HOLY TRINITY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST May 31, 2026
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
O Lord, my creator, redeemer and comforter, as I come to worship you in spirit and in truth, I humbly pray that you would open my heart to the preaching of your Word so that I may repent of my sins, believe in Jesus Christ as my only Savior and grow in grace and holiness. Hear me for the sake of His name. Amen.
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: 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 Genesis 1:1-2:3
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was undeveloped and empty. Darkness covered the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good. He separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” There was evening and there was morning—the first day.
6 God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, and let it separate the water from the water.” 7 God made the expanse, and he separated the water that was below the expanse from the water that was above the expanse, and it was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky.” There was evening and there was morning—the second day.
9 God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear,” and it was so. ⎣The waters under the sky gathered to their own places, and the dry land appeared.⎦ 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathering places of the waters he called “seas.” God saw that it was good. 11 God said, “Let the earth produce plants—vegetation that produces seed, and trees that bear fruit with its seed in it—each according to its own kind on the earth,” and it was so. 12 The earth brought forth plants, vegetation that produces seed according to its own kind, and trees that bear fruit with its seed in it, each according to its own kind, and God saw that it was good. 13 There was evening and there was morning—the third day.
14 God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night, and let them serve as markers to indicate seasons, days, and years. 15 Let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth,” and it was so. 16 God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set these lights in place in the expanse of the sky to provide light for the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. 19 There was evening and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 God said, “Let the waters swarm with living creatures, and let birds and other winged creatures fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” 21 God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their own kind, and every winged bird according to its own kind. God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them when he said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 There was evening and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their own kind, livestock, creeping things, and wild animals according to their own kind,” and it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their own kind, and the livestock according to their own kind, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its own kind. God saw that it was good. 26 God said, “Let us make man[g] in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that crawls on the earth.” 27 God created the man in his own image. In the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 God said, “Look, I have given you every plant that produces seed on the face of the whole earth, and every tree that bears fruit that produces seed. It will be your food. 30 To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning—the sixth day.
2 The heavens and the earth were finished, along with everything in them. 2 On the seventh day God had finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had been doing. 3 God blessed the seventh day and set it apart as holy, because on it he rested from all his work of creation that he had done. (EHV)
M: The Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
PSALM OF THE DAY (Sung) Psalm 8 (page 67)
SECOND LESSON 2 Corinthians 13:11-14
11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Set things in order. Be encouraged. Agree with one another. Be at peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints greet you. 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (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 Matthew 28:16-20
16 The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some hesitated because they were uncertain. 18 Jesus approached and spoke to them saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and gather disciples from all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and by teaching them to keep all the instructions I have given you. And surely I am with you always until the end of the age.” (EHV)
M: The Gospel of the Lord.
C: (Sung) Praise be to you, O Christ!
HYMN OF THE DAY (#194) “Oh, that I Had a Thousand Voices”
SERMON TEXT Matthew 28:16-20
SERMON THEME “The Trinity”
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.
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.
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.
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.
BE SEATED
HYMN OF THE DAY (#239) Glory Be to God the Father
OFFERING – Please leave offering in the plate as you depart.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Triune God, you are the one eternal God, whose name we praise forever. We could not have known you, our only Savior, if you had not revealed yourself to us as Father, Son, and Spirit—three persons, yet one God. Remove from us all unbelief, and grant us humble faith as we contemplate this high and holy mystery. Scatter all those who are wise in their own conceits, and give us a simple, childlike trust to worship you as Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity.
God our Father, whatever good is in us, whatever good things we have, and whatever good we do comes from you alone. In you we live and move and have our being. Open our eyes to see the gifts you shower down on us daily—purely out of your own fatherly love and care.
Lord Jesus our Savior, you came into our world to make the Father known to us; you joined yourself to us by taking on our humanity; you brought us back to God by shedding your blood. In love you walked the way of suffering and bore alone the wrath of God, the wrath that we by our sins deserved. Help us believe that all you did, all you suffered, and all you endured you did for us, to rescue us and set us free. In the bright new hope of your resurrection, teach us to offer our lives each day in praise to God and in love to our neighbor.
Creator Spirit, you have opened our eyes by the bright light of your word; you have burst through our deafness with the clear sound of your voice in the Scriptures; you have breathed into us new life by the power of the gospel. Through Word and sacrament, help us grow in understanding the breadth and depth and height of the love of God. Make us firm in our resolve to do battle with our sin. In every weakness be our strength, that we may show ourselves to be God’s true children: faithful in prayer constant in hope, and fervent in love.
Hear us, Lord, as we bring you our private petitions.
Silent prayer.
O Holy Trinity, you are the God of glory, the God of grace, the God of every comfort. From you and through you and to you are all things. We rejoice to call you Father, Son and Holy Spirit and so to praise your holy name 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 (#195) “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty”
HOLY TRINITY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST May 31, 2026
Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church
THE SCHEDULE
Tues., May 26 7 p.m., Church Council Meeting
Next Sun., May 31: Greeters: Brian & Jenni Weese
Shut-In Visitors for June: Mark & Linda Hoffmann
OUR FATHER’S BUSINESS
MAY FUND-RAISER: This is the last day for the Ladies Fellowship-sponsored fund-raiser for the New Day Pregnancy and Resource Center. The “Blessed Bassinet” is set up in the upper narthex to collect baby items and/or cash for this cause.
MEMORIAL DAY AMMO-CAN: This is the final opportunity to donate in the ammo box to benefit the Lutheran Military Support Group (LMSG)—a group working to grow awareness of and bring Christian support to military members and their families.
SUMMER PICNIC–SAVE-THE-DATE: This year’s fund-raising event will be on July 12. Volunteers are being sought to help organize the (A) Luncheon, (B) Silent Auction and (C) Bean Bag Competition, (D) Bingo. Contact Pastor or Julie with your interest. And we are always open to suggestions and new options.
MEDITATIONS entitled “Great Gain!” have arrived with daily devotions for May 31 through Aug. 29. Large print editions are also available. Feel free to take additional copies of either version to share. A free-will offering would be gratefully accepted to help defray the costs.
ATTENDANCE AT THE LORD’S HOUSE:
Sunday, May 24 63
FOR THE LORD’S WORK: May 24: General Fund-$1,292, Salem-$7, West-$5, Fishers-$25 MLC-$5; Missions: May 24-$710 (Mission YTD-$10,132).
