Sixth Sunday of Easter — Confirmation May 17, 2020

 

Today’s Theme for Worship: This Sunday leads us into Ascension and Pentecost. As Jesus prepares to leave his disciples, he encourages them to be faithful and promises them the Holy Spirit.

 

Order of Service: Service of Word and Sacrament, p. 26

 

Opening Hymn: 343 - Christ Is the World's Light

1  Christ is the world’s light, Christ and none other;

Born in our darkness, he became our brother.

If we have seen him, we have seen the Father:

Glory to God on high!

 

2  Christ is the world’s peace, Christ and none other;

No one can serve him and despise another.

Who else unites us, one with God the Father?

Glory to God on high!

 

3  Christ is the world’s life, Christ and none other;

Sold once for silver, murdered here, our brother.

He who redeemed us reigns with God the Father:

Glory to God on high!

 

4  Give God the glory, God and none other;

Give God the glory, Spirit, Son, and Father;

Give God the glory, God with us, my brother:

Glory to God on high!

         

Order of Service: Service of Word and Sacrament, p. 26

 

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: God invites us to come into his presence and worship him with humble and penitent hearts. Therefore, let us acknowledge our sinfulness and ask him to forgive us.

C: Holy and merciful Father, I confess that I am by nature sinful, and that I have disobeyed you in my thoughts, words, and actions.  I have done what is evil and failed to do what is good.  For this I deserve your punishment both now and in eternity.  But I am truly sorry for my sins, and trusting in my Savior Jesus Christ, I pray:  Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.

 

P: God, our heavenly Father, has been merciful to us and has given his only Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Therefore, as a called servant of Christ and by his authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.

C:  Amen.

 

Lord, Have Mercy

P: For all that we need in life and for the wisdom to use all your gifts with gratitude and joy, hear our prayer, O Lord.

C: Lord, have mer-cy.

 

P: For the steadfast assurance that nothing can separate us from your love and for the courage to stand firm against the assaults of Satan and every evil, hear our prayer, O Christ.

C: Christ, have mer-cy.

 

P: For the well-being of your holy Church in all the world and for those who offer here their worship and praise, hear our prayer, O Lord.

C: Lord, have mer-cy.

 

P: Merciful God, maker and preserver of life, uphold us by your power and keep us in your tender care:

C: A-men.

 

P: The works of the Lord are great and glorious; his name is worthy of praise.

 

O Lord, Our Lord

O Lord, our Lord, how glo-rious is your name in all the earth.

Al-might-y God, mer-ci-ful Father,

you crown our life with your love.

 

You take a-way our sin; you com-fort our spir-it;

you make us pure and ho-ly in your sight.

You did not spare your on-ly Son, but gave him up for us all.

O Lord, our Lord, how glo-rious is your name in all the earth.

 

O Son of God, e-ter-nal Word of the Fa-ther,

you came to live with us;

you made your Fa-ther known;

you washed us from our sins in your own blood.

 

You are the King of glo-ry; you are the Lord!

O Lord, our Lord, how glo-rious is your name in all the earth.

 

 

Prayer of the Day

P: Let us Pray.

Father of lights, every good and perfect gift comes from you. Inspire us to think those things that are true and long for those things that are good, that we may always make our petitions  according to your gracious will; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: A-men.

 

FIRST LESSON: Acts 17:22-31

22Then Paul stood up in front of the council of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in every way. 23For as I was walking around and carefully observing your objects of worship, I even found an altar on which had been inscribed, ‘To an unknown god.’ Now what you worship as unknown—this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

24“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made with hands. 25Neither is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything, since he himself gives all people life and breath and everything they have. 26From one man, he made every nation of mankind to live over the entire face of the earth. He determined the appointed times and the boundaries where they would live. 27He did this so they would seek God and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘Indeed, we are also his offspring.’

29“Therefore, since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and planning. 30Although God overlooked the times of ignorance, he is now commanding all people everywhere to repent, 31because he has set a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man he appointed. He provided proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

 

Special Music: The Lord Is My Salvation

The grace of God has reached for me

And pulled me from the raging sea

And I am safe on this solid ground

The Lord is my salvation

 

I will not fear when darkness falls

His strength will help me scale these walls

I’ll see the dawn of the rising sun

The Lord is my salvation

 

CHORUS

Who is like the Lord our God?

Strong to save, faithful in love

My debt is paid and the vict’ry won

The Lord is my salvation

My hope is hidden in the Lord

He flow’rs each promise of His Word

When winter fades I know spring will come

The Lord is my salvation

 

In times of waiting, times of need

When I know loss, when I am weak

I know His grace will renew these days

The Lord is my salvation

 

CHORUS

Who is like the Lord our God?

Strong to save, faithful in love

My debt is paid and the vict’ry won

The Lord is my salvation

 

And when I reach my final day

He will not leave me in the grave

But I will rise,

He will call me home

The Lord is my salvation

CHORUS

Who is like the Lord our God?

Strong to save, faithful in love

My debt is paid and the vict’ry won

The Lord is my salvation

 

Glory be to God the Father

Glory be to God the Son

Glory be to God the Spirit

The Lord is our salvation

Glory be to God the Father

Glory be to God the Son

Glory be to God the Spirit

The Lord is our salvation

 

The Lord is our salvation

 

The Lord is our salvation

 

SECOND LESSON: 1 Peter 3:15-22

15But regard the Lord, the Christ, as holy in your hearts. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that is in you. 16But speak with gentleness and respect, while maintaining a clear conscience, so that those who attack your good way of life in Christ may be put to shame because they slandered you as evildoers.

17Indeed, it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil, 18because Christ also suffered once for sins in our place, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in flesh but was made alive in spirit, 19in which he also went and made an announcement to the spirits in prison. 20These spirits disobeyed long ago, when God’s patience was waiting in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In this ark a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water. 21And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the body but the guarantee of a good conscience before God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 22He went to heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

 

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 14:15-21

15“If you love me, hold on to my commands. 16I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. 17He is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see him or know him. You know him because he stays with you and will be in you.

18“I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. 19In a little while the world will see me no longer, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21The one who has my commands and holds on to them is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father. I too will love him and show myself to him.”

 

C: Praise be to you, O Christ!

 

Hymn of the Day: 377 vv. 1-5 - Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice

1  Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice, With exultation springing,

And, with united heart and voice And holy rapture singing,

Proclaim the wonders God has done, How his right arm the vict’ry won.

How dearly it has cost him!

 

2  Fast bound in Satan’s chains I lay; Death brooded darkly o’er me.

Sin was my torment night and day; In sin my mother bore me.

Yet deep and deeper still I fell; Life had become a living hell,

So firmly sin possessed me.

 

3  My own good works availed me naught, No merit they attaining;

My will against God’s judgment fought, No hope for me remaining.

My fears increased till sheer despair Left naught but death to be my share

And hell to be my sentence.

 

4  But God beheld my wretched state Before the world’s foundation,

And, mindful of his mercies great, He planned my soul’s salvation.

A Father’s heart he turned to me, Sought my redemption fervently;

He gave his dearest treasure.

 

5  He spoke to his beloved Son: “’Tis time to have compassion.

Then go, bright Jewel of my crown, And bring mankind salvation.

From sin and sorrow set them free; Slay bitter death for them that they

May live with you forever.”

 

Sermon                                            1 Peter 3:15-22

Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.  For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and became fully human.  For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate.  He suffered death and was buried.  On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who in unity with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.  We believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church.  We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.  We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.  Amen.

 

Hymn of the Day: 377 vv. 6-10 - Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice

6  The Son obeyed his Father’s will, Was born of virgin mother,

And, God’s good pleasure to fulfill, He came to be my brother.

No garb of pomp or pow’r he wore; A servant’s form like mine he bore

To lead the devil captive.

 

7  To me he spoke, “Hold fast to me-I am your rock and castle.

Your ransom I myself will be; For you I strive and wrestle.

For I am yours, your friend divine, And evermore you shall be mine;

The foe shall not divide us.

 

8  The foe shall shed my precious blood, Me of my life bereaving.

All this I suffer for your good; Be steadfast and believing.

Life shall from death the vict’ry win; My innocence shall bear your sin,

And you are blest forever.

 

9  Now to my Father I depart, The Holy Spirit sending

And, heav’nly wisdom to impart, My help to you extending.

He will a source of comfort be, Teach you to know and follow me,

And in all truth will guide you.

 

10  What I on earth have lived and taught Be all your life and teaching;

So shall my kingdom’s work be wrought And honored in your preaching.

Take care that no one’s man-made laws Should e’er destroy the gospel’s cause.

This final word I leave you.”

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 


Rite of Confirmation

P: Confirmation is a public profession of the Christian faith, following a period of instruction. It is a rite by which a person is recognized as one who is properly prepared to receive Holy Communion.

 

P: Brother and sister in Christ, our Lord Jesus said to his disciples: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

In obedience to the Lord’s command, you have been baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. You have been taught the precious truths of the Christian faith as confessed by the Evangelical Lutheran Church. You know what God has given you by his grace and what he expects of you as his dear child. You now have the privilege of receiving the Lord’s body and blood in the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

 

You are here to make a public profession of your Christian faith. The apostle Paul, writing to the Romans, said: “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

 

Therefore, lift up your heart to the God of all grace and joyfully answer these questions. We invite those who have been confirmed in this or another WELS or ELS congregation to join in the responses with the Confirmand and renew your own confirmation vows.

 

P: Do you this day, in the presence of God and of this congregation, acknowledge that in Baptism, God gave you forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation?

C: I do.

 

P: Do you reject the devil along with all his lies and empty promises?

C: I do.

 

P: Do you believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit?

C: 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.

 

P: Do you believe all the books of the Bible to be the inspired Word of God?

C: I do.

 

P: Do you believe that the teaching of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, as you have learned to know it from Luther’s Small Catechism, is faithful and true to the Word of God?

C: I do.

 

P: Do you intend to continue steadfast in this teaching and to endure all things, even death, rather than fall away from it?

C: I do, and I ask God to help me.

 

P: Do you intend faithfully to conform all your life to the teachings of God’s Word, to be faithful in the use of the Word and sacrament, and in faith and action remain true to God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—as long as you live?

C: I do, and I ask God to help me.

 

P: Since it is God alone who enables us both to will and to do his good pleasure, it is right for us, dear friends in Christ, to call on him for these confirmands, that he would graciously complete the good work which he has begun in them. Let us, therefore, bow our heads and pray.

 

Prayer

P: Almighty God, in Baptism you made this brother and sister members of the body of your dear Son, Jesus Christ. You washed them by his blood, buried them with him in his death, and gave them a new life in his resurrection. Renew them by the Holy Spirit, which you have poured out on them generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.  Let them live out their lives as heirs of eternal life. Lead them to serve your Church in holiness and righteousness all of their days. Keep them in fellowship with all who wait for the return of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 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.

 

 

P: Brother and sister in Christ, what we as a Christian congregation have here asked our heavenly Father to confer on all confirmands, we now ask him to give you individually.

 

P: Aidan Thomas Dehn

May God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, give you his Holy Spirit, the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge, of grace and prayer, of power and strength, of sanctification and the fear of God.

 

Matthew 28:19 - "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

 

P: Emma Elizabeth Timreck

May the Father, in heaven, for Jesus’ sake renew and increase in you the gift of the Holy Spirit, to the strengthening of your faith, to grow in grace, to your patience in suffering, and to the blessed hope of eternal life.

 

Joshua 1:5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

 

P: Your church now invites you to receive the Sacrament of the Lord’s body and blood. Accept this invitation with deep reverence and holy joy. Regard your communing at the Lord’s Table as a precious privilege given you by God through his Church; receive this Sacrament thankfully and often. The almighty and most merciful God—Father, Son, † and Holy Spirit—bless and keep you.

 

Scripture is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NIV. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

©2004 Northwestern Publishing House. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

 

Prayer of The Church

 

The Sacrament

 

P: The Lord be with you.

C: And also with you.

 

P: Lift up your hearts.

C: We lift them up to the Lord.

 

P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

C: It is right to give him thanks and praise.

 

P: Praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In love he has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. He raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms and placed all things under his feet for the benefit of the Church. Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ. To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and thanks and honor and glory for ever and ever.

 

Holy, Holy, Holy

Ho-ly, ho-ly, ho-ly is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of your glo-ry.

 

You are my God, and I will ex-alt you.

I will give you thanks, for you have be-come my sal-va-tion.

Ho-ly, ho-ly, ho-ly is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of your glo-ry.

 

Words of Institution

P: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying “Take and eat; this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

 

P: The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C: A-men.

 

O Christ, Lamb Of God

O Christ, Lamb of God,

you take a-way the sin of the world;

have mer-cy on us.

 

O Christ, Lamb of God,

you take a-way the sin of the world;

have mer-cy on us.

 

O Christ, Lamb of God,

you take a-way the sin of the world;

grant us your peace.

A-men.

 

 

Distribution Hymn: 596 - Let Me Be Yours Forever

1  Let me be yours forever, My faithful God and Lord;

Let me forsake you never Nor wander from your Word.

Lord, do not let me waver But give me steadfastness,

And for such grace and favor Your holy name I’ll bless.

 

2  Lord Jesus, my salvation, My light, my life divine,

My only consolation, To you I all resign,

For you have dearly bought me With blood and bitter pain.

Let me, since you have sought me, Eternal life obtain.

 

3  O gracious Holy Spirit, My comforter and guide,

Grant that in Jesus’ merit I always may confide,

Him to the end confessing Whom I have known by faith.

Give me your constant blessing And grant a Christian death.

 

Text: Nikolaus Selnecker, 1532-92, st. 1; Gesangbuch, Rudolstadt, 1688, st. 2-3;

tr. Matthias Loy, 1828-1915, alt.

 

Thank the Lord

Thank the Lord and sing his praise.

Tell ev-'ry-one what he has done.

 

Let all who seek the Lord re-joice

andproud-ly bear his name.

 

He re-news his prom-is-es and leads his peo-ple forth

in joy with shouts of thanks-giv-ing.

 

Al-le-lu-ia!Al-le-lu-ia!

 

Prayer and Blessing

P: Hear the prayer of your people, O Lord, that the lips which have praised you here may glorify you in the world, that the eyes which have seen the coming of your Son may long for his coming again, and that all who have received in his true body and blood the pledge of your forgiveness may be restored to live a new and holy life, 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: 599 - Our Lord and God, Oh, Bless This Day

1  Our Lord and God, oh, bless this day And hear us, we implore you;

None of your children turn away Who now appear before you.

We come before your face And pray: let your rich grace

Descend from heav’n above In all your wondrous love,

And keep us by your Spirit.

 

2  Oh, bless your Word to all the young; Let them, your truth possessing,

Bear witness true with heart and tongue, Their faith and ours confessing.

From mother’s arms your grace With love did them embrace.

Baptized into your name, As yours you did them claim;

O Lord, as yours now own them!

 

3  And when they leave their childhood home, When Satan comes alluring,

May their baptismal grace become A refuge reassuring.

God’s covenant is sure; His promises endure.

They ne’er shall be undone Who trust in God alone-

God is their mighty Father!

 

Text: Johan N. Brun, 1745-1816, abr.; tr. George A. T. Rygh, 1860-1942, st. 1, 3, alt.;

Carl Döving, 1867-1937, st. 2, alt.

 

Today’s Organist: Mrs. Jodi Grant