Mission Festival Sunday FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH – MARKESAN, WI September 8, 2013 – Trinity 15 – 9:00 a.m. Ann Sprengeler, organist Paul Krause, pastor Peter Evensen, speaker
Invocation
P: We begin in the name of the Triune God: C: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Confession of Sins
O Christ, our true and only Light, 512:1 Enlighten those who sit in night; Let those afar now hear Thy voice And in Thy fold with us rejoice.
P: Beloved in the Lord: let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins to God our Father, asking Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness. 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.
Fill with the radiance of Thy grace 512:2 The souls now lost in error’s maze And all whom in their secret minds Some dark delusion haunts and blinds.
Absolution
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. Amen.
Oh, gently call those gone astray 512:3 That they may find the saving way! Let every conscience sore opprest In Thee find peace and heavenly rest.
Responsive Reading – Psalm 67
P: God be merciful to us and bless us, C: And cause His face to shine upon us, P: That Your way may be known on earth, C: Your salvation among all nations. P: Let the peoples praise You, O God; C: Let all the peoples praise You. P: Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! C: For You shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth. P: Let the peoples praise You, O God; C: Let all the peoples praise You. P: Then the earth shall yield her increase; C: God, our own God, shall bless us. P: God shall bless us, C: And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.
Oh, make the deaf to hear Thy Word 512:4-6 And teach the dumb to speak, dear Lord, Who dare not yet the faith avow, Though secretly they hold it now.
Shine on the darkened and the cold, Recall the wanderers to Thy fold, Unite all those who walk apart, Confirm the weak and doubting heart,
So they with us may evermore Such grace with wondering thanks adore And endless praise to Thee be given By all Thy Church in earth and heaven,
Prayer of the Day
P: Almighty God, since You have called Your Church to witness that in Christ You reconciled us to Yourself, grant that by Your Holy Spirit we may proclaim the good news of Your salvation, that all who hear it may receive the gift of salvation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. ALL SING: Amen.
We hear the Word of God as it is read and preached
First Reading – 2 Kings 5:1-16 The witness of the young slave girl 1 Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. 2 And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. 3 Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.” 4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.” 5 Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. 6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, “Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.” 7 And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.” 8 So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ 12 Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.” 16 But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.
Mission Medley – sung by the Faith Lutheran School student body
Second Reading – Matthew 28:16-20 The Great Commission and Christ’s Promise 16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen..
Hymn 496
Sermon Text – 2 Corinthians 2:14-17, 3:4-6 14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ… 4 And we have such trust through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Theme: God makes you sufficient for your mission 1) Your Message Comes from God 2) Your Results Come from God
We respond with our confession of faith, offerings, and prayers
CONFESSION OF FAITH – THE APOSTLES’ CREED ALL: 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.
Hymn 507
The Offering is collected – sing Hymn 442:2 – as printed here – Grant us hearts, dear Lord, to yield Thee Gladly, freely, of Thine own; With the sunshine of Thy goodness Melt our thankless hearts of stone Till our cold and selfish natures, Warmed by Thee, at length believe That more happy and more blessed ‘Tis to give than to receive
P: Prayer ALL: 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.
The Benediction P: The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you His peace. ALL SING: Amen, Amen, Amen.
Closing Hymn 46
Faith Lutheran Church and School
N 1529 State Road 73 Markesan, WI 53946 markesanlutheran.com Member: Church of the Lutheran Confession www.clclutheran.org Church and School Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398-3171 Pastor Paul Krause. . . PTKrause@clclutheran.com. . . .398-2778 Candice Ohlmann, Principal (Grades 3-5) . . . . . . . . . 398-8910 Lila Brown (Grades 6-8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394-3439 Ann Sprengeler (Grades K-2) . . . . . . . . . . 398-2048 Marie Muehlenhaupt (Kindergarten) . . . . . . . . . . 398-2563 Lisa Reyes (Pre-School) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229-9322
CALENDAR and ANNOUNCEMENTS
TODAY >> Special Schedule: 9:00 a.m. worship 10 a.m. Mission Helper Trip Presentation Potluck meal afterwards >> PK/Peter Evensen conduct 4 p.m. BC/5 p.m. Appleton service WED >> 3:40 p.m. Public school confirmation class THU >> 9:30-10:30 a.m. Mid-week Bible study begins! Details below! NEXT SUN >> Fall worship schedule resumes: 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Worship services 9:30 Bible Class/Sunday School hour >> Sept 15 services – Liturgist: Peter Evensen; speaker: PK
LONG RANGE CALENDAR Sept 14 Matt Poch/Lisa Flagel wedding (PK conducts; at Luther Memorial, FdL) Sept 18 Pastoral Study Club, Hales Corners, WI 9 a.m-3 p.m.
WANT TO GET TEXT NOTICES ABOUT FAITH “THINGS”? You can by texting FAITHMARKESAN to 84483 – then you can receive alerts from Faith Lutheran Church right on your cell!
MIDWEEK BIBLE STUDY BEGINS THIS WEEK! Please notice the time and day: Thursdays, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Our first focus will be on the prophecy and life and times of the prophet Jeremiah. Any and all are welcome to come! We will meet in the school library.
2013-2014 ADULT BIBLE CLASS CONTINUES NEXT SUNDAY! We had some great discussion last Sunday – and hope you can be a part of it next week! We will be continuing on “current events” related to the sixth commandment – discussing what the Bible says and what our Christian response is to various challenges in our world to what the Bible teaches.
COLLECTION FOR TRAVELING VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL This year, at the April quarterly meeting, Faith designated $800.00 for spending on TVBS efforts this summer. The church we helped was Trinity of Millston, WI. On July 31, four of our young people accompanied PK to the Millston/Black River Falls area to hand out flyers advertising for VBS. Then, from Aug 12-16 there were 5 young people who accompanied PK to Millston to staff their VBS. And we are glad to report that of the designated $800.00, only $273.65 was spent! The basket in the back of church is to give you the opportunity to offset that expenditure. Thanks!
50TH ANNIVERSARY INTERVIEWS One of the things the committee is putting together for our 50th anniversary celebration is a DVD – and on that DVD we want to have video interviews of our members’ recollections of the early days of Faith, dating from January 23, 1964 (when our first official meeting was held and the name “Faith” was chosen) to September 11, 1966 (the dedication of Faith Lutheran Church and School). Hopefully many of you who were involved at that time will be willing to share your memories on video tape!
ON THE GYM BLEACHERS are items left behind in the gym storage room; you are welcome to browse and take what you like!
VACANCY PASTOR, LIVING HOPE, APPLETON – Pastor Krause has accepted the call to serve Living Hope Lutheran as their vacancy pastor. What this means is that he will be responsible to see to it that a pastor is scheduled to lead their worship services, Bible Classes, etc. every Sunday. As of now, Pastor Neal Radichel from Fond du Lac will be helping out.
UNSTOPPABLE – “WHERE IS GOD IN THE MIDST OF TRAGEDY AND SUFFERING?” So reads the headline on the website for an upcoming movie event called “Unstoppable.” In this movie/documentary, actor Kirk Cameron pursues the answer to this question. I do not know what his answer will be. I do know what the Scripture says in answer to that question! Here is our plan. The movie is being shown at theaters in our relative area. PK and Peter Evensen plan to go to the one night only movie event on September 24th. We will then be discussing the question in Bible Class on Sunday morning, September 29th; included in the discussion will be time spent on the movie’s answer to the question. Whether you go to the movie yourself or not, make a point of coming to our Bible Class on September 29th to be a part of the discussion!
CLC NEWS >> REMINDER – Commissioning service at Messiah, Eau Claire — On Monday evening, September 23, there will be a commissioning service held at Messiah, Eau Claire for Pastor Edward Starkey, who has accepted the call to serve as a CLC foreign missionary in India. The service will begin at 6:30 pm, and all CLC members and friends are invited to attend. Pastor Starkey and his wife, Janice, plan to depart for India in late September or early October. >> EUNICE VORWERK For those familiar with the Faith-New Ulm (MN) congregation, charter member Eunice Vorwerk (wife of now-also-in-Paradise Wilmar) was called home to be with the Lord yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon. A funeral service will take place at Faith at 10:30 this coming Monday. If any are interested in passing along thoughts to the family they can go to: John and Phyllis Vorwerk, 403 North Franklin Street, New Ulm MN 56073. >> CHURCH ANNIVERSARY Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sister Lakes, MI will be celebrating its 50th anniversary as a congregation with special services on Sunday, September 22. Former pastors of Redeemer James Albrecht and Paul Tiefel Jr. will serve as guest speakers. The schedule for the day is as follows: 9:00a Anniversary Program; 10:00a Morning Worship; 4:00p Afternoon Worship; 5:30p Fellowship Meal. All are invited to attend any of the day’s events. Sister Lakes is in the Eastern time zone.
BOARD OF EDUCATION – TREASURER’S REPORT ON AUGUST (for a full report, please see PK or Blaine Kempenaar) Opening balance (end of July) $2,237.61 Received $3,193.11 Disbursed $2,355.53 Current balance (end of August) $3,075.19 Milk & hot lunch $1,433.12 Spendable balance $1,642.07 Other Board of Education Funds: Faith Student Aid Fund open/close balance $110.00 Faith Teacher Aid Fund open/close balance $272.78 Special Project Fund open/close balance $1,588.92
BOARD OF EDUCATION – NOTES FROM SEPT 3 MEETING ++ call to order, prayer, devotion, minutes ++ treasurer’s report (see elsewhere in this bulletin) ++ Principal’s report >> first day of school went well! >> plastic cart for balls in gym broken; needs repair >> ball room in gym is cleaned – un-needed items on bleachers in gym; all are welcome to look at them and take what they want >> wasp’s nests on playground equipment have been gotten rid of >> field trip to Madison/capitol will be on Sept 19th >> picture day will be on Sept 9th >> school registration open house went well; most parents were able to come; those unable to attend were contacted separately >> cords need to be put in conduit yet for computer/smart board ++ PK’s report >> only adult class currently going on is with Sara Ziegelbauer >> PK had his annual “contact/visit” with our non-member families; no change in their status at this time ++ Old Business >> briefly touched on action at previous meeting: – registration day open house – non-member recommendation to voters – $250 from special projects fund for computer desk – student participation in church singing ++ New Business >> discussion regarding purchase of new globes with Lila Schwandt memorial gift ++ meeting adjourned; next meeting on Oct 1st
BLESSINGS ON YOUR BIRTHDAY! Join us in asking God’s blessings on the following of our “extended church family” whose birthdays we are aware of for this week (Sept 8-14): (9/8): Linda Dillie, Samantha Dolgner; (9/9): Tyler Burk, Dale Muehlenhaupt; (9/10): Jim Kok; (9/11): MaKinna Post; (9/12): Grace Zimmerman; (9/13): Jeff Martinez
THANK YOU! >> Many, many thanks to the CLC young people who took the time to travel to be with us this morning for the presentation on their Mission Helper Trip to India! >> Do you have something you are thankful for at Faith? Drop a note in Pastor Krause’s box, and he will be happy to include it in the bulletin
FRUITS OF FAITH – Sun, Sept. 1: Attendance: Sun Early:59; Late: 30; SS: 8; BC: 22 – General Fund: $2,991.00; Missions: $1231.00; Women of Faith (for Tables): $25.00 NOTE: Pat Lundeen reports that $795.00 was given in Lloyd’s memory ENVELOPE COMMITTEE Sept 8: Team #4 – Curtis and Gary Brown; Sept 15: Team #5 – Alan Henke, Tim Gabrielski USHERS: Sept Early: Russ Brown, Jim Brown, Gary Brown, Joe Brown; Sept Late: Bob Kirst, Jack Bremer, Frank Quade, Nick Quade
HOW PEOPLE CHOOSE A CHURCH
A survey was taken among a group of suburban churches in one large city. Each church member interviewed was asked, “Why did you choose to join the particular church where you are now worshiping?” 9% said they chose their church because of its architectural beauty 14% joined a church because of denominational loyalty 18% joined because it was convenient to their homes 3% joined because of the influence of the pastor 22% joined because there were people in the church whom they respected 34% joined because neighbors or friends invited them to that church
These statistics show that God is still using people to bring other people into church. How long has it been since you invited someone or offered to pick up someone and bring him to church? Watch your community and neighborhood for newcomers. Get acquainted with them, and ask about their church affiliation. Invite them to your church! – Selected