https://youtu.be/yuX4dq2hIPQ

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST— September 17, 2023 

ZION EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH – LCMS – 700 Main St.  P.O. Box 220   Clyman, WI  53016

God in Christ tells the world– “I” Forgive You!  Forgive as you have been forgiven!

Pastor Dan 1-(920)-341-2025    shepherdatzion@gmail.com

 Bulletin Announcement email: zionclyman@gmail.com

AS WE GATHER – God throughout Scripture, has not only promised to be with His children, but has been present with His divine guidance to sustain and direct His children.  He works in the evil of a sinful world to bring about good, and works blessings in our lives when satan and others mean harm.  The greatest good God brings into our lives is the forgiveness of sins which we can in turn, share with others.  Paul summed up the blessed relationship we live in very simply: “So then, whether we live(being blessed daily by the Grace and presence of God) or whether we die,(the realization of our eternal victory and the perfect blessings, joy and peace of life with God in heaven) we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8).

Ringing of the Bell and Welcome

 Hymn  “I Leave All Things to God’s Direction”   LSB 719

 Opening Sentences          Psalm 66:1–3a, 4–5, 8 – Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of His name; give to Him glorious praise!  Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds!  All the earth worships You and sings praises to You; they sing praises to Your name.”     Come and see what God has done: He is awesome in His deeds toward the children of man.  Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of His praise be heard.

Invocation – In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.    Amen

 Confession and Absolution – Let us now confess our sin to God, our merciful Father.   O most gracious God, we admit and confess our sinfulness.  We know well that we are by nature sinful and unclean.  Daily we have done things we ought not to have done and have not done that which we are to have been doing as Your faithful servants.  We have been unforgiving and have limited our love.  We deserve Your punishment in this life and for eternity.  Trusting in Your mercy, we come to You for forgiveness.  Our trust is not in ourselves but in the merits of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Have mercy on us, O God heavenly Father.  Grant us remission of all our sins and guide us into renewed lives that reflect Your goodness and love.     God is indeed gracious and merciful and hears our supplications.  Upon hearing your confession, I by virtue of my office and a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His command, I announce His grace unto you, and I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.      Amen.

Psalm   103:1–12; antiphon: v. 13 –   As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;  Lectern:  Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being,  praise his holy name.  Pulpit:  Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits— All: who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.  Lectern: The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:  Pulpit: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.   Lectern:  He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; Pulpit: he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us    according to our iniquities.  All:  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.   Pastor:  As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him

 Kyrie LSB 152  –  In peace let us pray to the Lord.      Lord, have mercy.  For the peace from above and for our salvation let us pray to the Lord.  Lord, have mercy.  For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all let us pray to the Lord.  Lord, have mercy.  For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship and praise let us pray to the Lord.  Lord, have mercy.  Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.       Amen.

Salutation  The Lord be with you.         And also with you.

 Prayer of the Day – O God, You are always ready to hear the prayers of Your people. Grant that we may with all boldness and courage bring to You our petitions with the assurance that for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ You will hear them, forgiving our trespasses and granting us Your guidance in this life and every blessing in the life to come. This we ask 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.

Old Testament Reading   Genesis 50:15–21  (Joseph shares God’s forgiveness and grace with his brothers)   When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”  So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’  Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.”  When their message came to him, Joseph wept.  His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him.  “We are your slaves,” they said. But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?  You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.  So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

Epistle   Romans 14:1–12  (If we live or if we die, we belong to the Lord.)      Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.  One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.  The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.  Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?  To his own master he stands or falls.  And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.  One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike.  Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.  He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord.  He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.  For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.  If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord.  So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.  For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.  You, then, why do you judge your brother?   Or why do you look down on your brother?  For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.  It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'”  So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

 Gradual and Verse            Psalm 34:9, 19 alt.; Matthew 6:14   Fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing!       Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.  Alleluia.     If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  Alleluia.

Holy Gospel  Matthew 18:21–35    (The parable of the unforgiving servant after being forgiven of all things)

 The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the eighteenth chapter.       Glory to You, O Lord.    Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”  Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.  “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.  Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.  “The servant fell on his knees before him.  ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’  The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.    “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.  He grabbed him and began to choke him.  ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.  “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’  “But he refused.  Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.  When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.   “Then the master called the servant in.  ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’  In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.  “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”   This is the Gospel of the Lord.   Praise to You, O Christ.

Apostles’ Creed – I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.  And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

 Hymn  “God Moves in a Mysterious Way”         LSB 765

Sermon

Prayers of the Church

We Gather our Tithes and Offerings

Service of the Sacrament 

Preface   2 Timothy 4:22 – The Lord be with you.  And also with you.  Lift up your hearts.  We lift them to the Lord.  Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.  It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

Proper Preface –  It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times, and in all places give thanks to You, Lord our God, for You have called us as Your people and have shown us Your kindness.  Confident of Your love and assured of Your mercy, we come before You, asking that we may receive Your blessings with heartfelt thanksgiving.  Pour out upon us the gift of Your Holy Spirit and grant that we receive the body and blood of our Lord as a guarantee of our salvation and a foretaste of the feast to come in Your eternal kingdom. To You alone, O Father, be all glory, honor, and praise, together with the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.    Amen

Sanctus LSB 161

Prayer of Thanksgiving – Blessed are You, O Lord of heaven and earth.  We bless You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to grant us forgiveness and to assure us of Your fatherly care.  Through lives of faith and forgiveness that are directed by Your Holy Spirit, grant that we show You and the world our thankfulness as we joyfully anticipate eternal life in Your heavenly kingdom, where saints and angels gather around Your throne expressing endless thanks and praise.   Amen

 The Words of Our Lord – Consecration of the Elements

 Proclamation of Christ   1 Corinthians 11:26; Revelation 22:20  – As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.    Amen.   Come, Lord Jesus.      O Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, in giving us Your body and blood to eat and to drink, You lead us to remember and confess Your holy cross and passion, Your blessed death, Your rest in the tomb, Your resurrection from the dead, Your ascension into heaven, and Your coming for the final judgment. So remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:

The Lord’s Prayer –  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 Words of Our Lord – Consecration of the Elements

Pax Domini LSB 163 – P    The peace of the Lord be with you always.

Agnus Dei LSB 163

 We Celebrate our Lord’s Supper

 Distribution Hymns:  “If Thou But Trust in God to Guide Thee”  LSB 750                                                             “Jesus Sinners Doth Receive”  LSB 609   “Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer”   LSB 918

Post-Communion Canticle – Nunc Dimittis  LSB 165

Post-Communion Thanksgiving – Grant, O Lord, that this Sacrament that we have received, may strengthen us in faith which is demonstrated in loving service to one another and marked by forgiveness and care. As we have shared in the hospitality of Your Table, enable us to live each day as Your children, enabled and will to treat others with hospitality, charity, and service.  We pray this in Your name, for You are our Redeemer, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.     Amen.

 Benediction      Numbers 6:24–26 –  Go out into the world in peace, have courage, hold to what is good, do not return evil for evil, strengthen the fainthearted, support the weak, help the suffering, honor all people, love and serve the Lord.  Do all this as you rejoice in the power of the Holy Spirit.  The rich blessings of The almighty God—the Father, the X Son, and the Holy Spirit—be with you today and forever.              Amen.

Hymn:  “From All That Dwells Below the Skies”  LSB 816

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 *Announcements* –   From the Board of Stewardship and Evangelism:    Romans 14:7 – “For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.” We just don’t belong to ourselves — we belong first of all to God, and through Him, we belong to our neighbors. We are here to serve God in our service to one another. God has called you to this service through your vocation: as a Christian you serve others in the church, as a neighbor you serve others in society, and as a son or daughter, husband or wife, father or mother, you serve your family.

The Pewpoint – THEME OF THE DAY – Forgiving as the Lord Forgives Us–   In settling His accounts with us, our Lord acts not with anger, but with compassion. He does not imprison us as we deserve, but He forgives all our debts and releases us (Matt. 18:23–27). Therefore, our Lord bids each of us to have “mercy on your fellow servant” and “forgive your brother from your heart” (Matt. 18:33, 35). By the Lord’s forgiveness of our sins, we are free to forgive those who sin against us, because He has been handed over to the jailers in our stead and He has paid our entire debt with His lifeblood. Whether we live or die, we “are the Lord’s” (Rom. 14:8). Since we all will “stand before the judgment seat of God,” we are not to despise our brother (Rom. 14:10), but gladly forgive him. By the grace of God, our brother also “will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand” (Rom. 14:4). Though we daily sin against each other, the Lord intends “to bring it about that many people should be kept alive” (Gen. 50:20). Jesus speaks kindly by His Gospel and promises: “I will provide for you and your little ones” (Gen. 50:21).

YES IN CHRIST  —  Saying Yes With Our Treasures –  Needed per week to make budget: $3,072                      Sun. Envelopes $4,430   Plate $230.25  Cemetery Memorial: Eli Dornfeld $ 50  General Memorial:   Eli Dornfeld $ 50

Attendance: Sunday Service: 58  Communed: 51    Mid-Week Service: 11  Communed:   11

Brothers and sisters in Christ to lift up in prayer!

• Ron & DeeDee Wille as they are home, but recovering from their automobile accident.
• We rejoice with Kris Kohlhoff as she has finished her chemo treatments.
• Mrs. Weisjohn, mother of member of Dick Weisjohn who has started treatments for her cancer..
• Those in our congregation who are facing health challenges and recovering from surgeries

The New Portals of Prayer are available for you to take a copy home. There are some large print if needed.

We received a newsletter from Deanne Gochenour. See what she’s up to! Copies are in the back of church and in the narthex.

Wish a Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary to these members!

Everyone please congratulate Dick & Nancy on 50 years of wedded bliss.

Bread and Roses! September 21^st!

If you would like to help by providing individual desserts, Dinner buns, or working that evening, please consider it and sign up in the Narthex.  This is what our members need to provide.  1)  4-6 Adults from 3:30pm-6pm   2)  225- prepackaged Dinner rolls   3) 225- prepackaged desserts- bars, cookies etc.  4) Prayers for those this meal helps, nourishes, and shows the love of Christ to.   Thank you for your help and willingness to show God’s love to those less fortunate!       If donating and you are not serving, please make arrangements with someone who is serving to get donations to Bread & Roses.  

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It’s that time of the year people. If you have any ideas for our mission work for 2024 please contact Connie Kreitzman no later than Oct 1^st so your suggestions can be considered at the Council meeting on October 5^th.If you have a suggestion please also have a short description of the mission work that you are suggesting. You can give them to Connie in church or send it to her email address conniek@voclyman.com.