Epiphany

“I AM the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life.” John 8:12

2nd/5th February Anno Domini 2017 F IFTH S UNDAY AFTER THE

Epiphany GOOD SHEPHERD Evangelical Lutheran Church and School 10611 Hwy 13 South Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA 54494-9574 Pastor: Educator/Principal email:

Paul A.Tullberg 715-325-6812 Donna Tullberg [email protected]

WWW.1GOODSHEPHERD.ORG

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We welcome you to

Good Shepherd Evangelical Lutheran Church and School Welcoming Song: O N G A L I L E E S ’ S

HIGH

MOU NT AI N # 5 5 7 C W

L E AD E R : We worship as we live: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. P EOPLE : Amen. God has gathered us to hear His Word. L EADER : Let us confess our sins to Him. Heavenly Father, we have disobeyed and dishonored Your holy name. Our thoughts, words and activities display our inborn rebellion. We beg You for the sake of Jesus Christ to have mercy on us.

P EOPLE :

L E A D E R : In the name of Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins. Be at peace in Him. Go and sin no more. G O O D S H E P H E R D Evangelical Lutheran Church and School, Wisconsin Rapids, WI , U S A


P EOPLE :

“I AM the of the world. Whoever Me will never in darkness, but willas have the Light of of Life.” John 8:12 4 L EADER : Light Almighty God, You follows sent Your onewalk and only Son the Word life for

our eyes to see and our ears to hear. Help us to believe what the Scriptures proclaim about Jesus Christ. P E O P L E : Enable us to do things that are pleasing in Your sight. We ask through Jesus Christ. Jesus is Your Son and our Savior. He lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever .

Th e Lo rd G i ves H i s W ord Taken from The Ev angeli ca l Her i tage V er si on T M (EHV T M ) © 2016 The Wartburg Project.

We hear the Lord’s word recorded in Joshua 24:14-24 14Joshua

said, “Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve him wholeheartedly and faithfully. Remove the gods that your fathers served in the region across the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15But if you see no benefit in serving the LORD, then choose for yourselves today whomever you will serve—whether the gods that your fathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household— we will serve the LORD!” 16The people responded by saying, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD in order to serve other gods! 17For the LORD our God, he is the one who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, where we were slaves. He is the one who performed before our eyes these great signs and protected us on the whole journey that we made and among all the peoples through whom we passed. 18The LORD drove out of our presence all the peoples and the Amorites who were living in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God!” 19But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, because he is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20If you forsake the LORD and you serve foreign gods, then he will turn and cause disaster for you, and he will put an end to you after he has done good for you.”21But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will most certainly serve the LORD!” 22So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves in order to serve him.” The people said, “We


are witnesses!” 23Joshua said, “Now, therefore, remove the foreign gods that are among you, and turn your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.” 24The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God, and we will listen to his voice.”

We hear the Lord’s word recorded in Matthew 5:13-20 13“You

are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its flavor, how will it become salty again? Then it is no good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people. 14You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. 15People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. No, they put it on a stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16In the same way let your light shine in people’s presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 17“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy them but to fulfill them. 18A M E N * I tell you: Until heaven and earth pass away, not even the smallest letter, or even part of a letter, will in any way pass away from the Law until everything is fulfilled.”

P EOPLE :

* Usually people say Amen at the end of a prayer. But Jesus used a Hebrew word at the beginning of this statement. This is distinctive. This Hebrew word is what Jesus spoke. This translation uses that same word, and placement, in English. The basic meaning of this singular word is I solemnly tell you the truth.

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We hear the Lord’s word recorded in 1 Peter 2:9-12 9But

you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the people who are God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 At one time you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. At one time you were not shown mercy, but now you have been shown mercy. 11Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and temporary residents in the world, to abstain from the desires of the sinful flesh, which war against your soul. 12Live an honorable life among the Gentiles so that even though they slander you as evil -doers, when they observe your noble deeds, they may glorify God on the day he visits us.

We Confess the Christian Faith with the Apostles’ Creed S ONG

OF THE

D AY :

I

HEAR THE

S AVIOR C ALLING #560 cw

I n s t ru c t i o n in G o d ’ s W o rd G a th e r in g o f o ffe r in gs, Pra y e rs Believers generously return to the Savior a portion of what God has generously given to them. These are not dues; they are not forced or billed church payments. God doesn’tt want gifts to be strong-armed. God blesses us with life-long opportunities to show our thanks to Jesus for His awesome salvation. Thank you for your generous gifts supporting our ministries.


B e fo r e H o ly Co mm u ni o n

T UNE : “ O S AV I O R , P R E CI O U S S AV I O R ” #368

CW

T EXT : © 1981-2017 P AUL A.T ULLBERG

C ANTOR :

At Passover Christ Jesus and followers met as one, that final night together, before His work was done. With thanks to God the Father, His ancient feast made new. “This is My Body,” He said. “I give it all for you.”

C ANTOR :

His covenant of mercy is yours throughout all time. “This is My blood,” He taught us and gave His cup of wine. He thus began His Supper, still calls us to His feast: “Take , eat and drink! My people, Do this! Remember Me!” Distribution of Holy Communion (songs from the red song books to use during distribution: #279, 506, 469, 471, 462, if needed.

A f t e r H o ly Co mmu ni o n Re sp o nse

T EXT : C. Foxthorne, ed. © 1981-2017 Paul Tullberg

TUNE:

“FOR

ALL

THE

SAINTS”

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C ANTOR : In celebration, clap your hands and sing!

Give thanks to God, our ever-living King; With joyful hearts, His Word keep honoring: Alleluia! Alleluia! P EOPLE : We drank the wine, together broke the bread. Each one in turn was comforted and fed. In faith united, serving Christ the Head: Alleluia! Alleluia!

Th e Lord A n swers ou r P ra y ers a n d Blesses U s A ga i n P a r t i n g S o n g : G OOD N EWS

FROM

G OD

ABOVE

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The LORD was born of Mary, came down as man and died. He preached to all who listened, for us was crucified. This LORD, our living Brother, in pow'r at God's right hand, has chosen us to carry His truth to ev'ry land. These Gospel words are richer than at first reading. Listen to how our L O R D made certain we would have this poem-prayer in place for our first worship song today. God our heavenly Father, way back in the 1920’s, gifted Henry Christopher Lettermann and Anna (née Gerstacker) with a wonderful little Christian family. On February 28th, in the year of our Lord 1932, our Savior Jesus blessed them with the youngest of their four children. They named their baby boy after his father. Young Henry’s elementary education took place at First Evangelical Lutheran School in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania. That’s the same school where his dad served as Lutheran principal. The Holy Spirit used Gospel-rich learning to plant the splendors of His mercies and peace into young Henry’s growing years. God continued to fashion Henry’s life to be a blessing to others. He would eventually bring forth songs grown in the fertile soil of God’s Word planted in Henry’s young heart and mind early in life. After Henry’s education at First Lutheran, he continued with Christ-centered education in high school and college. It was at Concordia college where the Lord nurtured Henry’s poetic heart. In short order Henry Lettermann received a master of arts degree, then, later, His doctor of philosophy degree. Lastly, Dr. Letterman reached the position of a full professor back at Concordia. Dr. Lettermann’s godly interest in Christ-centered education and his talent for poetry still bless people. Several of his texts entered a Lutheran Music Education Series of the 1960s. His hymns and carols kept appearing in a Lutheran educational journal. Likewise, his organizational gifts helped as he served his synod’s Commission on Worship. The good doctor helped in a new hymnal effort of his day. And finally, in the year of our L ORD 1996, the L O R D J E S U S called Henry home to the joys of heaven. His prayer-song is easily our own prayer-song this day. He prayed: L O R D , gather all Your children, where'ver they may be. And lead them on to heaven to live eternally with You, our loving Father, and Christ, our Brother dear; His Spirit guards and gives us the joy to persevere . Let us thank God for his many gifts while we sing our opening song, O N G A L I L E E ’ S H I G H M O U N T A I N . G O O D S H E P H E R D Evangelical Lutheran Church and School - WELS 10611 Hwy 13 South, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA 54494-9574