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June 3, 2023
Worship Theme
So often, when life gets hard, we get frustrated. We don’t understand how God is working always for our good. But the doctrine of the Trinity teaches us we cannot even comprehend God’s existence. How then, could we ever comprehend all his workings? On this Holy Trinity Sunday, let it be enough to know that all three persons – Father, Son, and Spirit – love us with an everlasting love.
Pastor Frick’s Welcome
O Trinity, Most Blessed Light – CW 792
1 O Trinity, most blessèd light,
O Unity of sov’reign might,
as now the fiery sun departs,
come shed your light within our hearts.
2 To you our morning song of praise,
to you our evening prayer we raise;
our humble joy shall ever be
to praise your name eternally.
3 To God the Father, heav’nly light,
to Christ revealed in earthly night,
to God the Spirit let us raise
one heart and voice in ceaseless praise.
Invocation
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Confession and Absolution
The Bible tells us this wonderful truth about God:
“Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear”.
But then the Bible tells us this truth about us:
“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear”.
So, like Isaiah long ago, we confess our sins together to God:
“For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God, inciting revolt and oppression, uttering lies our hearts have conceived. So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey”.
We can’t save ourselves. So God saved us! “He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him”.
God, our heavenly Father, has been merciful to us and has given his only Son Jesus to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. When Jesus died on the cross, he died for you, and he died for me. Therefore, as a called servant of Christ and by his authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Glory to God in the Highest
Glory to God in the highest, glory to God,
and peace to his people on earth,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world;
have mercy on us.
You are seated at the right hand of the Father;
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit
in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
Glory to God in the highest, glory to God,
and peace to his people on earth,
and peace to his people on earth.
The Word
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Prayer of the Day
Let us pray.
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.
Amen.
First Reading – Genesis 1:1-2:3
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning – the first day.
And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning – the second day.
And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning – the third day.
And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights – the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning – the fourth day.
And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning – the fifth day.
And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
And there was evening, and there was morning – the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Psalm 8
Refrain
I will praise your name forever, my King and my God.
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in / all the earth!
You have set your glory in the / heavens.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your / fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have / set in place,
what is a human being that you are mind- / ful of him,
a Son of Man that you / care for him? Refrain
You made him a little lower than the / angels
and crowned him with glory and / honor.
You made him ruler over the works / of your hands;
you put everything un- / der his feet.
Glory be to the Father and / to the Son
and to the Holy / Spirit,
as it was in the be- / ginning,
is now, and will be forever. / Amen. Refrain
Second Reading – 2 Corinthians 13:11-14
Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All God’s people here send their greetings.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia!
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.
Alleluia!
Gospel – Matthew 28:16-20
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise be to you, O Christ!
How Great Thou Art – CW 612
1 O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
consider all the works thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed; (Refrain)
Refrain
Then sings my soul, my Savior-God, to thee,
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior-God to thee,
How great thou art! How great thou art!
2 When through the woods and forest glades I wander
and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
and hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze; (Refrain)
3 And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
that on the cross my burden gladly bearing
he bled and died to take away my sin; (Refrain)
4 When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
and there proclaim: “My God, how great thou art!” (Refrain)
Pastor Frick’s Sermon – Genesis 1:1-2:3
The Triune God Is That Big
Athanasian Creed
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 Trinity and Trinity in Unity, without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being.
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.
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, the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped.
Whoever wishes to be saved must have this conviction of the Trinity.
It is furthermore necessary for eternal salvation that one faithfully 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 is one human being, so God and man is one Christ.
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 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.
Prayer
Mighty God, creator of all, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.
Almighty Father, you created us in your image, set us in your world, and declared everything very good. Make your power and wisdom known to all people everywhere, that they may see the goodness of your creation and strive to be good stewards the earth.
Lord Jesus Christ, by your authority, govern and guide the leaders of all nations, that your gospel may be freely proclaimed, disciples gathered, and the gospel ministry of teaching and baptizing may spread your kingdom.
Holy Spirit, as your Word is proclaimed, call and gather many into your fellowship. Enlighten and sanctify your church, and keep it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.
Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, restore, encourage and give your love and peace to all, especially those who struggle in this world, ruined by sin. Calm troubled hearts. Heal diseases. Give peace of mind and wholeness of body as it fits your good purpose for us.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons, but one God, enlighten our hearts and minds, make us steadfast in the true faith, equip us for good works, and bring us to life eternal; through your mercy, O our God, you are blessed, and live and govern all things, now and forever.
Amen.
Offering
Gracious God, You Send Great Blessings – CW 752
1 Gracious God, you send great blessings
new each morning all our days.
For your mercies never ending,
for your love we offer praise. (Refrain)
Refrain
Lord, we pray that we, your people
who your gifts unnumbered claim,
through the sharing of your blessings
may bring glory to your name.
2 By your Word you formed creation
filled with creatures large and small;
as we tend that endless treasure
may our care encircle all. (Refrain)
3 In his earthly life, our Savior
knew the care of faithful friends;
may our deeds of dedication
offer love that never ends. (Refrain)
4 Heav’nly Father, may our caring
bear the imprint of your grace;
with the Son and Holy Spirit,
praise be yours in ev’ry place! (Refrain)
Prayer
Almighty and everlasting God, you have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith, and defend us from all adversities; for you, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever. Amen.
Blessing
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.
Amen.
Triune God, O Be Our Stay – CW 482
Triune God, O be our stay
and let us perish never!
Cleanse us from our sins, we pray,
and grant us life forever.
Keep us from the evil one;
uphold our faith most holy,
and let us trust you solely
with humble hearts and lowly.
Let us put God’s armor on,
with all true Christians running
our heav’nly race and shunning
the devil’s wiles and cunning.
Amen, amen! This be done;
so sing we, “Alleluia!”