Sunday, June 7, 2020
Festival of Holy Trinity
Welcome and Announcements
Gathering Song
“Come, Thou Almighty King” – LBW # 522, vs 1- 5
Confession & Forgiveness
Greeting & Kyrie
Canticle of Praise “Glory to God…”
Prayer of the Day
First Reading, Genesis 1:1-2:4a
Psalm # 8
Second Reading, Acts 2:14a, 22-36
Holy Gospel, Matthew 28:16-20
Sermon
Hymn of the Day “Holy, Holy, Holy” – LBW # 165, vs 1 - 4
Nicene Creed
Prayers of the Church
The Lord’s Prayer
Blessing & Response
Dismissal
Sending Song “Immortal,
Invisible, God Only Wise” - LBW # 526, vs 1 - 4
Service Supplement
(Congregational
responses are in bold print)
Welcome and Announcements Pastor John
Gathering Song “Come Thou…” LBW
# 522, vs 1 - 4
Come, thou almighty King, Help us thy name to sing; Help us to praise; Father all
glorious, O’er all victorious, Come and reign over us, Ancient of Days.
Come, thou incarnate
Word, Gird on thy mighty sword; Our prayer attend.
Come and thy people bless, And give thy Word success,
And let thy righteousness On us descend.
Come, holy Comforter, Thy
sacred witness bear In this glad hour! Thou, who
almighty art, Now rule in every heart, And ne’er from
us depart, Spirit of pow’r.
To thee, great One in
Three, Eternal praises be Hence evermore! Thy sov’reign
majesty May we in glory see, And to eternity Love and
adore.
Confession & Forgiveness
Blessed be the holy Trinity, one God, who
forgives all our sin, whose mercy endures forever. Amen.
God of all mercy and consolation, come to
the help of your people, turning us from our sin to live for you alone. Give us
the power of your Holy Spirit that we may confess our sin, receive your
forgiveness, and grow into the fullness of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of
God and of one another. Gracious God, have mercy on us. We confess that we
have turned from you and given ourselves into the power of sin. We are truly sorry and humbly repent. In your compassion forgive us
our sins, known and unknown, things we have done and things we have failed to
do. Turn us again to you, and uphold us by your Spirit, so that we may live and
serve you in newness of life through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
God, who is rich in mercy, loved us even
when we were dead in sin, and made us alive together with Christ. By grace you
have been saved. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Almighty
God strengthen you with power through the Holy Spirit, that Christ may live in
your hearts through faith. Amen.
Greeting
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
love of God, and the communion of the Holy
Spirit be with you all. And also with you.
Kyrie
In peace, let us pray to the Lord. Lord,
have mercy. For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us
pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy. For the peace
of the whole world, for the well-being of the church of God, and for the unity
of all, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy. For this holy house, and for all
who offer here their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord. Lord,
have mercy. Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious
Lord. Amen.
Canticle
of Praise “Glory to God…”
Glory to God in
the highest, and peace to God’s people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for
your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the
right hand of the Father: receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Prayer of
the Day
Let us pray…Almighty and
everlasting God, you have given us grace to make the confession of a true
faith. We acknowledge your glorious eternal Trinity, and we adore the unity of
your majestic work. Defend us by this faith from all adversity and opposition
to your way; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
First Reading: Genesis 1:1-2:4a
God created in six days the
heavens, earth, seas, and all creatures and called them good. When he created
humankind in his own image he called them very good.
God gave to the first humans dominion over all that he had made and entrusted
them with the care and stewardship of the creation. On the seventh day God
rested.
1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the
earth. 2The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over
the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the
waters. 3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4And
God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.
5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And
there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6And God
said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate
the waters from the waters.” 7And God made the expanse and separated
the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the
expanse. And it was so. 8And God called the expanse Heaven. And
there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9And God
said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place,
and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10God called the dry
land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together
he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11And God said, “Let
the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing
fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it
was so. 12The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed
according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed,
each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13And
there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 14And God
said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day
from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and
years, 15and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to
give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16And God made the two
great lights — the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule
the night — and the stars. 17And God set them in the expanse of the
heavens to give light on the earth, 18to rule over the day and over
the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was
good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living
creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the
heavens.” 21So God created the great sea creatures and every living
creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and
every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22And
God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the
seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23And there was evening
and there was morning, the fifth day. 24And God said, “Let the earth
bring forth living creatures according to their kinds — livestock and creeping
things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25And
God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock
according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to
its kind. And God saw that it was good. 26Then God said, “Let us make
man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish
of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over
all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27So
God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and
female he created them. 28And God blessed them. And God said to
them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have
dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over
every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29And God said,
“Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all
the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.
30And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens
and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of
life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31And
God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very
good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all
the host of them. 2And on the seventh day God finished his work that
he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had
done. 3So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in
creation. 4aThese are the generations of the heavens and the earth
when they were created … . This is the word of the Lord, thanks be to
God.
Psalm: Psalm # 8
The
psalmist sang of the beauty and wonders of God’s creation. Who is man that such
a Creator would pay any mind to him? And yet, God has given humanity a special
place in the created order, just below the angels, but above all other
creatures. His name is to be exalted!
O Lord our
Lord, how exalted is your Name in all the world!
Out of the
mouths of infants and children your majesty is praised above the heavens.
You have set
up a stronghold against your adversaries, to quell the enemy and the avenger.
When I
consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon
and the stars you have set in their courses,
What is man
that you should be mindful of him? the son of man that you should seek him out?
You have
made him but little lower than the angels; you adorn him with glory and honor;
You give him
mastery over the works of your hands; you put all things under his feet:
All sheep
and oxen, even the wild beasts of the field,
The birds of
the air, the fish of the sea, and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea.
O Lord our
Lord, how exalted is your name in all the world!
Second Reading: Acts 2:14a, 22-36
Peter preached the story of Jesus to the Jews who
gathered around him. All who gathered that day were witnesses to Christ’s
resurrection and sending of the Holy Spirit. The last days arrived and the
apostles were given work to do in the name of the one who is the hope of
Israel, and the whole world.
14aPeter, standing with the eleven, lifted
up his voice and addressed them:
22“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a
man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did
through him in your midst, as you yourselves know — 23this Jesus,
delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you
crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24God raised him
up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not
possible for him to be held by it. 25For David says concerning him,
‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be
shaken; 26therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my
flesh also will dwell in hope. 27For you will not abandon my soul to
Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. 28You
have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with
your presence.’ 29Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about
the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us
to this day. 30Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had
sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his
throne, 31he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ,
that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32This
Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33Being
therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having
received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this
that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34For David did not
ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit
at my right hand, 35until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ 36Let
all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both
Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” This is the Word of God, word
of life, thanks be to God.
Holy Gospel: The
Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew the 28th Chapter. Glory to
you, O Lord. Matthew 28:16-20: As directed, the eleven
remaining disciples returned to Galilee where Jesus came among them. By all
authority bestowed upon him, Jesus sent his followers out into the world to
make disciples of all nations, teaching and baptizing in the name of the Triune
God. He promised to be with them always, even to the end of the age.
16The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain
to which Jesus had directed them. 17And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18And
Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And
behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” This is the gospel of the
Lord, praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon Pastor
John
Hymn of the Day “Holy, Holy, Holy” LBW # 165,
vs 1 - 4
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty! Early
in the morning our song shall rise to thee. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore
thee, Casting down their golden crowns around the
glassy sea; Cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee, Which wert and art
and evermore shalt be.
Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee, Though the eye made blind by sin thy glory may
not see, Only thou art holy; there is none beside thee, Perfect in pow’r, in love and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord
God Almighty! All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty! God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
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; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the virgin Mary, and was made man. 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. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and
glorified. He has spoken through the
prophets. We believe in one holy catholic
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.
Prayers of the Church:
(P): Made alive in
Christ and filled with his Spirit, let us pray for the church, the world, and
all of God’s creation. A brief silence.
(W): Eternal God,
you are victorious over sin, death, and all that separates us from you. Draw
near to all who feel alone in isolation, illness, or suffering. Fill them with
your heavenly presence and remind them of your great mercies and love. Lord in your mercy, hear
our prayer.
(W): Holy Trinity, you have revealed
yourself as one God in three Persons. We praise you for the wonders of
Creation, knowing it is to you that we belong. We thank you for coming to us in
Christ to redeem us from all that holds us captive. We pray that you would be
at work through your Word, so that we would acknowledge and honor you in all
that we do. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
(W): Father in heaven, your Son prayed that we may be
protected in your name. Protect us today from all calamities and distresses
that may befall people in our world, in our nation, in our communities, and in
our lives. May we always look to you for health, safety, and healing in your
righteous name. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
(W): Lord of the Sabbath, be with all those who are taking
time off of work to rest and be regenerated. Help us
to hear and know you in our keeping of the Sabbath so that we might be renewed
for work in your kingdom. Draw us into all wisdom as we attend to your holy Word
in our lives. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
(P):
Receive our prayers, merciful God, and dwell in us richly, through Jesus
Christ, our life and our redeemer. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Lord, remember us in Your kingdom
and teach us to pray…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.
Blessing:
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord’s face shine on you with grace and mercy. The Lord look upon you with
favor and give you peace. Amen.
Dismissal: (WA)
Go in peace. Christ is with you. Thanks
be to God.
Sending Song “Immortal, Invisible…” LBW # 526, vs 1 –
4
Immortal, invisible, God
only wise, In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, Almighty, victorious, thy
great name we praise!
Unresting, unhasting,
and silent as light, Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might; Thy justice like mountains high soaring
above Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all, life thou givest, to both great and small; In all life thou livest, the true life of all; We blossom and flourish like
leaves on the tree, And wither and perish, but naught changeth thee.
Thou reignest
in glory; thou dwellest in light; Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their
sight; All laud we would render; oh, help us to see “Tis only the splendor of
light hideth thee!
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Announcements
Women of the NALC are collecting monetary donations
for purchase of gift cards for front line workers. If you are
able to give, please make checks payable to St. Matthew Lutheran Church
and put “WNALC gift cards” in the memo portion of your check. If giving cash by
envelope, please make sure your name and “WNALC gift cards” appears on the
envelope. Thank you for your support!
Youth Clothing Drive is still on and will be collecting
items until July 15th. Call the church to schedule your drop off.
Current weekly services are as
follows:
Daily Message with Pastor John: Monday through Saturday on
Facebook @ Kathy Joy’s “St. Matthew Lutheran Church” page. Although there is
not a set time for this, he usually does the video around 9am and can be viewed
at any time. The link to the daily video is posted to the “Messages” page of
our website by mid-day Monday through Friday at www.stmatthewbq.org. Saturday’s video is not posted to
the website until 5pm.
Saturday Evening Conference Call
Service: This is a
Vespers service and can be joined by calling 425-436-6332 and use access code
779113. The service is at 6pm every Saturday night. The service is recorded and
posted to our website shortly following its completion. To listen to the
Saturday Night Conference Call Service, go to the “Messages” page at www.stmatthewbq.org and scroll down to the link at the
end of the paragraph that talks about the call service.
Sunday Morning YouTube Service: This is a modified version of the
Service of the Word service. To view this service, go to www.YouTube.com/channel/UC8a7C3r5VvjzfcIPTGxdvca on Sunday mornings at 8am, or view
it on Facebook at 8am at Kathy Joy’s “St. Matthew Lutheran Church” page. A
bulletin can be viewed on the “Messages” page of our website at
www.stmatthewbq.org.
Sunday Morning modified “Service of
the Word” gathering:
Join us in person on Sunday mornings at 10am at 3301 Edwards Lane, Baltimore,
MD 21220 through the month of June (weather permitted) for a modified “Service
of the Word” service. As we gather to worship together in person, we are
currently unable to pass the plate or distribute communion. An offering box
will be available at the registration area. Please feel free to drop your
offering in this box.
Future services physically at St.
Matthew Lutheran Church: As of today, we have not determined a date to reopen services indoors.
We are in meetings to discuss and negotiate our reopening. We will keep you
informed as to when this will occur. In the meantime, please enjoy one or more
of our services stated above. Remember, all of our services have a link provided
on the “Messages” page of our website at www.stmatthewbq.org.
References from the
Sermon:
The Holy Trinity
Doctrine; A Systematic Summary of Data from Scripture:
One God – Old Testament: Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Kings 8:60; Isaiah 45:5 & 18; Isaiah 44:9-20, Isaiah 43:10, Isaiah 43:48
One God – New Testament: Mark 12:29; Romans 3:29-30; 1 Corinthians 8:4; 1 Timothy 2:5; James 2:19; Romans 1:20
God as Three Distinct
Persons:
Father: Matthew 11:27; Matthew 26:39; John 14:16-17; Psalm 89:26; Isaiah 63:6; Matthew 6:6; Galatians 4:4-6
Son: Mark 1:9-11; John 17:1-5, John 7:49, John 16:7; Colossians 1:15 & 19; Colossians 2:9; Romans 10:9 & 13; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 Corinthians 12:3
Holy Spirit: Acts 5:3-4; John 14:15-17; John 16:7-15; Romans 8:26-27; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 10:15-17, Hebrews 9:14-16; Psalm 139:7; 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, Luke 3:21-22; Acts 10:38, Matthew 12:28, John 16:7-13; Hebrews 8:11 Hebrews 9:8
Ministries of the Holy Spirit: Genesis 1:2-3; 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 & 12-13; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Luke 1:30-35; John 3:5-7; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13, Romans 8:14-16; Galatians 5:16-18 & 25.
Additional references
from the sermon:
Short YouTube videos from William Lane Craig, website is www.reasonablefaith.org.
From your internet browser, type the following URL’s, one at a time, and press enter to view each short video:
The Kalam Cosmological
Argument: https://youtu.be/6CulBuMCLg0
The Fine-Tuning
Argument: https://youtu.be/EE76nwimuT0
The Moral Argument: https://youtu.be/OxiAikEk2vU
The Leibnizian
Argument: https://youtu.be/FPCzEP0oD7I
The Ontological
Argument: https://youtu.be/xBmAKCvWl74
A
special “Thank You” to Dave Conrad
for
the use of his property for the Glory of God!
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“Listening
for the Promise” Devotional
Holy
Trinity Sunday - June 7, 2020
“Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew
28:20
Although the doctrine of the Trinity is a great mystery, it has many practical implications for a Christian worldview. For one thing, it shows us that God is fully personal, and this fact makes Christianity distinct from other religions. Let’s see why this is so.
Essential to personhood is being related to other persons since relationships define who someone is. This is also true for divine persons. The Father is only Father in relation to the Son. The Son is only Son in relation to the Father. And the Holy Spirit is only Holy Spirit as the bond of love between the Father and the Son. Because of these relationships, the triune God is fully personal. He is personal through and through.
In contrast to the Trinity, however, Allah is impersonal since he is unrelated to anyone “prior to” creation. Moreover, in some schools of Hinduism, ultimate reality is explicitly impersonal. Here an impersonal substance creates and destroys the cosmos by cycles of expansion and contraction. Finally, in Buddhism ultimate reality is also explicitly impersonal with an impersonal process replacing the impersonal substance of Hinduism.
In non-Christian religions, an ultimate impersonalism prevails. As a result, personal realities like love, goodness, meaning, purpose, and knowledge have no root in the ultimate level of reality. In Christianity, by contrast, an ultimate personalism prevails since the entire creation is governed by the meaning and purpose of the fully personal, triune God. Hence, it makes sense to speak of personal realities like love, goodness, knowledge, etc. since they are rooted in the ultimate level of being. Of course, non-Christians also believe in these things, but they can do so only because they live in a world that is created and sustained by a fully personal God. So it is that only by faith in the ultimate mystery of the Trinity does created reality become less mysterious for us. This is the Christian worldview.
Prayer: Almighty
God, cause us to see how your triune nature shapes every aspect of our thought
and lives. Amen.