Commemoration of of Irenaeus of Lyons, Pastor
June 28, 2012
The Lord be with you
My guess is that almost all of the churches in the LC-MS
will recognize this coming Sunday as the Fifth Sunday after Pentecost. That is
because, on our liturgical calendar, there are no special commemorations for
July 1. However, on a few liturgical calendars used in other denominations,
Catherine Winkworth is remembered on July 1. This remarkable lady has had a
significant impact on our worship life, specifically in the hymns we sing.
Therefore, at Lamb of God, we will remember her on Sunday. I will also put a
post on this blog Sunday providing more information about her.
We will be using the service of Prayer and Preaching for our
liturgy (page 260). This is a non-communion service. Our opening hymn will be
“Blessed Jesus, at Your Word” (LSB 904). This hymn was originally translated
from the German into English by Catherine Winkworth. Our sermon hymn will be
“Baptismal Waters Cover Me” (LSB 616). This is the hymn we are learning this
month. Our closing hymn will be “God Bless Our Native Land” (LSB 965). This
hymn was chosen because this Sunday is the closest to Independence Day. In the
Service of Prayer and Preaching we normally confess our faith using the
Apostles’ Creed. However this Sunday we will use “We All Believe in One True
God” (LSB 953), a hymn based on the Apostles’ Creed. Originally written in
German, it was translated into English by Catherine Winkworth.
I was in a bit of a quandary in reference to the lessons for
Sunday. I could have used the lessons assigned for Catherine’s day from other
liturgical calendars (2 Chronicles 20:20-21;
Psalm 96; Colossians 3:14-17;
Matthew 13:44-52) or the ones
appointed for Pentecost 5 (Lamentations 3:22-33; 2 Corinthians 8:1-9, 13-15;
Mark 5:21-43; Psalm 30). After consideration, I’ve opted to go with the special
lections for Catherine. That means, if you are not a member of Lamb of God and
you are reading these notes, don’t expect the readings in your church to match
the lessons below.
In our prayers on Sunday we will remember the Lutheran
Church of Venezuela (ILV) (Iglesia Luterana de Venezuela) and their President, Rev.
Luis Coronado. We will remember our missionaries, George and Shary Frahm, who
serve in Cambodia.
We will remember the persecuted believers in Morocco.
Morocco is
located on the northwest corner of Africa. At one time
Christian, it was conquered by Moslems in the 7th century. Officially
Jews and Christians have full civil rights in Morocco,
however in recent years the Moslem government has been cracking down on
Christians, arresting or expelling them from the country. This is because many
Moslems have been converting to the true faith. We will also remember our
sister SED congregations: St. Paul on the Shore, Hallwood, VA; Christ
Community, Hamilton (Leesburg), VA; Emmanuel, Hampton, VA; Nazareth, Hopewell,
VA; Holy Lamb, Myrtle Beach, SC. We will continue to remember those who have
been misled by our cultures acceptance of abortion and sexual immorality,
asking God’s grace for their lives that they may be healed and restored by the
Holy Spirit. We will also continue to remember those trapped in the modern
practice of slavery and ask God to bless all efforts that are pleasing in his
sight to end this sinful practice.
Below is a video of the “Lutheran Warbler” singing We All
Believe in One True God.”
Our adult Bible class
meets at 9:00 Sunday morning. This Sunday
we will in Matthew 22, walking with our Lord through Holy Week. As always, everyone
is invited to come.
Preview of the
Lessons
2 Chronicles 20:20-21: After a period of bad kings ruling
over Judea, Jehoshaphat became their king. Jehoshaphat
was a good king who, among other things, restored the Temple
and the divinely ordained worship practices. This reading is a portion of the
rededication of the people to the Lord and the establishment of the worship of
the Lord.
Colossians 3:14-17: Paul writes about our Christian life to
which we have been called. What does that Christian life look like and how do
we sustain it? That life is a life of love, peace and gratitude. It is
sustained through worship, where we receive the sacraments and the word. The
word is not just the preached word, but also the written word and sung word.
You can’t take the pastor with you everywhere you go, but you can take the
written and sung word with you to sustain you each and every day.
Matthew 13:44-52: Jesus tells three parables about the
“kingdom of heaven.” He concludes with what might be called a wisdom saying.
This points to the importance of the parables, but is not limited to the
parables. We will explore, in Sunday’s sermon, how the “treasures” Jesus speaks
of can be our treasures today.
Tidbits
- Our LWML will have a meeting after the worship service on Sunday (or so I’ve heard).
Well, I pray I’ll see you Sunday.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor John Rickert
No comments:
Post a Comment