HOLY TRINITY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST May 26, 2024
Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church
Wisconsin Synod
Pastor Rev. Christopher Oehlke Pastor’s Phone: 1-262-909-7827
Organist Karen Davis, Mindy Kane, 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.
Prayer Before Worship
Heavenly Father, I have come to worship you. Draw near to me in your gracious Word, and assure me of your loving kindness. Curb my wandering thoughts, that with undivided attention I may hear your voice and sing your praise.
SERVICE OF THE WORD
HYMN (#193) “Come, Now, Almighty King”
M: 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
M: We have come into the presence of God, who created us to love and serve him as his dear children. But we have disobeyed him and deserve only his wrath and punishment. Therefore, let us confess our sins to him and plead for his mercy.
C: 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.
M: 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.
C: Amen.
PRAYER AND PRAISE
M: In the peace of forgiveness, let us praise the Lord.
C: (Sung) Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed are they who take refuge in him.
Your Word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.
Your faithfulness continues forever.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed are they who take refuge in him.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
M: Let us pray. Almighty God and Father, dwelling in majesty and mystery, filling and renewing all creation by your eternal Spirit, and manifesting your saving grace through our Lord Jesus Christ, in mercy cleanse our hearts and lips that, free from doubt and fear, we may ever worship you, one true, immortal God, with your Son and the Holy Spirit, living and reigning, now and forever.
C: (Sung) Amen.
THE WORD
FIRST LESSON Isaiah 6:1-8
6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two they covered their faces. With two they covered their feet. With two they flew. 3 One called to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory! 4 The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of the one who called, and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said, “I am doomed! I am ruined, because I am a man with unclean lips, and I dwell among a people with unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, carrying a glowing coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with the coal and said, “Look, this has touched your lips, so your guilt is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.” 8 Then I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
(EHV)
M: The Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
PSALM OF THE DAY (Sung) Psalm 150 (page 122)
SECOND LESSON Romans 8:12-17
12 So then, brothers, we do not owe it to the sinful flesh to live in harmony with it. 13 For if you live in harmony with the sinful flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the actions of the body, you will live. 14 Indeed, those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery so that you are afraid again, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we call out, “Abba, Father!” 16 The Spirit himself joins our spirit in testifying that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, we are also heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, since we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him. (EHV)
M: The Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
VERSE OF THE DAY
M: Alleluia. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory Alleluia. (Isaiah 6:3)
C: (Sung) 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 3:1-17
3 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these miraculous signs you are doing unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus replied, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless someone is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God! 6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh. Whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be surprised when I tell you that you must be born from above. 8 The wind blows where it pleases. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 “How can these things be?” asked Nicodemus. 10 “You are the teacher of Israel,” Jesus answered, “and you do not know these things? 11 Amen, Amen, I tell you: We speak what we know, and we testify about what we have seen. But you people do not accept our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven, except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven. 14 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (EHV)
M: The Gospel of the Lord.
C: (Sung) Praise be to you, O Christ!
THE ATHANASIAN CREED
This creed is named after St. Athanasius, a staunch defender of the Christian faith in the fourth century. It was prepared to assist the Church in combating two errors that undermined Bible teaching. One error denied that God’s Son and the Holy Spirit are of one being or Godhead with the Father. The other error denied that Jesus Christ is true God and true man in one person.
The Athanasian Creed continues to serve the Christian Church as a standard of the truth. It declares that whoever rejects the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of Christ is without the saving faith.
Whoever wishes to be saved must, above all else,
hold to the true Christian faith.
Whoever does not keep this faith pure in all points
will certainly perish forever.
Now this is the true Christian faith:
We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God,
without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being.
For each person—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—is distinct,
but the deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one,
equal in glory and coeternal in majesty.
What the Father is, so is the Son, and so is the Holy Spirit.
The Father is uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Spirit uncreated;
the Father is infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite;
the Father is eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal;
yet they are not three who are eternal, but there is one who is eternal,
just as they are not three who are uncreated, nor three who are infinite,
but there is one who is uncreated and one who is infinite.
HYMN (#270 v.1) “We All Believe in One True God”
In the same way the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty,
the Holy Spirit is almighty;
yet they are not three who are almighty,
but there is one who is almighty.
So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God;
yet they are not three Gods, but one God.
So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord;
yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord.
For just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually
to be God and Lord,
so the true Christian faith forbids us to speak of three Gods or three
Lords.
The Father is neither made nor created nor begotten of anyone.
The Son is neither made nor created, but is begotten of the Father alone.
HYMN (#270 v.2) “We All Believe in One True God”
The Holy Spirit is neither made nor created nor begotten,
but proceeds from the Father and the Son.
So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons;
one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.
And within this Trinity none comes before or after;
none is greater or inferior,
but all three persons are coequal and coeternal,
so that in every way, as stated before,
all three persons are to be worshiped as one God
and one God worshiped as three persons.
Whoever wishes to be saved must have this conviction of the Trinity.
HYMN (#270 v.3) “We All Believe in One True God”
It is furthermore necessary for eternal salvation
truly to believe that our Lord Jesus Christ also took on human flesh.
Now this is the true Christian faith:
We believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son,
is both God and man.
He is God, eternally begotten from the nature of the Father,
and he is man, born in time
from the nature of his mother, fully God, fully man,
with rational soul and human flesh,
equal to the Father as to his deity, less than the Father as to his humanity;
and though he is both God and man, Christ is not two persons but one,
one, not by changing the deity into flesh,
but by taking the humanity into God;
one, indeed, not by mixture of the natures, but by unity in one person;
for just as the rational soul and flesh are one human being,
so God and man are one Christ.
He suffered for our salvation, descended into hell,
rose the third day from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty,
and from there will come to judge the living and the dead.
At his coming all people will rise with their own bodies
to answer for their personal deeds.
Those who have done good will enter eternal life,
but those who have done evil will go into eternal fire.
This is the true Christian faith.
Whoever does not faithfully and firmly believe this cannot be saved.
HYMN (#195) “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty”
SERMON TEXT John 3:1-17
SERMON THEME “The Trinity of Love”
THANKSGIVING
OFFERING – Please leave offering in the plate as you depart.
HYMN (#278) “Holy God, We Praise Your Name”
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Lord of hosts, Your ways are inscrutable and Your judgments unsearchable. Through Your Word, give us an ever-growing understanding of the depths of Your riches, wisdom and knowledge, that we may glorify You forever. Lord, in Your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Lord of hosts, You delivered up Your Son according to Your definite plan and foreknowledge to be our Savior. Make our hearts glad in this faith, that our tongues may rejoice and our flesh may dwell in hope. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord of hosts, You sit enthroned as King forever. Bless all who rule us in Your stead with wisdom and understanding, that truth and justice may prevail in our land and lawlessness may be kept at bay. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord of hosts, we thank You for the many blessings You have bestowed upon this nation. Grant us a long memory to recall those who gave the full measure of devotion to our country’s peace and security. Bring to mind the sacrifices of those who served faithfully until death in the protection of our freedom and in the defense of our land. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord of hosts, uphold all who suffer in our midst by Your truth, that since You are at their right hand, they cannot be shaken. Gladden their hearts, cause their tongues to rejoice and make their flesh dwell in hope. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, heavenly Father, we gratefully remember the sufferings and death of Your dear Son, Jesus Christ, for our salvation. Rejoicing in His victorious resurrection from the dead, we draw strength from His ascension before You, where He ever stands for us as our own High Priest. Gather us together from the ends of the earth to celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end. Graciously receive our prayers, deliver and preserve us, for to You alone we give all glory, honor and worship, Father, Son and 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.
M: O Lord God, our heavenly Father, pour out the Holy Spirit on your faithful people. Keep us strong in your grace and truth, protect and comfort us in all temptation, and bestow on us your
saving peace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: (Sung) Amen.
M: 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: (Sung) Amen. Amen. Amen.
HYMN (#584) “O Blessed, Holy Trinity”
HOLY TRINITY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST May 26, 2024
Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church
OUR FATHER’S BUSINESS
FUNERAL SERVICE: Our sister, Vernice (Ordorff) Kowalke, moved on to her eternal home on Monday, May 20, 2024. Her time of grace on this earth was 89 years, 7 months and 2 days. Jesus gives us this comfort as it says in John 11: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”
“BLESSED BASSINET” MAY FUND-RAISER: This will be the last Sunday for the “Blessed Bassinet” which is set up in the upper narthex to collect baby items and/or cash to benefit the New Day Pregnancy and Resource Center. Thank you to all who participated.
“SOMETHIN’ ON A BUN” SAVE-THE-DATE: This year’s fund-raising event will be on July 7. Volunteers are being sought to help organize the (A) Luncheon, (B) Silent Auction and (C) Bean Bag Competition. Contact Pastor or Julie with your interest.
MEMORIAL DAY AMMO CAN: As Memorial Day approaches, our congregation’s Lutheran Military Support Group (LMSG) is asking for donations with an ammo box available in the narthex. LMSG is a partnership of WELS and ELS veterans and is working to grow awareness of and bring Christian support to military members and their families. For more info, visit www.lutheranmilitary.org. Donations will be accepted May 26 and June 4.
MT. OLIVE SCHOOL HELP WANTED: Mt. Olive-Delano is looking for an Olive Grove assistant for the 2024-25 school year. Olive Grove is Delano’s after school care program that runs from 2:35-5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Email principal@mtolivedelano.org or call the office at 763-972-2442 for more information.
MEDITATIONS entitled “Your Kingdom Come” have arrived with daily devotions for June 2 through Aug. 31. Large print editions are also available. Feel free to take additional copies of either version to share.
WISE PENNY HONORED: Buffalo High School presented a “Friends of Education” award to Wise Penny Thrift Shoppe for their dedication and support of BHS students within the community. “Wise Penny’s partnership with the Buffalo community spans 40 years, dating back to 1984 when we opened our first small storefront in downtown Buffalo,” said Store Manager Brittany McFadden. Immanuel volunteers at Wise Penny on the second Friday of each month plus those who work in and with specific store departments.
CAMP CROIX: There is still time to sign up for one of the sessions of Youth Bible Camp. “We are so excited for another summer of sharing the love of Jesus and having fun in the outdoors with all of our campers. Head to our website at campcroix.org to learn more and to register.” Items Needed for Camp Croix: Help support Camp Croix by sending supplies! Look for their Amazon Wishlist where you can purchase items that will be delivered straight to camp to be put to use in youth ministries this summer! Visit campcroix.org/donate and click the Amazon Wishlist link to see what you can send.
ATTENDANCE AT THE LORD’S HOUSE:
Sunday, May 19 69
FOR THE LORD’S WORK: May 12: General Fund-$2,533 (Minimum Weekly Amount Needed-$2,375); West-$20; Salem-$2. May 19: General Fund-$1,879; West-$20; Salem-$2.
Next Sun., June 2: Greeters: Paul Nowack
Shut-In Visitors for June: Mark and Linda Hoffmann
THE ATHANASIAN CREED
The Athanasian Creed is named after St. Athanasius, a strong defender of the Christian faith in the fourth century. Although named for Athanasius, it is almost certain that he did not write it. Yet even if Athanasius did not write the creed, the teachings defended in the creed are ones that he championed and defended while serving the Church.
The creed was developed to assist the Church in clearing up two errors that undermine Gospel truth. The first error denied that God’s Son and the Holy Spirit are of one being with the Father. The second error denied that Jesus Christ is true God and true man in one person. The Athanasian Creed is traditionally confessed on Trinity Sunday when we gather for worship and declare that whoever rejects the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of Christ is without the saving faith.
