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Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church Teaching and Reaching People for the Kingdom

Pastor, Chuck Westra

Pastor, Isaac Crass

Congregational Assistant, John Dale

Preschool Director, Brittni Carran

Lead Preschool Teacher, Sarah Crass

Contact us:

Phone: 931-486-3737

E-mail: office@coslutheran.com

Website: www.coslutheran.com

Welcome Visitors! We are excited that you have joined us for worship this morning. We have come into God’s presence to worship him as our Lord and Savior.

Easter 5 May 10, 2020

I am the way, the truth, and the life

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SERVICE OF THE WORD INVOCATION 1

P: 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 (Congregation joins in singing where indicated.)

P: 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.

Introduction: (Silent Confession while music begins)

Sung by a soloist:

I confess to you, O Lord, that I have sinned. I confess to you, O Lord, all my sin within. I have failed to live for you In the things I say and do, And have fallen short of living in your love.

Lord, have mercy on me. Lord, have mercy, set me free. O forgive me, Lord, I pray And take my sin away, By the cross and empty grave for my soul.

1 The Invocation, which uses the words spoken over us at our baptisms, remind us of who we are (children of God) and what we are members of—the church of God on earth.

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Congregation sings: I confess to you, O Lord, that I have sinned. I confess to you, O Lord, all my sin within. I have placed myself above, And have hurt the ones I love, And I know that only you can set me free.

Lord, have mercy on me. Lord, have mercy, set me free. O forgive me, Lord, I pray And take my sin away, By the cross and empty grave for my soul.

Sung by a soloist: Take us back to the water. Wash away our sins. Welcome us, O Father, Back to your home again. Bless your sons and daughters, And let the feast begin, Let it begin!

Congregation sings: Lord, have mercy on me. Lord, have mercy, set me free. O forgive me, Lord, I pray And take my sin away, By the cross and empty grave for my soul.

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ABSOLUTION:

P: The Lord has had mercy on you and has sent his Son Jesus Christ as the atoning sacrifice for your sins. By his Word and promise I declare to you the forgiveness of all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. You are forgiven. You are set free.

Congregation sings:

You take us back to the water. You wash away our sins. You welcome us, O Father, Back to your home again. You bless your sons and daughters. Now let the feast begin, Let it begin!

Lord, your mercy covers me. Lord, your mercy has set me free. You’ve forgiven me today, And my sins are washed away By the cross and empty grave for my soul. (repeat)

PRAYER OF THE DAY 2 P: O God, you form the minds of your faithful people into a single will. Make us

love what you command and desire what you promise, that among the many changes of this world, our hearts may ever yearn for the lasting joys of heaven; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: Amen.

2 The Prayer of the Day is a concise prayer which “collects” the thoughts of the day and presents them to God in his mercy. Most of these prayers have been in use in the Church for more than 1,500 years. By praying these prayers, we join with the great body of believers, the communion of saints, and with the generations yet to come.

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THE WORD OF GOD

FIRST LESSON: ACTS 17:1-12 3

17 When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,” he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.

5 But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” 8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. 9 Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.

10 As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

3 Paul said it was necessary for God to hide himself in suffering: “the Christ had to suffer.” All the popular conceptions of Messiah as earthly king were wrong. Not only did Messiah suffer and die, Messiah had to suffer and die! All the prophesies found their fulfillment in the person of Jesus of Nazareth: “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” The exclusivity of the Christian message led to vociferous rejection by the people of Israel, both at home and abroad. But the stone the builders rejected has made a new people, a chosen people, a people filled with eagerness and hope in Christ.

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367 CHRIST BE MY LEADER

Text: Timothy Dudley-Smith, b. 1926. © 1964. Renewed 1992 by Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL/Tune: Irish folk tune.

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SECOND LESSON: 1 PETER 2:4-10 4 4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and

precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone,

and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,”

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“A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

4 The world looks at God hidden in Christ and sees either a loser or a joke (1 Corinthians 1). The Jews rejected him because of his humility. The world today rejects him because of his claims of being the one way, the one truth, the one life. In neither case do they see Christ as the stone that should set their angles or head their corners. They would rather fashion their lives by their own design. This rejected stone, however, will ultimately be their downfall. For believers, though, this rejected stone is what saves and builds. Jesus said, “I am the life.” That living stone is Life, gives life, and makes living stones out of people scattered in darkness.

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VERSE OF THE DAY John 14:6

P: Alleluia. Alleluia. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia. I am the way, the truth, and the life, says the Lord. Alleluia.

GOSPEL LESSON: JOHN 14:1-12

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among

you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the

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Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

343 CHRIST IS THE WORLD’S LIGHT

Text: Fred Pratt Green, 1903–2000, alt. © 1969 Hope Publishing Co./ Tune: Antiphoner, Paris, 1681.

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SERMON John 14:1-12

Do Not Let Your Hearts be Troubled

I. You are not alone

II. You have a place to live

Apostles’ Creed 5 I believe in God, the Father almighty, 2 Cor. 6:18

maker of heaven and earth. Is. 51:13

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, 1 Cor. 8:6; Jn. 3:18 who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Lk. 1:35 born of the virgin Mary, Lk. 1:34; 2:7 suffered under Pontius Pilate, Lk. 23:16 was crucified, died, and was buried. Mt. 27:32-61 et al.

He descended into hell. 1 Pet. 3:19

The third day he rose again from the dead. 1 Cor. 15:4b He ascended into heaven Ac. 2:33-34

and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. Heb. 1:13 From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. Mt. 25:31; 2 Tim. 4:1

I believe in the Holy Spirit, Mt. 3:16-17 the holy Christian Church, Eph. 5:23 the communion of saints, Eph. 4:3-6 the forgiveness of sins, Rom. 4:6-8 the resurrection of the body, Ecc. 12:7 and the life everlasting. Amen. 1 Th. 4:17

5 Having heard the Word of God, we confess our faith in his name. The creed is our saying back to God what he has first said to us. In the Creed we acclaim the truth of the triune God and his work of salvation accomplished for us in his incarnate Son, Jesus Christ (Matthew 10:32,33; Philippians 2:11).

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THANKSGIVING

OFFERING 6

256 HOW GREAT THOU ART

Text: Stuart K. Hine, 1899–1989. © 1949, 1953 The Stuart Hine Trust. U.S. print rights admin. by Hope Publishing Co., Carol Stream, IL.

6 The members of Christ Our Savior have joined together to do the Lord’s work in this community and around the world. We offer an electronic giving option. If you would like to start giving your weekly offering electronically, please go to the App Store or Google Play and search for “GivePlus Church” to download the App for free. You can also go directly to our church website and click on the “Online Giving” tab. This offering is a joyful response of our faith; so, if you are visiting with us this morning, we do not want you to feel obligated.

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PRAYER OF THE CHURCH 7 LORD’S PRAYER 8 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.

THE LORD’S BLESSING 9 P: 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: Amen.

7 Through the Prayer of the Church we heed Christ’s command to “love one another.” One of the greatest forms of love we can show for our neighbor is to pray for them. 8 The Lord’s Prayer is a prayer given us by Christ himself. Daily the baptized people of God pray. The Lord’s Prayer is both a prayer to pray and a model for all our prayers. 9 As we began the service with the Lord’s name, so we are sent out in his name. Worshippers may make the sign of the cross on themselves as they are encouraged to live each day with Baptismal confidence, knowing that they have the Lord’s blessing and presence with them.

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759 Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled (A soloist will sing the verses; the congregation joins in the refrain.)

1 In God’s house there are many places For you alone to dwell in safety. You know the way to where I’ll lead you; If you are lost, I will show the way. Refrain

2 I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; Only through me can you know what I know. If you knew me, you would know the Father; If you see me, you see your God. Refrain

3 The words I speak are not only of myself; It is your God who lives within me. If you believe that your God and I are one, I will provide when you call my name. Refrain Text: John 14:1-3,6,7,10-14; alt. David Haas, b. 1957/Text: David Haas, b. 1957 © 1995 GIA Publications, Inc.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

Scripture Readings for Next Sunday:

Acts 17:22-31 1 Peter 3:15-22 John 14:15-21

Calendar of Events at Christ Our Savior: All gatherings are temporarily suspended. Bible Study: We continue to offer Bible Studies for all ages on Sunday mornings. A Virtual Bible Study is also available each week, posted on the church website, the Facebook page, and sent out via email. VBS/Soccer Camp: Our annual Vacation Bible School and Soccer Camp have both officially been cancelled this year. Camp South: Are we still having it? Right now, yes. This is contingent on three factors: (1) we are allowed by federal, state, and local governments, (2) the GA-FFA camp is safe and operational, and (3) we have enough participants to make it viable. If you are committed to attend with conditions 1 and 2 being met, please register by May 25 at https://southatlanticyouth.com/camp-south. The registration fee of $295 will only be billed if we are able to attend. Please contact John Dale or Pastor Crass with questions.

All musical items are printed under: OneLicense.net #A-712940 and Christian Copyright Licensing International #314195.