https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBQoZ_n4lfY

Fifth Sunday of Easter – April 28 & May 1, 2024

ZION EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH – LCMS

700 Main St.  P.O. Box 220   Clyman, WI  53016

Service Times  Sundays 8:30am   Wednesdays 7pm

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

To View our past services!

Website – zionclyman.org         Facebook– ZionClyman

To watch live at 8:30am on Sundays or to view past services- YouTube – zionclyman

Music – DeeDee Wille       Elder: Dan Chaveriat        Wednesday: Ralph Kohlhoff

Bulletin Announcements   email: zionclyman@gmail.com

Congregation information: Neal Kohlhoff neal.kohlhoff50@gmail.com

Guests.  Welcome to Zion.  We are glad to have you with us.  Please sign our guestbook located in the Narthex.  About Holy Communion:  We welcome to the Lord’s Table all who have repented of their sins and seek to amend their sinful life; all who believe that Jesus is truly present in, with, and under the bread and the wine; and all who believe that through the words “given and shed for you” forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given.  If this is your confession and you are a member of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, then come with a thankful heart and join us.   If you are a visitor and would like to commune, please talk with Pastor Dan before the service.  To help in preparing to receive Holy Communion open the front cover of the Burgundy hymnal or turn to pages 329 & 330.  Gluten free wafers are available, please talk with an Elder or Pastor before the service if you would appreciate them.  

Altar Guild for April:  Tracy Schwartz and Holley Westenberg        Thank You!

AS WE GATHER –  When Jesus uses the image of the vine and speaks of vineyards, He is choosing something very familiar to His hearers.  Today, the cultivation of vineyards is still an important agricultural component in both Israel and the Jordan, lands where Jesus walked and taught.  Life in the vineyard is vital!  As branches grafted to Christ, the Vine, we are vitalized by Him and our growth comes from Him.  As we worship, God’s life-giving power flows into our lives and we are able to glorify our heavenly Father!  “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

Ringing of the Bell and Welcome

Hymn  “Good Christian Friends Rejoice and Sing”              LSB 475

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

 Opening Sentences Psalm 150 –  Praise the Lord!  Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens!  Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness!  Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!  Praise him with loud clashing cymbals!  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!  Praise God in His sanctuary.  Alleluia!  Praise the Lord!   

 Confession and Absolution – Humble yourselves then before God, confess your sins to Him, and implore His forgiveness.

All:  O almighty God, most merciful Father, I, a repentant sinner, confess to You all my sins and iniquities with which I have offended You.  By nature, I am a sinful creature.  In thought, word, and deed I have continually transgressed and broken Your law.  For this I justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment.  For the sake of the sufferings and death of Your Son, Jesus Christ, be gracious and merciful to me, a penitent and contrite sinner.  In Your mercy, forgive me all my sins and grant me the power of Your Holy Spirit that I may amend my sinful life and bear fruit in keeping with true repentance.       

God be gracious to you and strengthen your faith.  Amen.   As you believe, so let it be. As a called and ordained servant 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.  Amen.

Hymn of Praise –  Gloria in Excelsis  LSB 204

Prayer of the Day – O God, You make the minds of Your faithful to be of one will. Grant that we may love what You have commanded and desire what You promise, that among the many changes of this world our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Our First Reading Acts 8:26-40 – Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”  This is a desert place.  And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure.  He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.  And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”  So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”  And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.  Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth.  In his humiliation justice was denied him.  Who can describe his generation?  For his life is taken away from the earth.”  And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”  Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.  And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water!  What prevents me from being baptized?”  And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.  And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.  But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Our Second Reading 1 John 4:1-12 –  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.  By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.  This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.  Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.  We are from God.  Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us.  By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.  In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

 Verse – Alleluia.  We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.          Alleluia.  If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.  Alleluia.

Holy Gospel  John 15:1-8     The Holy Gospel according St. John, the Fifteenth chapter.       Glory to You, O Lord.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.  Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches.  Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.      This is the Gospel of the Lord.   Praise to You, O Christ.

Hymn  “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”       LSB 700

Sermon

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.

Prayers of the Church

We gather our Tithes and Offerings

Service of the Sacrament

Preface   2 Timothy 4:22 –  It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and all places give thanks to You, Lord our God, for You have graciously blessed us through the Word incarnate, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who has come in the flesh and for our sake died on the cross and rose from the dead to put an end to death.  Rejoicing in our Baptism, which creates faith in our hearts and daily renews us, we laud and magnify Your holy name. With joy we join in the unending praise of the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven in singing;

Sanctus                                                                       LSB 208

Prayer of Thanksgiving –  Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of all creation, for You have had mercy on us and have showed Your gracious power to us through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord. We give You thanks that in His most Holy Supper You nourish us that, firmly connected to Christ the Vine, we may grow in grace. Grant that we may receive the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation that come to us in His body and blood as we gather at His command..    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. 

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.

Pax Domini – The peace of the Lord be with you always.    Amen.

Agnus Dei                                                                  LSB 210

Distribution Hymns:  “He’s Risen, He’s Risen”   LSB 480                              “Abide, O Dearest Jesus”  LSB 919     “God Loved the World…”  LSB 571

Nunc Dimittis                                                            LSB 211

Closing Prayer – Holy Father, we ask You now, by this blessed food and drink, to deliver Your Church from every evil, to teach it to love You perfectly, and make it truly one, even as this bread was made from many grains of wheat to become the carrier of the body of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the wine was drawn from the fruitfulness of many grapes. Grant that we ever abide as branches of the Vine, Christ Himself, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Benediction      Numbers 6:24–26 –  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 X give you peace.   Amen.   

Dismissal – Go in the peace of the Risen and Triumphant Lord, and serve Him!  Thanks be to God.

 Hymn “Fruitful Trees, the Spirit’s Sowing”        LSB 691

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 DATES TO REMEMBER:  4/30: Chosen Bible Study 6pm in the Sanctuary

5/2:   The scheduled Council Meeting has been moved to 5/9/2024

5/5:   Confirmation Sunday

5/7:   Chosen Bible Study 6pm in the Sanctuary

5/9:   Council Meeting

5/19: Fellowship after the service

6/2:   Semi-Annual Voters Meeting after the Service

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THESE MEMBERS

4/28 Dan Finger, Lonnie Hoeft, and Shannon Nunez

5/2 Jodi Sterwald 5/3 Aiden Kleinhaus

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO THESE PEOPLE

5/1 Dennis & Karen F and Randell & Mary Jane K

5/10 Dan & Martha C

5/17 Warren & Caroline J

The “Chosen” Bible Study

The Chosen is an American Christian historical drama television series. The Chosen allows us to see Him through the eyes of those who knew Him. The bible study will watch an episode and have a discussion afterwards. We meet on the 1^st, 3^rd, & 5^th Tuesday of the month at 6pm in the sanctuary. The next date is April 30th. Feel free to join us as all are welcome.

QUILTING – The quilters meet on Thursdays 11am to 2pm. If interested, contact Caroline Jeffers as they do not meet every Thursday. Donations of fabric, sheets (flat or fitted), and yarn are always appreciated. You do not have to know how to sew as there are many non-sewing tasks to be completed.

Those to keep in Your Special Prayers: 

Chris and Serene Seufer and family as they heal from the sudden death of Chris’s sister, Patricia.

Continued healing and strength to Dee Dee recovering after her procedure and Rita Weisjohn recovering after her surgery.

From the Board of Stewardship and Evangelism

John 15:2 – “Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” God is interested in the fruit that we bear in good works, and He even prunes us so that we may bring forth more fruit. Trusting in our Lord’s work for us, being grafted by grace into His vine, we desire to be more like Him, to grow into His image. That’s growth in fruit bearing — and it always comes with some pruning.

The Pewpoint – Theme of the Day – Jesus Christ Is the True Vine Who Bears Much Fruit in Us

“God is love,” and He has manifested Himself to us by sending “his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9, 16). By the ministry of the Gospel, “he has given us of his Spirit,” so that we also believe and confess “that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.” In this way, we “abide in him and he in us,” and we “love one another” (1 John 4:2, 7, 13). Such divine love is exemplified in Philip’s preaching of “the good news about Jesus” to the Ethiopian eunuch. And when “they came to some water,” the eunuch was baptized into the very Gospel that Philip had preached (Acts 8:35–38). That Ethiopian was thereby grafted into “the true vine,” Jesus Christ (John 15:1), just as we are. Already we are clean because of the Word that Christ has spoken to us and by the washing of water with His Word. We now abide in Him by faith in His forgiveness. As He abides in us, both body and soul, with His own body and His blood, He “bears much fruit” in us (John 15:3–5).