artwork: the disciples look heavenward as jesus ascends
TRANSCRIPT
The Spirit of truth testifies of Jesus, who is the Truth. But the world does not receive the Truth. It loves its own and hates those who are of the Truth. Just as Jesus was scorned, so is His church. “The time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.” (Jn 15:26—16:4) Yet it is by Jesus’ suffering and death that we are saved. Therefore we rejoice to share in His sufferings, that we may also share in His resurrection glory. (1 Pet
4:7 – 14) Through the ministry of the Spirit of truth, we are cleansed from the deceit of our idols and given a new heart and a new spirit, the heart and Spirit of Christ. (Ezek 36:22 – 28) He is now at work in us to have fervent, self-giving love for one another, love which covers a multitude of sins, “that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Artwork: The disciples look heavenward as Jesus ascends. Jesus le�t them with a promise the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, would come.
HYMN Awake, O Spirit, Who Inspired | CW 567 vv. 1, 2 / ELH 395 vv. 1, 2 1. Awake, O Spirit, who inspired The watchmen of the Church's youth, Who faced the foe's envenomed ire, Who witnessed day and night your truth, Whose voices loud are ringing still And bringing hosts to know your will.
2. Lord, let our earnest prayer be heard, The prayer your Son taught us to pray; For lo, your children's hearts are stirred In ev'ry land in this our day, To you with fervent soul to plead, "Lord, help us in our time of need."
INVOCATION ♫ In the name of the Father and of the Son ♱ and of the Holy Spirit.
A - men.
CONFESSION & ABSOLUTION (pg. 38)
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. 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. Amen.
INTROIT Psalm 27:7–9; 1, 11-12
Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! ̀ Alleluia. /
Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide Your face from me. ̀ Alleluia.
The Lord is my light and ̀ my salvation; / whom ̀ shall I fear?
The Lord is the ̀ strength of my life; / of whom shall ̀ I be afraid?
Teach me ̀ Your way, O Lord, / do not deliver me to the will of my ̀ adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen ̀ against me, / and such as ̀ breathe out violence.
Glory be to the Father ̀ and to the Son / and to ̀ the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the be`ginning, is now, / and ever shall be, forever`more. A- men.
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Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! ̀ Alleluia. / Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide Your face from me. ̀ Alleluia.
KYRIE “Lord, Have Mercy” ~ Mk 10:47 With Easter over, we pray the standard threefold Kyrie.
We pray for mercy – and are assured of it – from each of the three Persons of the Trinity. ♫ Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us.
GLORIA IN EXCELSIS “Glory to God in the Highest” - Lk. 2:14
SALUTATION & PRAYER OF THE DAY ♫ The Lord be with you.
And al - so with you.
Lord God, heavenly Father, we give thanks to You, that through Your Holy Spirit You have appointed us to bear witness of Your dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: We beseech You, inasmuch as the world cannot endure such testimony and persecutes us in every way, grant us courage and comfort, that we may not be o�fended because of the cross, but continue steadfastly in Your testimony, and be always found among those who know You and Your Son, until we obtain eternal salvation through the same, Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever.
♫ Amen.
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OLD TESTAMENT Ezekiel 36:25-27 25 I will sprinkle purifying water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurity and from all your filthy idols. 26 Then I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit inside you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of �lesh. 27 I will put my Spirit within you and will cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will carefully observe my ordinances.
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
EPISTLE 1 Peter 4:7-11
7 The end of all things is near. So have sound judgment and be self-controlled for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, love each other constantly, because love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Serve one another, each according to the gi�t he has received, as good stewards of the many forms of God’s grace. 11 If anyone speaks, let him do it as one speaking the messages of God. If anyone serves, let him do it as one serving with the strength God supplies so that God may be glorified in every way through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God!
ALLELUIA Psalm 47:8, John 14:18, 28, 16:22 From Quasimodogeniti (Easter 2) through the week following Pentecost, the Alleluia verse is lengthened.
♫ Alleluia. Alleluia. God reigns over ̀ the na tions; / God sits on His holy throne. ̀ Alleluia.
I will not leave you orphans; I am going away and com`ing back to you; / and your heart will rejoice. ̀ Alleluia.
♫ Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! GOSPEL John 15:26-16:4 ♫ Glory be to you, O Lord!
26 “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also are going to testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.”
16:1 “I have told you these things so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who murders you will think he is o�fering a service to God. 3 They will do these things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 But I have told you these things so that when their time comes, you may remember that I told them to you. I did not tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you.”
The Gospel of the Lord! ♫ Praise be to You, O Christ!
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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, su�fered 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 shall 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.
CHIEF HYMN If God Had Not Been On Our Side | CW 202 / ELH 396 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 �lock, 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.
SERMON “Hear the Words of the Persecuted” (1 Peter 4:7-11) HYMN Awake, O Spirit, Who Inspired | CW 567 vv. 3, 4 / ELH 395 vv. 3, 4 3. Oh, haste to help or we are lost! Send preachers forth in spirit strong, Armed with your Word, a dauntless host, Bold to attack the rule of wrong. Let them the earth for you reclaim, Your heritage, to know your name.
4. And let your Word have speedy course, Through ev'ry land be glorified, Till all the heathen know its force And fill your churches far and wide. Oh, spread the conquest of your Word And let your kingdom come, dear Lord!
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PRAYER OF THE CHURCH (Prayed by Pastor on behalf of the congregation.)
THE 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.
The great “Easter Sacrament,” Holy Communion is available to our communicant members, by request. Please contact Pastor to set up an appointment to come to church to partake of the Sacrament. Due to circumstances, the service is kept very short and proper social distancing is followed.
BENEDICTION Nu. 6:24-26; (Lk. 24:50)
♫ The L ORD bless you and keep you. The L ORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The L ORD look on you with favor and ♱ give you peace.
A - men. A - men. A - men. CLOSING HYMN We now implore God, the Holy Ghost | CW 190 vv. 1, 3, 4 / ELH 33 vv. 1, 3, 4 1 We now implore God the Holy Ghost For the true faith, which we need the most, That in our last moments He may befriend us And, as homeward we journey, attend us. Lord, have mercy! 3 Thou sacred Love, grace on us bestow, Set our hearts with heav'nly fire aglow That with hearts united we love each other, Of one mind, in peace with ev'ry brother. Lord, have mercy!
4 Thou highest Comfort in ev'ry need, Grant that neither shame nor death we heed, That e'en then our courage may never fail us When the foe shall accuse and assail us. Lord, have mercy!
Preacher: Rev. Je�f Hendrix Organist: Joan Behr
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NEWS & NOTES
Today 9:00am Exaudi Sunday Divine Service 10:30am Live Bible Study on YouTube: Using the Hymnary in the Home
Monday 8:00pm New Member Class Tuesday 8:30pm Marriage Counseling Wednesday 8:00pm Virtual Bible Study Saturday, May 30 6:30pm Pentecost Vigil (worldwide virtual service with pastors from 7 di�ferent
countries/languages) Sunday, May 31 9:00am Festival of Pentecost Divine Service ( in-person service, must
register to attend online ) 10:30am Confirmation Service ( in-person service, by invite only )
PHASED REOPENING ON MAY 31 On Pentecost Sunday, May 31, we will be having our first in-person Divine Service. While the capacity limit of 25% is not that much of a problem for our church, the greater issue is distancing. Our pews are tightly packed together, so we can use only every 4th pew, which limits the number of families who can attend. Attendees are asked to register in advance on our website or Pastor at 608-405-9522 or Rick Waldschmidt at 608-213-0765. The service will be shortened, pews will be marked o�f, communion o�fered publicly to those who desire it each Sunday, and congregational singing will be limited to the very end of the service. Please see the entire list of protocols we will be following on our website. We humbly ask those who attend to abide by these protocols for the safety and comfort of all. May God grant us all peace and charity as we seek to fulfill our greatest spiritual need, while attending to the physical needs of ourselves and our neighbors as well. PASTORAL CARE Although we cannot gather together as a congregation, you are free (and encouraged) to request receiving the Sacrament as a family at church. Contact Pastor to set up a time to receive this great Easter Sacrament for forgiveness and strengthening. BOGO HYMNARIES:
Hymnals are essential items for home devotion; not just during a pandemic. Do you have one? Consider purchasing a Hymnary from the ELS. (This is a di�ferent hymnal than our current one; it is “newer” than our own, but has been
in use in the ELS for years). It contains some things that our current hymnal doesn’t have, including the texts of the Catechism and Augsburg Confession, as well as more options for devotions at home. For each hymnary that you purchase, one will be donated to church. Visit our website to order one: https://faithlutheranoregon.com/2020/04/16/hymnari es-for-the-home/ ELS MILITARY MONUMENT We are hearing much about those who are serving our nation these days against the enemy “invisible” in so many ways and we are rightly showing our appreciation. But at the same time we do not want to forget those who have served us against the enemy “visible” in the past or the present. As we are approaching some significant days on the Calendar: Mother’s/Father’s Day and Memorial Day, this may be an opportune time to express this appreciation to your beloved veterans personally. We may be required to remain at a distance from these loved ones at this time, but, for example, by securing a paver stone with their name and their service recounted at the ELS Military Monument, this may be an endearingly significant gi�t for them. These loved ones may not be the veteran so honored, but perhaps it was a cherished spouse, parent or grandparent and this can be secured in your loved ones’ name. Please check out how you can donate in various ways to this project at https://els.org/monument/ Or call Pastor Larry Wentzla�f at 320-905-1929. Remember, the veteran so honored does not need to have been or even now currently a member of the ELS. CAMP RISE, SYNOD CONVENTION, & LYA CONVENTION Due to the pandemic, Camp Rise has been canceled; the 2020 ELS Synod Convention, scheduled for late June, has been canceled; and the Lutheran Youth Association Convention has been postponed until 2021.
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