The Holy Trinity
May 26, 2013
We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God.
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Hymn 195 Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty
Call to Worship
M In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C [spoken] Amen.
M Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?
C For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
M Though he dwells in unapproachable light, God the Father has chosen to reveal his grace and glory in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ.
C The ascended Lord Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to bring us life and salvation through the Word and Sacraments.
M As people born again through baptism in the name of the triune God, let us confess our sins:
C Merciful Father in heaven, I am altogether sinful from birth. In countless ways I have sinned against you and do not deserve to be called your child. But trusting in Jesus, my Savior, I pray: Have mercy on me according to your unfailing love. Cleanse me from my sin, and take away my guilt.
M God, our heavenly Father, has forgiven all your sins. By the perfect life and innocent death of our Lord Jesus Christ, he has removed your guilt forever. You are his own dear child. May God give you strength to live according to his will.
C Amen.
M Let us praise the triune God:
Hymn 278 st. 1,4 Holy God, We Praise Your Name
Prayer of the Day
M Almighty God and Father, dwelling in majesty and mystery, filling and renewing all creation by your eternal Spirit, and manifesting your saving grace through our Lord Jesus Christ: in mercy cleanse our hearts and lips that, free from doubt and fear, we may ever worship you, one true immortal God, with your Son and the Holy Spirit, living and reigning, now and forever.
C [sing] Amen. page 39
First Lesson: Numbers 6:22-27
The Lord instructed Moses to bless his people in a threefold benediction we still receive today.
Psalm of the Day Psalm 150, page 122
Second Lesson: 1 John 5:5-12
The Apostle John firmly declares the testimony God has given about his Son through the Holy Spirit.
Verse of the Day
C [sing] Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. These words are written that we may believe that
page 40 Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Gospel of the Day: John 16:12-15
Jesus promised that God the Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth so that we would enjoy the blessings of the Father and the Son.
After the Gospel Lesson sing:
Praise to the Lord! Oh, let all that is in me adore him!
All that has life and breath, come now with praises before him!
Let the Amen Sound from his people again; Gladly forever adore him! [234:4]
The Athanasian Creed
This confession of faith is named for St. Athanasius, a strong defender of the Christian faith in the fourth century. It clearly sets forth the true doctrine of the Christian faith, the doctrine of the Trinity.
1. Introduction Whoever wishes to be saved must, above all else, hold to the true Christian faith. Whoever does not keep this faith pure in all points
will certainly perish forever.
Now this is the true Christian faith: We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God, without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being.
Sing: Oh, that I had a thousand voices To praise my God with thousand tongues!
My heart, which in the Lord rejoices, Would then proclaim in grateful songs
To all, wherever I might be, What great things God has done for me. [194:1]
2. The Unity of the Trinity For each person – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – is distinct, but the deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory and coeternal in majesty.
What the Father is, so is the Son, and so is the Holy Spirit.
The Father is uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Spirit uncreated;
The Father is infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite;
The Father is eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal;
Yet they are not three who are eternal, but there is one who is eternal,
Just as they are not three who are uncreated, nor three who are infinite,
But there is one who is uncreated and one who is infinite.
In the same way the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, the Holy Spirit is almighty;
yet they are not three who are almighty, but there is one who is almighty.
So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God;
yet they are not three Gods, but one God.
So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord;
yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord.
Sing: Dear Father, endless praise I render For soul and body, nobly joined;
I praise you, Guardian kind and tender, For all the daily joys I find
So richly spread on ev’ry side And freely for my use supplied. [194:2]
3. The Distinctions between the Persons
For just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually to be God and Lord, so the true Christian faith forbids us to speak of three Gods or three Lords.
The Father is neither made nor created nor begotten of anyone.
The Son is neither made nor created, but is begotten of the Father alone.
The Holy Spirit is neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeds from the Father and the Son. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.
And within this Trinity none comes before or after; none is greater or inferior, but all three persons are coequal and coeternal, so that in every way, as stated before, all three persons are to be worshiped as one God and one God worshiped as three persons.
Whoever wishes to be saved must have this conviction of the Trinity.
Sing: Glory and praise, still onward reaching, Be yours, O Spirit of all grace,
Whose holy pow’r and faithful teaching Give me among your saints a place.
Whatever good by me is done Is worked by grace divine alone. [194:4]
4. The Doctrine of Christ It is furthermore necessary for eternal salvation truly to
believe that our Lord Jesus Christ also took on human flesh.
Now this is the true Christian faith: We believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ,
God’s Son, is both God and man.
He is God, eternally begotten from the nature of the Father, and he is man, born in time
from the nature of his mother, fully God, fully man, with rational soul and human flesh, equal to the Father as to his deity, less than the Father as to his humanity;
and though he is both God and man, Christ is not two persons but one,
one, not by changing the deity into flesh, but by taking the humanity into God;
one, indeed, not by mixture of the natures, but by unity in one person; for just as the
rational soul and flesh are one human being, so God and man are one Christ.
Sing: I praise you, Savior, whose compassion Has brought you down to ransom me
Your pitying heart sought my salvation; You bore the cross triumphantly,
Brought me from bondage full release, Made me your own, and gave me peace.[194:3]
5. Concluding Statements He suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose the
third day from the dead, He ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty, and from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
At his coming all people will rise with their own bodies to answer for their personal deeds.
Those who have done good will enter eternal life, but those who have done evil will go
into eternal fire.
This is the true Christian faith.
Whoever does not faithfully and firmly believe this cannot be saved.
Sing: Shall I not then be filled with gladness? Shall I not praise you evermore
And triumph over fear and sadness, Although my cup of woe runs o’er?
Though heav’n and earth shall disappear, Your endless love is ever near. [194:5]
Hymn of the Day
Hymn 177 Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest
Sermon
The Offering
Rise and sing as the offering is brought to the altar:
O Father, whence all blessings come,
O Son, Dispenser of God’s store,
O Spirit, bear our off’rings home –
Lord, make them yours forevermore! –480:5
The Prayer of the Church
All 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.
Hymn 233 st. 1-4 All People that on Earth Do Dwell
M O Lord God, our heavenly Father, pour out the Holy Spirit on your faithful people. Keep us strong in your grace and truth, protect and comfort us in all temptation, and bestow on us your saving peace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C (sing) Amen. page 43
M 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 (sing) Amen. Amen. Amen. page 44
Hymn 233 st. 1-4 All People that on Earth Do Dwell
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Today in Sunday School the children learned about The Apostles before the Council (Acts 4:1-31). The Jewish leaders arrested Peter and John because they preached about Jesus’ resurrection. After threatening the apostles, the council released them.
Discuss with the children: Were the apostles scared and silenced by this threat?
Do we sometimes feel afraid to talk about Jesus?
Who gives us strength to boldly share our faith like the apostles did?
King of Kings Evangelical Lutheran Church
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
1593 Crescent Road + Clifton Park NY 12065
Church phone: 371-9544 Pastor Gary Kluball: 932-4693
website: Kingofkingscliftonpark.org pastor:
church:
We especially welcome our visitors. We are glad that you have chosen to worship at King of Kings today. Please sign our guest register before you leave, and come again soon!
A staffed nursery is available during the 10:45am service. It is located down the hallway on the right side.
If you would like more information about King of Kings Church, or if you are interested in membership, please contact Pastor Kluball.
The mission of King of Kings Evangelical Lutheran Church, in accordance with the inspired and inerrant Word of God, is to glorify the Lord God through worship, teaching, fellowship and sharing the message of salvation with its members, the community and the world. [Mt 28:18-20]
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Thank you to the Elders of our congregation who lead the worship today in the absence of Pastor Kluball, who is in Wisconsin attending his daughter Megan’s graduation from Luther Prep School yesterday. Pastor will return tomorrow. Thank you also to Calvary Lutheran Church in Dallas, Texas for providing a video sermon for our celebration of The Holy Trinity. It was first presented June 3, 2012.
WELS Christian Aid and Relief is responding to the tornado disaster in Oklahoma. Special gifts to support this can be given at this time through the WELS website (wels.net) or in a special offering here designated Oklahoma Tornado Relief. First reports indicate that three families from our closest WELS congregation (Holy Cross Lutheran) completely lost their homes.
Thank you to all who brought and served food Monday when we hosted the Bethany Lutheran College Choirs. The hospitality was much appreciated. The concert was an enriching celebration of God’s grace!
Confirmation Sunday is June 9. Examination of Catechumens will take place in the 8:00am worship service. 10:45am worship will be the Youth Confirmation service. We will have a special observance of Holy Communion in the 10:45am worship service (no Holy Communion in the 8:00 service).
Women’s Night Out! Come join us for our annual Women’s Night Out on Friday, June 14 at 6:30pm The place is Mama Mia’s Pizza and Café (185 Ballston Ave, Saratoga). Please sign up by Sunday, June 9. The restaurant needs a firm number! You can view their menu online at www.mamamiassaratoga.com Please see Heidi Larkin (366-5247) if you have any questions. Hope to see you there!
Summer Worship is at 9:30am beginning June 16. We have a single Sunday service from June 16 through September 1. We return to our regular two service schedule with Sunday School on September 8.
Sunday School End-of-Year Celebration: June 16 after worship. We will celebrate with ice cream sundaes. Also, the students will receive a small gift to encourage their life in God’s Word.
Summer Events: We are hosting two outdoor concerts, weather permitting, this summer. Spark and Echo, a fun songs and storytelling duo from NYC, will be featured at our Summer Kick-off on Monday, June 24 at 7:00pm. Koine, an award winning band that presents classic Christian songs in a rock style, will perform at our Summer Concert on Thursday, August 8 at 7:00pm.