Taste And See

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Bless-ed are they who take re-fuge in him.

Your Word, O Lord, is e-ter-nal;

it stands firm in the heav-ens.

Your faith-ful-ness con-tin-ues for-ev-er.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.

Bless-ed are they who take re-fuge in him.

Prayer of the Day

P: Let us Pray.

Almighty God, your Son, our Savior was taken up in glory and intercedes for us at your right hand. Through your living and abiding Word give us hearts to know him still and faith to follow where he has gone; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: ♬ Amen.

First Lesson: Acts 1:1-14

Jesus ascends into heaven, and his disciples return to Jerusalem where they prayerfully await the coming of the Holy Spirit.

I wrote my first book, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began doing and teaching ²until the day he was taken up, after he had given instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. ³After he had suffered, he presented himself alive to the apostles with many convincing proofs. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and told them things about the kingdom of God.

⁴Once, when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for what the Father promised, which you heard from me. ⁵For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

⁶So when they were together with him, they asked, “Lord, is this the time when you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

⁹After he said these things, he was taken up while they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰They were looking intently into the sky as he went away. Suddenly, two men in white clothes stood beside them. ¹¹They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.

¹³When they entered the city, they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. Peter and John were there, also James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. ¹⁴All of them kept praying together with one mind, along with the women, with Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 8 Special Music sings the verses, congregation joins in the refrain
“Lord, your name is glorious, it resounds through all the earth.”

Refrain

Lord, your name is glorious, it resounds through all the earth.

Lord , our Lord, your glorious name

All your wondrous works proclaim;

In the heav'ns with radiant signs

Evermore your glory shines.

Refrain

Lord, your name is glorious, it resounds through all the earth.

Infant voices chant your praise

Telling all your glorious ways;

Weakest means work out your will,

Mighty foes you cause to still.

Refrain

Lord, your name is glorious, it resounds through all the earth.

Moon and stars in shining height

Nightly tell their Maker's might;

When I view the heav'ns afar

Then I know how small we are

Refrain

Lord, your name is glorious, it resounds through all the earth.

Who are we that we should share

In your love and tender care

Raised to high exalted height,

Crowned with honor or in your sight

Refrain

Lord, your name is glorious, it resounds through all the earth.

With dominion crowned, we stand O'er the creatures of your hand:

All to us subjection yield,

In the sea and air and field

Refrain

Lord, your name is glorious, it resounds through all the earth.

Second Lesson: 1 Peter 4:12-17; 5:6-11
We can rejoice in hardships, since we know our Savior won a better life for us. Because of Christ’s victory, we can be strong when faced with the devil’s attacks.

¹²Dear friends, do not be surprised by the fiery trial that is happening among you to test you, as if something strange were happening to you. ¹³Instead rejoice whenever you are sharing in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

¹⁴If you are insulted in connection with the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. ¹⁵Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or as a meddler. ¹⁶But if you suffer for being a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God in connection with this name. ¹⁷For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. Now if it begins with us, what will be the end for those who disobey the gospel of God?

^5:6Therefore humble yourselves under God’s powerful hand so that he may lift you up at the appointed time. ⁷Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. ⁸Have sound judgment. Be alert. Your adversary, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. ⁹Resist him by being firm in the faith. You know that the same kinds of sufferings are being laid on your brotherhood all over the world.

¹⁰After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, establish, strengthen, and support you. ¹¹To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

Verse:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

These words are written that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel: John 17:1-11
In the upper room on Maundy Thursday Jesus prays for himself and for his disciples. Jesus is our great High Priest.
After Jesus had spoken these things, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you. ²For you gave him authority over all flesh, so that he may give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. ⁴I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵Now, Father, glorify me at your own side with the glory I had at your side before the world existed.

⁶“I revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me, and they have held on to your word. ⁷Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. ⁸For I gave them the words you gave me, and they received them. They learned the truth that I came from you. They believed that you sent me.

⁹“I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, because they are yours. ¹⁰All that is mine is yours, and what is yours is mine. And I am glorified in them. ¹¹I am no longer going to be in the world, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you.”

C: ♬ Praise be to you, O Christ!

Hymn of the Day: 352 Lord, Enthroned in Heavenly Splendor

1 Lord, enthroned in heav’nly splendor, Mighty Firstborn from the dead,

You alone, our strong Defender, You lift up your people’s head.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Jesus, true and living Bread! Jesus, true and living Bread!

2 Though the lowliest form once veiled you As of old in Bethlehem,

Here as there your angels hail you, Branch and Flow’r of Jesse’s stem.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

We in worship join with them; We in worship join with them.

3 Paschal Lamb, your off’ring, finished Once for all when you were slain,

In its fullness undiminished, Shall forevermore remain,

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Cleansing souls from ev’ry stain; Cleansing souls from ev’ry stain.

4 Life-imparting heav’nly Manna, Stricken Rock with streaming side,

Heav’n and earth with loud hosanna Worship you, the Lamb who died.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Ris’n, ascended, glorified! Ris’n, ascended, glorified!

Text: George H. Bourne, 1840-1925, abr., alt.

Sermon 1 Peter 4:12-17; 5:6-11

Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come 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 Prayer

Electronic Giving! You can give your offerings from your smartphone with the GivePlusChurch app, which can be downloaded for free at Google Play or the App Store. You can also give at holytrinitylutheranwyoming.com by clicking the Offerings link at the top of the page or scan the QR code below. If you have any questions about any of these options, please contact Dave Conrad at dconrad765@gmail.com or 616-406-7172

Prayer of the Church

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

Hymn: 202 If God Had Not Been on Our Side

1 If God had not been on our side And had not come to aid us,

Our foes with all their pow’r and pride Would surely have dismayed us,

For we, his flock, would have to fear The devil’s wolves, both far and near,

Who rise in might against us.

2 Their furious wrath, did God permit, Would surely have consumed us

And as a deep and yawning pit With life and limb entombed us.

A hellish storm would o’er us roll From Satan, who desires our soul

And seeks to overwhelm us.

3 Blest be the Lord, who foiled their threat That they could not devour us.

Our souls, like birds, escaped their net; They could not overpow’r us.

The snare is broken-we are free! Our helper and our strength is he

Who made the earth and heavens.

Text: Martin Luther, 1483-1546; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis, 1941, alt.

Prayer and Blessing

P: O Lord God, our heavenly Father, pour out the Holy Spirit on your faithful people. Keep us strong in your grace and truth, protect and comfort us in all temptation, and bestow on us your saving peace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

or

P: Almighty God, we thank you for teaching us the things you want us to believe and do. Help us by your Holy Spirit to keep your Word in pure hearts that we may be strengthened in faith, guided in holiness, and comforted in life and in death, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: ♬ A-men.

P: Brothers and sisters, go in peace. Live in harmony with one another. Serve the Lord with gladness.

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look on you with favor and + give you peace.

C: ♬ A-men, A-men, A-men

Closing Hymn: 428 Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me

1 Why should cross and trial grieve me?

Christ is near With his cheer; Never will he leave me.

Who can rob me of the heaven

That God’s Son For me won When his life was given?

2 When life’s troubles rise to meet me,

Though their weight May be great, They will not defeat me.

God, my loving Savior, sees them;

He who knows All my woes Knows how best to end them.

3 God gives me my days of gladness,

And I will Trust him still When he sends me sadness.

God is good; his love attends me

Day by day, Come what may, Guides me and defends me.

4 Since I know God never fails me,

In his voice I’ll rejoice When grim death assails me.

Trusting in my Savior’s merit,

Safe at last, Troubles past, I shall heav’n inherit.

Text: Paul Gerhardt, 1607-76, st. 1-3, abr.; Harlyn J. Kuschel, b. 1945, st. 4; tr. composite,

st. 1-3. St. 4 © 1993 Harlyn J. Kuschel. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Today’s Organist: Miss Allegra Scott