October 16, 2022 – ZION EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH – LCMS

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

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

AS WE GATHER-     How shall we pray? That question is the focus of today’s Readings.  With Jacob as a model, it is okay to struggle with God in prayer.  Jesus’ parable teaches that prayer can be a long-term effort, do not give up.  Prayer is more than a one way conversation.  The Epistle reminds us that God started the conversation with His Word, Jesus Christ, and the Spirit has used God’s Word and Sacrament to awaken and guide our faith.  Within that relationship, prayer is a conversation begun by God and continued each day between Father and child.  In worship, we as brothers and sisters in Christ, moving from individual prayers to those of the Church, taking our requests to our Father.  In worship, we also take the time to listen as God comes to us, confronting sin, forgiving, and reassuring us of His love for Jesus’ sake.  So let us worship our Heavenly Father, giving Him praise, and thanks, lifting up our prayers to Him as one family in Christ our Lord.

Ringing of the Bell and Welcome

 Invocation

Confession and Absolution- Confident of His grace and mercy, let us confess our sins to our heavenly Father.    Merciful Father, I confess that I am a poor miserable sinner.  I confess unto You all my sins with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment.  But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.  Teach, reprove, correct, and restore me through Your Word that I may live according to Your will giving praise to Your holy name.   In the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, all your sins were atoned for, and your sinfulness forgiven.  Upon this your confession, I as a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His command, forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the X Son, and of the Holy Spirit.     Amen.

 Hymn      “Speak, O Lord, Your Servant Listens”   LSB 589

 Psalm    Psalm 121; antiphon: vv. 1–2-      I lift up my eyes to the hills–where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.  He will not let your foot slip–he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  The Lord watches over you– the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.  The Lord   will keep you from all harm–he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.  I lift up my eyes to the hills–where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Hymn of Praise –    LSB 187

 Prayer of the Day- O Lord, almighty and everlasting God, You have commanded us to pray and have promised to hear us.   Mercifully grant that Your Holy Spirit may direct and govern our hearts in all things that we may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of Your name;  through 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 32:22–30   (Jacob wrestles with God; his name becomes Israel.)

That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.  After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.  So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.  When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.  Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”   But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”    The man asked him, “What is your name?”  “Jacob,” he answered.  Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”  Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”  But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.  So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

 Epistle   2 Timothy 3:14–4:5    (Scripture is God-breathed and makes us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.)

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.  In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction.  For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.  But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

 Verse -Luke 18- And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?  I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.  However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

 

Holy Gospel Luke 18:1–8     (In Jesus’ parable, a persistent widow is eventually granted her request from even a godless judge.)

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.  He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men.  And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’  “For some time he refused.  But finally, he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!'”  And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.  And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?  Will he keep putting them off?  I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.  However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

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 “With the Lord Begin Your Task”        LSB 869

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.

 Proper Preface- 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, by whose breath Adam became a living being, by whose Holy Spirit the disciples were emboldened, and by whose inspiration the Scriptures were written, making us wise to salvation in Christ Jesus, the Word in flesh. Therefore with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your holy name, evermore praising You and singing:

Sanctus                                                                         LSB 195

 Prayer of Thanksgiving-  Blessed are You, Lord of heaven and earth, for You not only created us and bestowed on us the gift of faith but are ever near us to listen to our prayers and praises.  Hear us now as we prepare to receive our Lord Jesus in, with, and under bread and wine.  Forgive, renew, and strengthen us in faith, we pray, until faith is replaced with sight.  Gather us together with all the faithful that we may rejoice at the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end. To You alone, O Father, be all glory, honor, and worship, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Words of Our Lord- Consecration of the Elements

 Communion Prayer- 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.  Remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:

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 198

We Celebrate our Lord’s Supper

 Distribution Hymns:    “Come, My Soul, with Every Care”                     LSB 779

“What a Friend We Have in Jesus”                     LSB 770

“Word of God, Come Down on Earth”                LSB 545

   Post-Communion Canticle – Nunc Dimittis                                                                  LSB 199

Post-Communion Thanksgiving-  We give thanks to You, Lord our God, for in this Sacrament You have answered our deepest prayers and nourished us with the body and blood of Your Son, assuring us of sins forgiven.   Strengthen us thereby and accompany us each day that we may meet whatever the future holds with the sure and certain hope of one day joining all Your saints in heaven; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.              Amen.

 Benediction- 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.  Amen.

 Hymn:  “Jesus Loves Me…”   LSB 588            

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 *Announcements*

From the Board of Stewardship and Evangelism:- Genesis 32:26 – “And he said to him, ‘Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.’ ” The great Lutheran musician J.S. Bach composed a beautiful motet using this verse. It is the cry of true faith, much the same as Peter’s words: “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” True faith clings to the Lord no matter the struggle, no matter the “hard sayings” that the Lord speaks. True faith knows that God means to bless us always.

The Pewpoint – THEME OF THE DAY – Faith Clings to the Word and Promises of God and Perseveres in Prayer

 “Left alone,” Jacob wrestled through the night with the Lord, “until the breaking of the day” (Gen. 32:24). Though “Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him” (Gen. 32:25), he would not let go until the Lord blessed him. At times, we, too, strive with God; He strives with us and blesses us by grace. So Jesus teaches us “always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). Jesus speaks of “a judge who neither feared God nor respected man” and of a widow “who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary’” (Luke 18:2–3). Because of her persistence, the judge agreed to “give her justice” (Luke 18:5). Our Lord dispenses justice generously and swiftly, giving “justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night” (Luke 18:7). He does so according to the Gospel. Therefore, His ministers are to persevere faithfully in their vocation, in what they “have learned and have firmly believed” (2 Tim. 3:14). On the basis of “the sacred writings” (2 Tim. 3:15), they are to “preach the word” at all times and not lose heart (2 Tim. 4:2).

YES IN CHRIST  —  Saying Yes With Our Treasures-     Needed per week to make budget: $3,025

Sunday Envelopes $1,765     General Memorial: Milton Kuenzi $25

 

Attendance:  Sunday Service:  34    Communed: 31

Mid Week Service:    10                   Communed:     10

Brothers and sisters in Christ to lift up in prayer!

Deanne- God’s continued presence and guidance as she continues teaching in Ethiopia.  May her students continue to learn about God’s love for them through her.

1) Mark and Lisa as they celebrate their 30 wedding Anniversary tomorrow.

2) We rejoice with Malachi and Morgan Dornfeld who were joined in marriage on Saturday October 1st.
3) Paul and his unit that were deployed.  We also keep Thomas’ wife and their sons in prayer along with all the families of those deployed.  

Wishing the following people a blessed day on their special day.

Doyle	10/17
Ashley	10/18
DeeDee	10/20
Steven	10/24
Lisa	10/28
Chris	10/28

Anniversaries   

Lonnie & Faye	10/16
Mark & Lisa	10/17
Ralph & Nancy	10/23

 

Upcoming Activities 

October 22nd – Choir Rehearsal @ 9:30 am

October 29th – Choir Rehearsal @ 9:30 am

October 30 – Cemetery Meeting following church service

November 5th – Choir Rehearsal @ 9:30 am

November 6^th – 125^th Church Anniversary Special Service @ 10:30

November 13^th – Semi Annual Meeting after church

December 1^st – Council Meeting @ 6pm

CHOIR-We will begin Rehearsal on Saturdays – October 22, October 29, and November 5.      The Saturday practices will be-for choir members from years past (alumni) . We will meet at 9:30 am. We will sing for the Celebration of our church’s 125th anniversary service on November 6th.  Rehearsals will switch back to Wednesday evening after November 5. Please join us for the choir’s short time or stay with us until Easter. Call DeeDee at  920-941-0107, if you have questions.

 Council has requested this information to be passed onto the congregation so they can be prepared for the Semi-Annual meeting which is Sunday November 13 following the worship service.

1) If anyone has a report they want included in the Nov. 13th voters meeting packet, have it to Connie no later than November 9th.

2) If you have an idea to be considered for our local mission money to go toward, please have the name and short description of the mission idea to Connie no later than November 9th.

 

Also at this time a Children’s Christmas program is still being discussed. If it is decided to have one, it will be Sunday December 18th.