God's Exceedingly Great Promises

[00:04:23] Speaker A: Sorry. [00:04:23] Speaker B: I tried. [00:04:23] Speaker A: Oh, I. I did get it on. [00:04:25] Speaker B: Okay. We're. We're good. [00:04:27] Speaker A: All right. [00:04:28] Speaker B: Welcome to Trinity Lutheran Church. A joy to gather together to hear God's word, God's powerful word. You know, there are a lot of things in this world that seem powerful, but then God speaks and those things suddenly are undone or reversed. [00:04:44] Speaker A: Right. [00:04:45] Speaker B: God's word is truly powerful. And that's one of the themes that. [00:04:48] Speaker A: Comes out in the readings today. A couple of announcements here. [00:04:56] Speaker B: First of all, I just want to. [00:04:58] Speaker A: Point out that Pastor Hesse and Ruth. [00:05:01] Speaker B: Ann are back, and isn't it great to have them back? [00:05:08] Speaker A: They've been gone for quite a while. [00:05:09] Speaker B: And I miss that man and his faith and joy in the Lord also. Veterans Day tomorrow, if you're a veteran, would you stand up so that we can honor you? My wife, Virginia is going to say a little bit more about that. [00:05:41] Speaker C: Good morning. This Wednesday, we have a special chapel Service. So at 8:30 in the morning, we're going to be honoring the veterans at our chapel service for the school. And the children of the school have been practicing a song for a bit now, and they would love to sing it to all the veterans. And if you are looking for a way that you can honor veterans, it's after Veterans Day, so. [00:06:10] Speaker B: Sorry. [00:06:11] Speaker A: The. [00:06:11] Speaker B: I. I think the mic was working, and now it's not. We're getting a new mic up here. Don't want to miss this. [00:06:24] Speaker C: Okay. Is this better? [00:06:28] Speaker B: Okay. [00:06:30] Speaker C: All right. So this Wednesday, we're going to be honoring the veterans at our school's chapel service. So that's at 8:30 in the morning. The children have been practicing a nice song to sing to the veterans. So we would love for all of you to join us. Whether you are a veteran or not, you can be honoring the veterans with us. So we have a little invitation here to pass out, and we would really love to get a lot of people to join us in celebrating this day with the children. So I have the ushers in the back. They have invitations to pass out if you are a veteran. If you know a veteran, I'd love for you to raise your hand so that we can get you an invitation if you want an invitation, because you might want to join us. Or if you know someone that might want to join us, please raise your hand. The ushers will pass those out. No obligation to come, but this is a special way for us to honor them. And then also there will be refreshments following the chapel service for those that come. So the ushers are in the back Ready to pass those out. Thank you. [00:07:45] Speaker B: All right. [00:07:46] Speaker A: Well, we're going to. [00:07:46] Speaker B: And we're going to get started. Our first hymn is Children of the Heavenly Father. And think about our theme, God's Word being powerful. [00:07:54] Speaker A: And God provides for us as we. [00:07:57] Speaker B: Trust in him in faith. So let's stand and sing hymn 725. [00:08:18] Speaker D: Children of the Heavenly Father Sing the End. Such a refuge there was he in his holy courts they flourish from all evil in his mighty heart Unto ravine His gracie sh. And there's sorrow so we know. [00:09:28] Speaker E: Oh. [00:09:29] Speaker D: He give. [00:09:34] Speaker F: God his children. [00:09:58] Speaker B: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. [00:10:02] Speaker E: Amen. [00:10:05] Speaker B: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. [00:10:10] Speaker A: But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [00:10:37] Speaker B: Let us then confess our sins to God, our Father, most merciful God. [00:10:43] Speaker A: We confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against you in thought, word and deed. By what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us, forgive us, renew us and lead us so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your holy name. [00:11:24] Speaker E: Amen. [00:11:26] Speaker B: Almighty God in his mercy has given His Son to die for you and for his sake forgives you all your sins as a called and ordained servant of Christ. And by his authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. [00:11:42] Speaker E: Amen. [00:11:47] Speaker B: Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. O my soul. [00:11:51] Speaker A: I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. Put not your trust in princes, in. [00:12:03] Speaker B: A Son of man in whom there is no salvation. [00:12:07] Speaker A: When his breath departs, he returns to the earth. On that very day, his plans perish. [00:12:14] Speaker B: Blessed is he whose help is the. [00:12:16] Speaker A: God of Jacob, whose hope is in. [00:12:19] Speaker B: The Lord, his God, who made heaven. [00:12:22] Speaker A: And earth, the sea and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever. [00:12:28] Speaker B: Who executes justice for the apostles, who. [00:12:31] Speaker A: Gives food to the hungry. [00:12:33] Speaker B: The Lord sets the prisoners free. [00:12:36] Speaker A: The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down. The Lord loves the righteous. [00:12:45] Speaker B: The Lord watches over the sojourners. He upholds the widow and the fatherless. [00:12:50] Speaker A: But the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. [00:13:13] Speaker E: Amen. [00:13:19] Speaker F: Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us. [00:13:38] Speaker A: Glory be to God on high. [00:13:41] Speaker F: And on earth be good will toward men. We praise Thee, we bless thee, we worship Thee, we glorify Thee, we give thanks to Thee for thy great glory. O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty. O Lord, the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. [00:14:18] Speaker D: O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son. [00:14:22] Speaker F: Of the Father, who that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sin of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand. [00:14:47] Speaker D: Of God the Father, have mercy upon us. [00:14:54] Speaker F: For Thou only art holy, and thou only art the Lord the only. O Christ with the Holy Ghost art most high in the glory of God the Father. [00:15:16] Speaker D: Amen. [00:15:22] Speaker A: The Lord be with you. [00:15:23] Speaker D: And also with you. [00:15:25] Speaker B: Let us pray. Almighty and ever living God, you have. [00:15:34] Speaker A: Given exceedingly great and precious promises to. [00:15:37] Speaker B: Those who trust in you. Grant us so firmly to believe in your Son, Jesus, that our faith may never be found wanting. Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, Lord, who lives and reigns with you. [00:15:49] Speaker A: And the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. [00:15:53] Speaker E: Amen. [00:15:56] Speaker B: Please be seated for the readings. [00:16:14] Speaker G: Our first readings is from 1 Kings, chapter 17, beginning at verse 8. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah. Arise and go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, bring me a little water in a vessel that I may drink. And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. And she said, as the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go and prepare it for myself and my son, and that we may eat it and die. And Elijah said to her, do not fear. Go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it, and bring it to me. And afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel. A jar of flour shall not be spent, and a jug of oil shall not be empty until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth. And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty. According to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Please join me in the gradual. These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. Our epistle lesson comes from Hebrews chapter 9, beginning at verse 24. For Christ has entered not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have to have to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages, to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. I invite you to rise to honor our gospel. [00:19:48] Speaker F: Hallelujah. [00:19:51] Speaker D: Hallelujah. [00:19:54] Speaker F: Hallelujah. You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich. [00:20:05] Speaker B: Yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. [00:20:13] Speaker F: Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. [00:20:27] Speaker B: The holy gospel according to St. Mark, the twelfth chapter. [00:20:30] Speaker A: Glory to you, O Lord. In his teaching. [00:20:34] Speaker B: Jesus said, beware of the scribes, who. [00:20:38] Speaker A: Like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces, and. [00:20:43] Speaker B: Have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts. [00:20:49] Speaker A: Who devour widows, houses, and for a pretense, make long prayers, they will receive the greater condemnation. And he sat down opposite, opposite the treasury, and watched the people putting money. [00:21:03] Speaker B: Into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put. [00:21:10] Speaker A: In two small copper coins, which make a penny. [00:21:14] Speaker B: And he called his disciples to him and said to them, truly, I say. [00:21:20] Speaker A: To you, this poor widow has put. [00:21:22] Speaker B: In more than all those who are contributing to the offering box, for they all contributed out of their abundance. But she, out of her poverty, has put in everything she had, all she had to live on. This is the Gospel of the Lord. [00:21:38] Speaker A: Praise to you, O Christ. [00:21:41] Speaker B: We now confess our Christian faith with the words of the Nicene Creed. [00:21:46] Speaker A: I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds. God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried. And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. And he. He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end. And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy, Christian and apostolic church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. [00:23:18] Speaker E: Amen. [00:23:20] Speaker B: Please be seated. We'll sing our next hymn number 738. [00:24:28] Speaker D: Lives in our hearts, Lord, and the rain of all name worship, welcome. [00:26:28] Speaker B: Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. I just decided this is the next hymn our family is going to learn. We're going to start singing this one. Boy, it's beautiful. The theme that stays throughout comes in the last line. In our hearts, Lord, your bliss in. [00:26:53] Speaker A: Our hearts, your strength in our hearts, your love in our hearts, your peace in our hearts. [00:27:00] Speaker B: So God working in our heart, his. [00:27:03] Speaker A: Strength and joy and peace and love. [00:27:08] Speaker B: And then, of course, the very end of each line is a different time of the day. The break of the day, the noon of the day, the eve of the day, the end of the day. So all the time you know, God working in our hearts. And by singing that hymn, we're. Well, we're focused on what matters most. [00:27:29] Speaker A: Right. [00:27:30] Speaker B: The heart is. Is invisible. Not speaking about a beating heart, right? But the heart, as the center of our spiritual life, our invisible life. So strength, for example, you wouldn't necessarily look to the heart for strength, you know, or like, your strength in our heart. Like, why don't God. How about you just give me, you know, everything that I need physically and more, and make me strong, you know, how about some muscles? That's another kind of strength, right? But your strength in my heart so that I can be strong in the midst of whatever comes outwardly. So that's this hymn. It's especially helpful because it focuses, just zeros in, gets right down to what really matters to God, which is the heart. Now, that doesn't seem real strong from a worldly perspective. All right, so let's look at Elijah's situation. In our Old Testament reading, Elijah is running from Queen Jezebel, the Queen of Israel, and she's evil. She is supporting the worship of BAAL and false gods and such. And Elijah is sent by God to say, stop. You know? Well, you tell somebody in power to stop, and things don't usually go so well. So he ends up running for his life. He's running away, and he's dejected. He's like, God, I've got nothing left, and I don't know how this is going to work out. And so God says, here, go to Zarephath, this little village, and find a widow. I've told her to take care of you. It's like, okay, great, thanks. You know, you could have given me an army or something, right? Okay, so we got two kinds of strength going on right now. You know, in this situation, we've got Jezebel, who really has the strength to kill Elijah if God will let her. And then we have God's strength, which is in the apparently weak Elijah. I mean, what does he have? He's got God's word. He speaks this little word to this powerful queen. Hey, you know what you're doing is wrong. God says, turn to him, repent. And Jezebel wants to just. Boom. She actually says, may God do to me. May God kill me, essentially, is what she's saying. If Elijah isn't dead by this time tomorrow, it's like, okay, who's powerful in this moment, Elijah or Queen Jezebel? But wonderfully, it's Elijah. It's just that God doesn't show his power in strength. He shows his power in weakness. So he sends Elijah to this little village to a widow who's got, like, basically nothing. Like, here's how I'm going to provide for you and the widow, right so the widow has this little bit of flour, this little bit of oil left. God says, perfect. You know, this is how I work. I show my strength and weakness. Just like he says to Paul, right? When Paul's got the thorn in the flesh and he prays to God, lord, take this away. It's like, make me strong. [00:31:00] Speaker A: And. [00:31:01] Speaker B: And God says, no, it's enough, right? He says, for my power is made perfect in weakness. My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness. Okay, so what does Elijah have? Well, he has God's word. So God tells him, go, and he obeys, and he goes to Zarephath. No army is going to save him from Jezebel. No strength, no skill, no being sneaky. No, it's God's word. God tells him, go, and he goes to Zarephath, and he's safe. God says, go, and there's a widow, and he's provided for. When Elijah gives the widow the word of God, first she says, all right, I've got just a little bit. I'd love to help you out, but I've got just a little bit of flour, a little bit of oil, and our plan was we were gonna, you know, enjoy this little tiny meal and then die. And Elijah says, well, okay, first make us a little. Make me a little meal. You know, it's like, oh, boy. What do you say? I mean, that's like Elijah going to Queen Jezebel and. And laying himself out there like, hey, what you're doing is wrong. He's basically inviting death, right? And the widow, too. That's what the widow's doing. Here, have our food. She's inviting death. See, she's actually put in a weak place as well. And then God's power is made perfect in weakness for her, too, so that she trusts. Well, so that she knows that man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. So Elijah says, first, make a little cake for me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord. There it is. Why take Elijah up on that? Thus says the Lord. That's why it's God's word, God's word that speaks. And powerful things come undone. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, the jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth. And she went and did as Elijah said. That is also amazing and beautiful that she trusted in God's word, God's Word that he was going to provide for her. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty. According to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah. Thanks be to God. You and I, brothers and sisters in Christ, you and I have God's word also, that still, small voice. Remember, that's the Elijah story, too. He goes to Mount Sinai, and God not in the strong fire or, you know, he's in the still, small voice. Because it's God's word that is powerful in its apparent weakness. And that's the secret that you and I know in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, who became weakness for us, who came not like a king, pushing people aside and saying, you haven't been listening to God, so I'm here to destroy you. Jesus, who came as a baby and then who came with an inviting word, who says, come to me, all you who are weak and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Jesus, who came in apparent weakness. Weakness all the way to the cross. Who's there on the cross? And they're like, well, if you're really strong, come down. It doesn't work like that for God. And then God's power is shown in his resurrection. He rises from the dead and still he comes to his disciples for the word of peace, not destruction. Yeah, you ran away from me. Peace be with you. Breathes on them, gives them His Holy Spirit as God has sent me. So I'm sending you, sends them out into the world with a powerful message hidden in a weak word. In words that don't seem powerful, they are powerful, right? The gospel is the power of God. For those who believe God's word. That doesn't seem to do anything right now. Like, you know, one day Jesus is going to come back and he's going to raise everyone from the dead. And those who believe in him, he's going to give eternal life and power and glory. Like we're going to reign with Him. That's his promise. Now, right now, it's just a word. People think that's silliness, right? I mean, if you were to pick something to go after right now, you got God's promises, or you've got wealth and riches and earthly fame and honor and glory. And, you know, well, thanks be to God, by His grace, by the power of His Holy Spirit, we choose faith in His Word and we give up whatever else. Like St. Paul, right? Considering all things lost for the sake of knowing Jesus Christ his Lord, that's Our position by faith in Jesus, we can give up anything. You see the widow giving her offering, she gives it all, everything. Oh, there's strength, there's something powerful. She's trusting in God to provide for her by giving all that she has, by giving all that she has, she is saying to herself and to those watching the disciples and Jesus, right? She's pointing to what is most valuable. She's pointing to what is highest. She's giving glory, giving attention to God, saying God is worthy of all of her, attention of everything that she has, worthy of her life, her heart, our collect of the day, almighty and ever living God. You have given exceedingly great precious promises to those who trust in you. That's our strength, that's our power. God's exceedingly great promises to those who trust in him. We could let everything else go. We hang on to God's word. We are engaged in a battle with great enemies, especially seen from a certain perspective, right? If you make the comparison, nothing's great. Well, compared to God. A couple weeks ago we were celebrating Reformation Day and we Talked about Psalm 46. How does it start? God is our refuge and strength. Remember that? He's our refuge, he's our fortress. And that kind of fortress, nothing compares to it, right? God has given us exceedingly great promises and those promises hold good in the face of whatever faces us. Now, on a daily basis, we run into challenges and some of those are really silly. And, you know, if you really think about it from God's perspective, it's like really the stress or feeling overwhelmed as I try and manage my household or something like that. But it can overwhelm. It can feel like that raging sea and the turmoil and the chaos in the moment, right? If my heart isn't set on Jesus Christ and ready to receive from him his governing power, right? Jesus, govern me. Be my fortress against the attacks of the devil. Because that's really what it is. I get this sense of, like, how will I overcome this? You know, my word is getting nowhere and it could throw me into chaos, right? It could wreck my ship. And, well, there God is with his exceedingly great promises, ready to calm that storm, ready to be the fortress against which nothing can break in. But the intimidation can be much greater, right? There's a little silly example from my life, but then you and you face huge medical concerns or injury, danger, death, and that's much more intimidating. You can feel like you're up against a wall and, well, how is this going to get better? How is this going to go? Well, I don't know. And then, well, then we cling to God's word. And God's word gives us strength and hope. His promise is that that overcome any kind of obstacle. Talking about ultimate promises, that this world, okay, is going to offer us suffering and weakness and death if Jesus doesn't come back first. But God's promises, they extend beyond that. Jesus Christ brings us through death to life. Jesus gives us reason to hope in the midst of whatever circumstances, no matter how dire they seem. God's strength is made perfect in weakness. And so the weakness doesn't have to be all that scary anymore. In fact, we can accept it like the apostles do. The apostles accepted weakness and they rejoiced that they could share in Christ's sufferings because they knew, like St. Paul, that sharing in his sufferings, they were becoming like Him. In his death, they were becoming less earthly. As we've borne the image of the earthly, so let us bear the image of the heavenly. Paul says God is conforming us to the image of His Son in his humility and in his glory. But the glory is hidden. That's kind of the key to all of this, is that, okay, we can say God's power is made perfect in weakness. That's something that we see by faith. That again, is God's word telling us that it's invisible. We walk by faith, not by sight. That's the key to it all. So God's Word is powerful. And it's powerful for those who believe the gospel is the power of God, for those who are being saved, for those who believe. That's the key. It's God's word and faith which is born through God's Word, right? Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God. So let's end with this. We've got God's word, God's gospel, his good news, the Word that's hidden, right? You wouldn't just know that Jesus is coming back one day and is going to raise the dead and give life to those who believe in Him. That's something you have to hear. Faith comes by hearing. How are people going to know unless they hear man? We have a school full of children ready to hear God's Word and grow in it, grow in faith and be shaped by it. And families ready for the same. Many of whom want that, who are excited that their children are in a Christian school and get to hear God's Word. But not just that. Look how many people are in this room, right? Look at us. We're all members of a community. And we have family members and co workers and friends and neighbors. So when you're interacting with them, you know, we can talk about politics or the news or things going on in Greeley or things that matter, or we can think about, you know, sports. [00:44:10] Speaker A: Right. [00:44:11] Speaker B: But just remember, keep that in your mind that the gospel is the power of God for those who are being saved. And that doesn't exclude anybody. Anybody in your life could hear God's word and by God's grace, by the power of his Holy Spirit, believe in him and have that power for themselves, have God's joy in their hearts and his strength in their hearts and his love and his peace. And they could be governed in peace by Jesus. Thanks be to God. In Jesus name, Amen. [00:45:07] Speaker D: Creation away from thine presence. Every holy spirit from me. Show unto me the joy of my salvation and I'm holy in the spirit. R.A. [00:47:41] Speaker B: We stand for prayer. Almighty God, help us to trust in you. Help us not to be drawn to those things which seem great or powerful or beautiful in this world, but conform our hearts to your will. Show us what is truly good and beautiful and right and true and powerful and worthy of our attention. Help us to look to you and nothing else in the midst of whatever. Thank you for sending Jesus Christ to be our salvation. [00:48:28] Speaker A: Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. [00:48:33] Speaker B: Lord, we thank you for being with us in whatever circumstances. And we pray for all those who are experiencing difficult circumstances. Give hope and peace and joy in the midst of suffering and difficulty, especially to those in our midst for whom we pray. Karen, Mary, Bob, Virtus, Dale, Carl, Christie. [00:49:04] Speaker A: Jewel, Dick and Francis, Edris and Bill, Earl, Matthew, Lorene, Richard, Ron, Esther, Elaine, Andrew, Bruce, Kathy and John. Carol, Ellen, Les, Kathy Lee, Rachel, Allen, Jeff and Al. [00:49:41] Speaker B: Be with them. Be their strength. We pray especially for Mikayl after her fall. Please restore her health. Be her strength. [00:49:54] Speaker A: Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. [00:49:58] Speaker B: Father, we thank you for all of those who work hard to protect us. And today we especially thank you for those who have put their lives in harmony way in the military. Thank you for all veterans and those among us for their courage and strength and ask that you would bless them. [00:50:21] Speaker A: Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. [00:50:24] Speaker B: Bless our ministry here at Trinity. Make your word bear fruit in people's lives, whether through our services and in the preaching of your word or in the reception of your son's body and blood in which you mysteriously hide your strength or in Bible study. Please bless Bible study leaders and Sunday school teachers. Bless our school and pray and the teachers in Our school who are sharing your word with children and the truth. Please make the children grow in knowledge and in faith and bless their families. [00:51:09] Speaker A: Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. [00:51:13] Speaker B: We thank you for your church throughout the world, for the encouragement of the cloud of witnesses that surrounds us. All those saints who have gone before us in faith or who are running beside us in faith, we ask that you would continue to expand your church, that your gospel would go throughout all the world and that more people here in Greeley and throughout the world would come to know you and your power. That's accomplished through weakness. And Lord, we look forward to the coming of your son, Jesus Christ in power, and ask that you would sustain our faith and the faith of your people to life everlasting, that we might share in his glory. [00:51:58] Speaker A: Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. [00:52:02] Speaker B: All these things we ask through Jesus Christ, your son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. [00:52:10] Speaker E: Amen. [00:52:19] Speaker B: The Lord be with you. [00:52:22] Speaker A: Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord. [00:52:26] Speaker B: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. [00:52:28] Speaker A: It is right to give him thanks and praise. [00:52:33] Speaker B: It is truly good, right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to you. Holy Lord, Almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who, having created all things, took on human flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary for our sake. He died on the cross and rose from the dead to put an end to death, thus fulfilling your word and gaining for you a holy people. Therefore, with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify your glorious name evermore, praising you and saying, holy. [00:54:06] Speaker A: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. [00:54:11] Speaker B: Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done. [00:54:14] Speaker A: 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. [00:54:28] Speaker B: Deliver us from evil. [00:54:30] Speaker A: For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. [00:54:36] Speaker E: Amen. [00:54:43] Speaker B: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, take, eat. This is my body which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me. In the same way also he took the cup after supper, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, drink of it, all of you. This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. [00:55:09] Speaker A: This. [00:55:09] Speaker B: Do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. The peace of the Lord be with you always. [00:55:16] Speaker E: Amen. [00:55:23] Speaker D: Sa. [00:56:27] Speaker B: Welcome to the Lord's table. Take and eat. True body of Christ given for you. Take and drink the true blood of Christ shed for you for the forgiveness of your sins. The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen and preserve you in body and soul to life everlasting. Depart in peace. [00:56:54] Speaker E: Amen. [00:57:10] Speaker H: Welcome to the table of our Lord. [00:57:12] Speaker G: Take a knee. This is the true body of our risen Savior. [00:57:16] Speaker B: Bye bye. [00:57:22] Speaker G: Take and drink. This is the true blood shed for you. [00:57:27] Speaker B: Now. [00:57:27] Speaker G: May this the true body and blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For Savior Body and soul forever. [00:58:49] Speaker D: Lord Jesus Christ. [01:06:17] Speaker H: True love. [01:06:44] Speaker D: Ra Ra. I will then make it mine. It shall be no longer one. Take my heart in shall be a royal roar. It shall be my royal. [01:11:17] Speaker B: We give thanks to you, Almighty God, that you have refreshed us through this salutary gift. And we implore you that of your mercy you would strengthen us through the same. In faith toward you and in fervent. [01:11:29] Speaker A: Love toward one another. [01:11:30] Speaker B: Through Jesus Christ, your son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. [01:11:38] Speaker E: Amen. [01:11:40] Speaker B: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace. [01:11:49] Speaker E: Amen. [01:13:18] Speaker D: Father Almighty. [01:13:55] Speaker B: Please be seated for just a moment. We have just a few announcements. First of all, we have a new member class. It's not just, you know, it's for anybody. Anybody who wants to learn more is welcome. That started last week. It's at 11:45. You know, it's after the second service. Last week it started at 12, but maybe 11:45 next week. Today we're not having it because I have to. Right after the second service, I'm going to jet out because I'm preaching for my younger brother's installation at our sister congregation in Ray, Colorado. So I'll bring them greetings from us. I was looking at it. It's straight on 34, so they may be far, but they're a direct line. [01:14:42] Speaker A: You know, they're sister congregation. [01:14:47] Speaker B: Next up, nominations have been going on. We're nominating people as a congregation to fill roles that we need filled. Those roles are somewhere in the bulletin, I think spelled out. But actually they're on the half sheet. [01:15:02] Speaker A: That I'm going to point out. [01:15:04] Speaker B: Last week I pointed this out and I said, please fill out some names. And we got a lot of names. Thank you for nominating people. If you haven't yet nominated people for these positions, please do so. The next step will be that the nominating committee finds out. Well, first of all, the nominating committee is sort of supposed to vet the nominations, supposed to evaluate the nominations based on the guidelines in the Constitution and bylaws and policy manuals. But then we'll be making sure that people are willing to serve in those positions. And so. So I'll just say a word. Please be willing to serve. Thank you. All of this is for the benefit of our life together as God's people. All right, I was asked, and I'm happy to thank Kathy Krueger and Karen Langhorne for all your years of counting offerings after church, being part of the team. And I guess you're stepping down at this point. And thank you. Thank you so much. And, of course, there are so many others of you who are serving or have served, and thank you. I'm so thankful for all of you and our congregation and our life together, the ways that God has blessed us. Two more things I was told Pastor Hesse wants to. Oh, there he is. Pastor Hesse, you're up. Yeah, that's what it feels like. [01:16:36] Speaker H: We are starting as the class of pastor taught. I got to watch it on video. And thank you for that, for Facebook. That was wonderful. And Larry and I are both starting our classes again downstairs. Larry continues his study of Bible character as they go through the scriptures, and so we thank him for that. I'm starting a new class called Foundations. It comes from the Creation Institute, and we're taking a look at God's Word, especially as we look at the beginning of God's Word in Genesis and how that speaks to many of the situations that we face today. Why is it that the world is sliding away from God's Word? And. And what does that mean? So please join us for that. And Pastor's got his class in a week. And congratulations to your brother. Wow, that is wonderful. Join us for Bible class. God bless you. [01:17:36] Speaker B: Thank you, Pastor Hesse. And finally, I think this is the last thing, huh? Ms. Gwen Marshall? [01:17:44] Speaker I: I think so, yes. I was supposed to be here at the start and had a few carpets troubles this morning. Up on the screen, there are some pictures while I'm talking, but we're nearing the end of the church year. We're ending the near end of calendar year, but on Friday, the school ended the first trimester. So the end of something, start of another is always a time to reflect. So up on the screen are some of the Highlights of trimester number one. It was a great time, not without its challenges, but things are wonderful in daily life in this school. But at the end of any season, there are always things to clean up. So we sold butter braids. In the first trimester, our kids sold over $11,000 worth of butter braids, raising over $4,500 for this school. Butter braids arrive this week. So next Sunday you'll have some kids trying to track you down and get you to take home your butter braids. Another thing that happened is in September I got a $2,000 grant to buy things for the playground and gym to enhance the large motor activities for our preschoolers. While I have lots of stuff, my problem was storage. So I bought things to store. Deck boxes, some other cabinets, but they all came unassembled and they're sitting in large boxes in my office and it's time to get that done. So Next Saturday morning, 9:00, anybody who can just bring a few tools, we have about six storage things to put together, a couple more plasma bikes which my. Which will make it a little easier to share in preschool gym time. And so we can use help cleaning up that final project. And the other thing that is drawing to a close is the scholarship campaign. You've been able to hear from me, from a couple of our other teachers and board members. Each year we raise funds to help families who cannot afford the full tuition load to have their child at Trinity Lutheran. We're a little. We're around halfway through there, but we know that people continue to give throughout the year. So please keep that still in your heart and giving plans to contribute to the scholarship throughout the rest of this year. And I think that's it. And there were some really fun pictures up there. You saw the little blonde boy with the pumpkin guts all over his head in my class, everything is a full sensory experience. So thank you again for your support of Trinity Lutheran School. [01:20:31] Speaker B: Thank you, Gwen. And all right, so coffee and treats. Stick around and Bible study with Larry and Pastor Asy downstairs. I'll be with the youth this morning. Go in peace as you serve the Lord. Thanks be to God.