Reformation Sunday

GATHERING SONG “Only By Grace”

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS

Blessed be God,

the one who forms us,

☩ Jesus who bears the cross,

the Spirit who makes our joy complete.

Amen.

Let us bow before God in humility, confessing our sin.

Silence is kept for reflection.

Steadfast and faithful God,

you have revealed the ways of justice, yet we fail to follow you.

We are overwhelmed by the world’s violence and suffering.

We are afraid to risk what we have for the sake of others.

For the harm we have caused, known and unknown, forgive us.

For the unjust demands we place on others and your creation, forgive us.

For the ways we turn away from you and our neighbor, forgive us.

Lead us back to you and set us on the right path;

in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Amen.

Beloved in Christ,

God’s justice stretches beyond all understanding.

God’s compassion is beyond compare.

In Jesus, God is always making a new way for us.

In ☩ Christ, you are already and always forgiven.

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Let us pray. Almighty God, gracious Lord, we thank you that your Holy Spirit renews the church in every age. Pour out your Holy Spirit on your faithful people. Keep them steadfast in your word, protect and comfort them in times of trial, defend them against all enemies of the gospel, and bestow on the church your saving peace, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

NOISY OFFERING AND PRAYER

Merciful God, as grains of wheat scattered upon the hills were gathered together to become one bread, so let your church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into your kingdom, for yours is the glory through Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen.

FIRST READING: Jeremiah 31:31–34

The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt — a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.

PSALM 46

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be moved,

and though the mountains shake in the depths of the sea;

though its waters rage and foam, and though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the

Most High.

God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be shaken; God shall help it at the break of day.

The nations rage, and the kingdoms shake; God speaks, and the earth melts away.

The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Come now, regard the works of the LORD, what desolations God has brought upon

the earth;

behold the one who makes war to cease in all the world;

who breaks the bow, and shatters the spear, and burns the shields with fire.

"Be still, then, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth."

The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

SECOND READING: Romans 3:19–28

Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For "no human being will be justified in his sight" by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.

But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.

Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. By what law? By that of works? No, but by the law

of faith. For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.

Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL: John 8:31-36

The holy gospel according to St. John. Glory to you, O Lord.

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, 'You will be made free'?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be

free indeed.”

The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.

SERMON “Continue” Pastor Phil Wold

HYMN OF THE DAY “Alleluia, Jesus is Risen” #377

THE PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH

THE SIGN OF PEACE IS SHARED

The peace of Christ be with you always.

And also with you.

Litany of Commitment to God's Word - Prayers for Forgiveness and Healing.

EXHORTATION

The Lord God in his goodness has seen fit to call us together as the Church of Jesus Christ in this place. In our history of being God's people of Trinity Lutheran Church, God has given us his word of creation, redemption and blessing. He has given us his word of healing, forgiveness and grace. He has given us his word of guidance and mission, and sent his Holy Spirit to empower us for that mission. And when we have strayed from his word, God has called us to return to him that we might continue to be blessed by his grace and favor. We are nothing without our God and his word of hope and promise.

Therefore, people of God, on this day I invite you to commit yourselves and your whole lives to God's holy word and to his loving purpose for you and for us as Trinity Lutheran Church, so that our lives may be enriched and the work of our hands blessed and prospered.

Let us pray.

Almighty God, by your holy word, all that we know has come into existence: our universe, our world, our lives, our loved ones, and all that we have and hold so dear.

By your holy word, you sent forth your Son to bring us salvation through the cross of death and resurrection.

By your holy word, you have called us together to be a Church of love and service in the world.

By your holy word, we know that we live in grace and hope.

Keep us ever close to your word, that it might be written upon our hearts.