FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT February 18, 2024

Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church

Wisconsin Synod

Pastor Rev. Christopher Oehlke Pastor’s Phone: 1-262-909-7827

Organist Mindy Kane, Karen Davis, Church Telephone 763-682-4573

Lorraine Roush Email pastor@myimmanuel.org

WELCOME, VISITORS:     We are glad you could be with us and we welcome you back any time. Please sign our “Welcome” card found in the pew holders or sign the guest book in the narthex/entry.

Before Communing

Dear Savior, at your gracious invitation I come to your table to eat and drink your holy body and blood. Let me find favor in your eyes to receive this holy Sacrament in faith for the salvation of my soul and to the glory of your holy name; for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Guests—The Lord’s Supper has been described as powerful medicine.  And so it is–it is the medicine of immortality.  And as we all know, when it comes to powerful medicine, there are a few things you should know before taking it.  We ask that our visitors first speak with our pastor to learn more about this powerful medicine of the Lord’s Supper before coming up.  We are eager to have you share with us in this great gift and to do so in a way that gives you great benefit!  

THE COMMON SERVICE

HYMN (#202) “If God Had Not Been on Our Side”

M: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C: (Sung) Amen.

CONFESSION OF SINS

M: 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.

LORD, HAVE MERCY

C: (Sung) Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. 

Lord, have mercy on us.

M: 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: (Sung) Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

M: The Lord be with you.

C: (Sung) And also with you.

M: Let us pray:  Mighty God and Father, our Lord Jesus walked into the wilderness to face the devil’s temptations, but he did not succumb to Satan’s lies or falter in his resolve to save the world from the prison of hell. Bolster our faith by his mighty victory that we may battle against the forces of evil with courage and confidence; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: (Sung) Amen. 

THE WORD

FIRST LESSON Genesis 22:1-18

22 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. ² Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” ³ Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. ⁴ On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵ He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” ⁶ Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, ⁷ Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” ⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. ⁹ When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied. ¹² “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” ¹³ Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

¹⁵ The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time ¹⁶ and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, ¹⁸ and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”   (EHV)

M: The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

PSALM OF THE DAY (Sung) Psalm 25 (page 74)

SECOND LESSON Romans 8:31-39

  ³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (EHV)

M: The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

VERSE OF THE DAY

M: We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses; we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15) 

STAND

GOSPEL Mark 1:9-15

After the announcement of the Gospel, the congregation sings:

C: (Sung) Glory be to you, O Lord!

⁹ At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” ¹² At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, ¹³ and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. ¹⁴ After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ¹⁵ “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”            (EHV)

M: The Gospel of the Lord.

C: (Sung) Praise be to you, O Christ!

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.

BE SEATED

HYMN (#201) “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”

SERMON TEXT John 3:1-17

SERMON THEME “Out of the Water-Into the Battle” 

After the sermon, the congregation stands and sings:

C: (Sung) Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with your free Spirit. Amen.

OFFERING – Please leave offering in the plate as you depart.

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH

Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.

O Lord, in the midst of this life we are beset by many temptations. Fix our eyes on our Lord Jesus, who bore temptation for us and resisted to the point of death, and bring us through the evils of this fallen world to dwell with You forever. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord God, You placed the wood of the cross on the back of Your only begotten Son, that as the promised offspring of Abraham He might possess the gates of hell. Bless, we pray, His Church and all those called to preach and teach within her. Give them certainty that hell cannot prevail against them, and so embolden them in faith to trample every power of the enemy underfoot. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Almighty God, preserve every Christian home from the assaults of the evil one. As Your Son overcame Satan in the desert by the Word of God, so also give us the victory through Christ and His Word. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Most High God, our refuge in every trouble, You have promised to hear when we call to You. Command Your angels to guard our brothers and sisters and all who suffer in our midst.  Keep them from every evil that can befall the body, mind or soul. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord God, the time is fulfilled and Your kingdom is at hand as Your beloved Son comes to us here at the altar. By Your Spirit, grant that we receive Him in repentance and believe the Gospel proclaimed in His body given and His blood shed for us. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord God, heavenly Father, see how the adversary continually afflicts us and walks about as a roaring lion seeking to devour us. We implore You for the sake of the suffering and death of Your Son, Jesus Christ, to help us by the grace of the Holy Spirit and to strengthen our hearts by Your Word, that our enemy would not prevail over us, but instead that we may abide evermore in Your grace and be preserved to life everlasting; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER

C: 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 SACRAMENT

PREFACE

M: The Lord be with you.

C: (Sung) And also with you.

M: Lift up your hearts.

C: (Sung) We lift them up unto the Lord.

M: Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.

C: (Sung) It is good and right so to do.

M: It is truly good and right that we should at all times and in all places give you thanks, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who brought the gift of salvation to all people by his death on the tree of the cross, so that the devil, who overcame us by a tree would in turn by a tree be overcome. Therefore, with all the saints on earth and hosts of heaven, we praise your holy name and join their glorious song:

HOLY, HOLY, HOLY

C: (Sung) Holy, holy, holy Lord God of heavenly hosts: 

heav’n and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he, blessed is he, blessed is he 

who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.

WORDS OF INSTITUTION

M: 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.” 

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

C: (Sung) Amen

O CHRIST, LAMB OF GOD

C: (Sung) O Christ, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; 

have mercy on us.

O Christ, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; 

have mercy on us.

O Christ, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world; 

grant us your peace. Amen.

DISTRIBUTION

DISTRIBUTION HYMN (#371) “Oh, Love, How Deep” (#445) “Through Jesus’ Blood and Merit”

THANKSGIVING

SONG OF SIMEON

C: (Sung) Lord, now you let your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. 

M: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. 

C: (Sung) And his mercy endures forever.

M: We give thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us with this holy supper. We pray that through it you will strengthen our faith in you and increase our love for one another. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: (Sung) Amen.

M: 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: (Sung) Amen. Amen. Amen.

HYMN (#333) “Abide, O Dearest Jesus”

Verse of the Day

During this week memorize and think about this verse of the day:

We do not have a high priest who is 

unable to empathize with our weaknesses; 

we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

(Hebrews 4:15)

FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT February 18, 2024

Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church

THE SCHEDULE   

Mon., Feb. 19 7 p.m., Choir Practice

Tues., Feb. 20 2 p.m., Tuesday Bible Study

Wed., Feb. 21 5-6:30 p.m., Soup Supper; 

7 p.m., Lenten Worship Service

Thurs., Feb. 22 6:30 p.m. Catechism Class

Next Sun., Feb. 25: Greeters: Benzer Family

Shut-In Visitors for February: Vernetta Weese

OUR FATHER’S BUSINESS

INSTALLATION OF OFFICERS:  There will be an installation of officers this morning for the newly elected members of the church council: Andy Larson-secretary, Matt Dehn-trustee and Andrew Benzer-financial secretary. Thank you to the outgoing members: Shawn Peters, Robb Durr and Tom Benzer.

LENTEN SERVICE:  The theme for this year is “The Lord’s Prayer.” On Wednesday Pastor Heuer will preach on the 4^th Petition “Give Us this Day.”

The Benzers and Bakkes are again hosting the Soup Suppers from 5 to 6:30 p.m  There is a sign-up sheet on the table in the narthex for sweets to be served with the soup and bread plus options to help with set up (at 4:30), serving or clean-up (between 5 and 7).

FISHERS:  Mark your calendars for Feb. 25 as Fishers has invited the congregation to join them for bowling at Huikko’s beginning at 2 p.m.

FOOD SHELF: The most recent donations made to benefit the Buffalo Food Shelf totaled 5 pounds plus $20 in cash/checks. Silver labeled buckets are located in the coat racks in both the upper and lower narthex for this on-going service project with deliveries made monthly.

SALEM KINDERGARTEN ROUND-UP:  Any children of kindergarten age for the 2024-25 school year are invited to Salem’s Kindergarten Round-Up on Friday, Feb. 23, from 7:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. RSVP by Feb. 19 to Rebekah at rbohlmann@salemwels.org. See flier on the west bulletin board.

THRIVENT CHOICE DOLLARS: The Thrivent Choice program provides Thrivent members an opportunity to support charitable activities such as Immanuel. All unallocated Choice Dollars must be directed by March 31. If you have any questions, contact your Thrivent representative or Julie Gutknecht. According to the 2023 financial report, we received $1,855 last year.

YOUTH RALLY FUND-RAISER: A fund-raiser is being planned to help fund our youth who plan to attend this year’s youth rally in Colorado. The youth will host a pasta dinner on Friday, Feb. 23 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Salem Lutheran School. See flier for details on the West bulletin board.

EASTER GARDEN: We will again offer an opportunity to help decorate the church for Easter. If you would like to purchase a plant (or more), there are sign-up sheets on the counter in the narthex. For $9 each, a plant will be place “In Memory of” or “In Honor of” on a bulletin insert (and then after Easter, the plant will be yours to take). Watch for further details.

ATTENDANCE AT THE LORD’S HOUSE: 

Sunday, Feb. 11 64

Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14 59