Reformation Sunday Worship Bulletin
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
Reformation Sunday 10-30-2022 10:00AM Hybrid Worship
+ We Gather to Worship +
OPENING SONG: “A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD” Brown #133
THE OPENING RITE (based on PSALM 46):
L Our great and gracious God is still our Refuge and still our Strength.
God knows all about our troubles and our fears, our sin and our sorrow,
the hells that surround us and the hells that inhabit our minds…
C But God will not abandon us!
God is right there with us, still our Refuge, still our Strength.
L When we feel like we’ve got nowhere to go, no place to call home…
C God is right there with us, still our Refuge, still our Strength.
L The earth shakes and trembles, the mountains rattle and roll, storms rage and winds swirl, waters crash and rise…
C But God is still our Refuge, a very present help when we feel adrift.
L Nations in an uproar, kingdoms seeking to destroy one another, and peace is only a fleeting dream…
It doesn’t matter… God is still our Strength when everything seems so wrong.
L Violence in our communities, violence in our world, hurt and hate seem out of control…
C God is our Refuge, God is our Strength even when we are in a moment of terror.
L Diseases, division, and disorder… so many broken lives and broken dreams…
C But I will not stop believing that God is with us, still our Refuge, still our Strength.
L Depressed, distressed, disturbed, and desperate…
C Still I trust that God will be my Refuge.
L Troubled and tried, guilty and afraid, and empty of chances…
C I still hold on to God as my Strength.
L I’m gonna calm myself down for a minute or two, take a deep breath, and think on God.
I’m going to remember God’s love and consider God’s promises.
C I will not fear, I will not panic, I will not give in or give up,
because God is here among us, our refuge, our strength, and our salvation! HALLELUJAH
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY (together):
Gracious God, we thank you for the gift of our life,
we thank you for the gift of your mercy and love,
we thank you for the gift of Jesus Christ,
we thank you for saving us, for freeing us,
we thank you for the gift of your community of faith, the Church,
we thank you for the unity, power, and guidance of the Holy Spirit in and among us,
and we pray that we may stay free and faithful and fervent in the gospel of Christ,
living in his truth, today and tomorrow, always and forever, Amen.
+ We Open Ears and Hearts to God’s Word +
FIRST READING: JEREMIAH 31:31-34 [God’s new covenant – abiding love written on the hearts of the people.]
31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,”
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
SECOND READING: ROMANS 3:19-28 [God’s salvation – unearned grace to undeserving sinners, received by faith.]
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
GOSPEL VERSE:
“I really love the Lord… I really love the Lord!
You don’t know what He’s done for me, gave me the victory.
I love Him, I love Him… I really love the Lord!” (repeat)
HOLY GOSPEL: JOHN 8:31-36 [God’s liberation – freed by Christ, no longer slaves to sin.]
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
THE SERMON: Pastor Gwen or Pastor Neil
SONG SELECTION: All Saints Choir
AN AFFIRMATION OF OUR FAITH:
We believe that God has created this world,
has created humanity,
has created each of us.
We believe that God so loved the world,
so loved all people,
so loved us,
that God gave Jesus, the Son, to save us from sin and death,
to save us from the ways of this world and the Devil in it,
to save us from ourselves.
We believe that Jesus suffered for us in his living,
sacrificed for us in his dying, and
was raised for us in resurrection victory.
We believe that the resurrection victory of Jesus is our resurrection victory,
our only hope and salvation, and
our invitation to new, abundant, and everlasting life.
We believe that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
THE PRAYERS… We pray for NEW LIFE in the Spirit and the MISSION of the Church in the world!
+ We Share God’s Holy Meal +
OFFERING OF TITHES (10% giving) AND GIFTS… By God’s grace and our response of gratitude and generosity, we are by nature a sharing people. So let us bless others both near and far away with our gifts of time, talent, and treasure.
SONG SELECTION: All Saints Choir
THE OFFERTORY SONG: (Tan #565)
“More about Jesus would I know, more of his grace to others show,
More of his saving fullness see, more of his love who died for me.
MORE, MORE ABOUT JESUS… MORE, MORE ABOUT JESUS…
MORE OF HIS SAVING FULLNESS SEE, MORE OF HIS LOVE WHO DIED FOR ME.
More about Jesus let me learn, more of his holy will discern;
Spirit of God, my Teacher be, showing the things of Christ to me.”
OFFERING PRAYER (see PHILIPPIANS 3:10-11):
Dear God, I want to know Christ inside and out. I want to experience the power of his resurrection and join him in his suffering. I want to be like him in his death and be raised like him from death. As I grow in the grace of Christ, make me strong in my faith, bold in my witness, and fervent in my servant-love. There is no better life than life in Christ! Amen.
THE PREFACE AND THE EUCHARISTIC WORDS:
L The Lord be with you. C And also with you.
L Lift up your hearts! C We lift them up in love for God!
L Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. C It is right to give God our thanks and praise.
L We are the Body of Christ! C His Spirit is in us!
THE EUCHARISTIC WORDS by the Celebrant, who recalls and re-enacts Jesus’ Holy Meal.
THE LORD’S PRAYER (together)
COMMUNION AND BLESSINGS… All believers in Jesus Christ are welcome at the Lord’s Table! We will have “continuous distribution” with wafers and either wine or grape juice. Praise the Lord for this community meal that renews our spirits, powers our faith, and reminds us of the future heavenly banquet that awaits us!
COMMUNION SONG: “LET US BREAK BREAD TOGETHER” Brown #123
COMMUNION SONG: “MY HOPE IS BUILT ON NOTHING LESS” Brown #192
THE COMMUNION BLESSING by the Celebrant after all have communed.
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER by the Communion Assistant.
+ We Are Sent into God’s World +
THE BENEDICTION by the Pastor… We are sent forth to be and become the BODY OF CHRIST for the world!
CLOSING SONG: “REVIVE US AGAIN” Brown #100