November 1, 2015
Okemos MI 48864-2203
517-349-0620
Pastor Ellen Schoepf
prellen@faithlutheranokemos.org
Email
Website
www.faithlutheranokemos.org
Facebook
facebook.com/faithlutheranokemos
No More Tears
On All Saints Day we honor the memory of all believers who have gone before us, the men and women who have fought the good fight and finished the race that was set before them. We remember saints from all walks of life in every corner of the world who faithfully used the gifts God gave them in service to others, who understood they were at the same time sinners and saints, and didn’t give up when faced with difficult tasks. Their lives are testimonies to the hope that is in Christ, and we thank the God of all compassion for hearing our prayers and giving us hope that all things will be made new.
On this All Saints Day we are reminded that death is a part of life. Sometimes it comes too soon, before we are ready to say good-bye; other times not soon enough when a loved one is suffering. We cannot escape its grasp. Like Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus died, we cry until there are no more tears, but with the strength of this community of saints holding us up in times of sorrow, we cling to the promise that one day God “will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Rev. 21:4). One day death will pass away. One day pain, mourning, and crying will be no more. Until that time, the peace that passes all understanding, God’s grace freely given, brings us rest. Until that time, the waters of baptism wash over us, cleansing us, refreshing us with the Spirit’s truth. Until that time, Jesus comes to unbind us from every sin and lets us go to be his hands, his feet, and his presence in the world.
All Saints Day
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Holy Communion
Introduction to the day
Of all three years of the lectionary cycle, this year’s All Saints readings have the most tears. The passage from Revelation looks forward to the day when God will wipe away all tears; in John’s gospel, Jesus weeps along with Mary and all the gathered mourners before he demonstrates his power over death. On All Saints Day we celebrate the victory won for all the faithful dead, but we grieve for our beloved dead as well, knowing that God honors our tears.
If hearing assistance is needed, please ask an usher
for a personal PA receiver.
The ushers also have large print copies of today’s
worship folder available.
If it will be difficult for you to stand along with
the congregation during
any part of the worship service, please
feel free to remain seated.
There is a nursery available during the worship
service for those who wish
to use it. It is located at the end of the
hall beyond the coat racks.
WELCOME
We cordially greet all who
have come to worship today.
Please register your
attendance and join us in fellowship after the service.
Prayer Requests
PRELUDE
The pre-service music signals
the beginning of the worship service.
Silence during the
pre-service music enables worshipers to prepare for worship through quiet
meditation.
“Behold the Host Arrayed in White” arr. Dale Wood
Reference
ELW Hymn #425
Gathering
The Holy Spirit calls us together as the
people of God
The assembly stands
Thanksgiving for Baptism
All may make the sign of
the cross, the sign marked at baptism,
as the presiding
minister begins.
P Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
the fountain of living water,
the rock who gave us birth,
our light and our salvation.
C Amen
P Joined to Christ in the waters of baptism,
we are clothed with God's mercy and forgiveness.
Let us give thanks for the gift of baptism.
We give you thanks, O God,
for in the beginning your Spirit moved over the
waters and by your Word you created the world,
calling forth life in which you took delight.
Through the waters of the flood
you delivered Noah and his family.
Through the sea you led your people
At the river your Son was baptized by
John and anointed with the Holy Spirit.
By water and your Word you claim us as daughters and
sons, making us heirs of your promise and servants of all.
We praise you for the gift of water that sustains life, and
above all we praise you for the gift of new life in Jesus Christ.
Shower us with your Spirit, and renew our
lives with your forgiveness, grace, and love.
P To you be given honor and praise through Jesus Christ
our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever.
C Amen
Gathering Song
#531
Text and
music printed under CCLI license 720217
Greeting
A The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
C And also with you.
Kyrie
Canticle of Praise
Prayer of the Day
A Let us pray.
Almighty God, you have knit your people together in one communion in the mystical body of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Grant us grace to follow your blessed saints in lives of faith and commitment, and to know the inexpressible joys you have prepared for those who love you, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen
The assembly is seated
Word
God speaks to us in scripture reading,
preaching, and song
First
As the children of
A A reading from Deuteronomy.
1Now
this is the commandment — the statutes and the ordinances — that the LORD your
God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross
into and occupy, 2so
that you and your children and your children's children may fear the LORD your
God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments
that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. 3Hear therefore, O Israel, and
observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may
multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of
your ancestors, has promised you.
4Hear, O Israel:
The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. 5You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6Keep these words that I am
commanding you today in your heart. 7Recite them to your children and talk about them when
you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 8Bind them as a sign on your
hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, 9and write them on the doorposts of your house and on
your gates.
A The word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Second
Here is a vision of the new
heaven and new earth in which God resides fully with God’s people so that
mourning, despair, and pain have been eradicated. These renewing words from the
God who spans all of time are trustworthy and true.
A A reading from Revelation.
1I
saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had
passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, the new
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband. 3And I
heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
4he will wipe
every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”
5And the one who
was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all
things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and
true.” 6aThen he
said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.”
A The word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
The
assembly stands to welcome the gospel
Gospel Acclamation
Gospel: John 11:32-44
Through the raising of Lazarus,
Jesus offers the world a vision of the life to come, when death and weeping
will be no more.
P The
holy gospel according to John.
C Glory to you, O Lord.
32When
Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him,
“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33When Jesus saw her weeping,
and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit
and deeply moved. 34He
said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35Jesus began to weep. 36So the Jews said, “See how
he loved him!” 37But
some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept
this man from dying?”
38Then Jesus, again
greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying
against it. 39Jesus
said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him,
“Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” 40Jesus said to her, “Did I
not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41So they took away the stone.
And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42I knew that you always hear
me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they
may believe that you sent me.” 43When
he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44The dead man came out, his
hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth.
Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
P The gospel of the Lord.
C Praise to you, O Christ.
The
assembly is seated
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
Sermon
The
assembly stands to proclaim the word of God in song
Hymn of the Day #418
Text printed under OneLicense.net license A-708005
The assembly is
seated
Joyful Noise
Choir “We Are the
Church” Jay Beech
From The Great BibleLand Dig:
Exploring the Life of Jesus Songbook
copyright © 1998 Augsburg Fortress.
The assembly stands
Prayers of Intercession
A United into one by the power of the Holy Spirit, let us pray with all God’s saints for healing, wholeness, and peace in all the earth.
A God of glory, we ask your blessing for chaplains, deaconesses, and diaconal ministers. Grant them wisdom and compassion as they embody your grace in the forgotten places of this world. Lord, in your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
A We
seek your healing for oceans, streams,
C hear our
prayer.
A We seek your protection and healing for veterans, civil rights leaders, and military personnel. Where there is pain, bring comfort. Where there is anger, bring mercy. Where there is war, bring peace. Lord, in your mercy,
C hear our
prayer.
A We seek your healing for all who struggle with addiction, mental illness, physical ailment, or spiritual distress. Refresh them with the water of life and fill them with your abundant love.
Lord, in your mercy,
C hear our
prayer.
A We ask your blessing for nurses, doctors, social workers, and emergency responders. Sustain them to be vessels of your healing and comfort. Empower them to restore wholeness to the broken and hope to the despairing. Lord, in your mercy,
C hear our
prayer.
Remembrance of All Saints
A Let us remember all the
saints before God, especially those newly baptized and those who have now
entered the Church Triumphant.
We praise and bless
you, O Holy Trinity. You have taught your church that it is an ageless
communion of saints. We thank you for gathering those who faithfully waited in
hope for the redemption you promised, and now for adding us who celebrate the
love of your Christ for the redemption of the world. Prepare a place for us
among those who are already with you. Help us remember them as an encouragement
to saintly living, exciting us to love, in anticipation of an eternal reunion.
Those who were
baptized this past year:
Aaron James Oesterle
Those who by grace
passed from this earthly
life to dwell forever in God’s embrace:
James W. Costar
Tecla Binder
Rose Marie Nawrock
Kenneth Mathew Kleimola
Lucille Rue Hicks
A We give you thanks for all the saints. Wipe away our tears of sorrow and mourning, and when we die, bring us to the church triumphant. Lord, in your mercy,
C hear our
prayer.
P Into your care, Alpha and Omega, we entrust all for whom we pray. Be with us now and always, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
C Amen
Peace
P The peace of Christ be with you always.
C And also with you.
The people may greet one
another with a sign of Christ’s peace,
and may say, “Peace be with you,” or similar words.
The assembly is seated
Meal
God feeds us with the presence of Jesus Christ
OFFERING
Chancel
Choir “Hear, O
STEWARDSHIP HYMN #695
During the
singing of this hymn, 2016 pledge cards are brought forward
Text and arrangement printed under OneLicense.net
license A-708005
The assembly
stands
Offering Prayer
A
Let us
pray.
Merciful God, in your love you have given us gifts of abundance beyond what our forebears knew or could imagine. You have poured out a large measure of earthly blessings: our table is richly furnished, our cup overflows, and we live in safety and security. Teach us to set our hearts on you and keep us from becoming captivated by prosperity. In your wisdom use these gifts and our pledges for the work of your kingdom and may they bring glory to you, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
C Amen
Great Thanksgiving
Dialogue
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Preface
P It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty
and merciful God, through our Savior Jesus Christ. By the witness of your saints you show us the hope of our calling, and strengthen us to run the race set before us, that we may delight in your mercy and rejoice with them in glory. And so, with all the saints, with the choirs of angels and all the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
Holy, Holy, Holy
Thanksgiving at the Table
P In the night in which he was betrayed,
our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;
broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take and eat; this is my body, given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks,
and gave it for all to drink, saying:
This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin.
Do this for the remembrance of me.
Lord’s Prayer
P Gathered into
one by the Holy Spirit,
let us pray as Jesus taught us.
C 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.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen
Invitation to Communion
P Goodness is stronger than evil.
Life is stronger than death.
Taste the goodness and life of God.
The assembly is seated
Communion
When giving the bread and
cup, the communion ministers say
The body of Christ, given for you.
The blood of Christ, shed for you.
and each person may respond
Amen
WE WELCOME ALL GUESTS
worshiping with us today and invite all baptized Christians who believe in the
real presence of Jesus Christ in and with the bread and wine to come to the Lord’s table.
Children who have not yet received First Communion instruction are
invited to come forward with their families to receive a blessing. There will
be one chalice (cup) of wine, as well as trays of individual cups. In the center of each tray, there are a few
glasses filled with white grape juice for those who prefer juice rather than
wine.
Communion Song
Congregational Song #629
Congregational Song #423
The assembly stands
P The body and blood of
our Lord Jesus Christ
strengthen you and keep you in his grace.
C Amen
Prayer after Communion
A Let us pray.
O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
C Amen
Sending
God blesses us and sends us in mission to
the world
Announcements
Blessing
P The love of God who created you, the mercy
of ☩ Jesus Christ who died for you, and the power
of the Holy Spirit who strengthens you, keep you at
one with all the faithful, living and departed, and
remain with you now and forever.
C Amen
Sending Song #422
3, 4, 5 ð
Dismissal
A Go in peace. Christ is with you.
C Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE
“Canzona in F” Domenico Zipoli
Copyright © 2015 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by
permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SAS000803.
New Revised
Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of
the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the
Used by permission. All rights
reserved.
Clipart copyright © 2015 by Communication Resources. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
“Love the Lord, all you his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful”
(Psalm 31:23, ESV). Today we remember saints in heaven and celebrate our own sainthood on earth. Welcome!
Sunday education hour 9:00 a.m.
Sunday worship 10:00 a.m.
Pastor Ellen Schoepf prellen@faithlutheranokemos.org
Secretary Rita Barry rbarry@faithlutheranokemos.org
Director of Christian
Education
Director of Music Debra
Borton-McDonough
Organist/Pianist Bruce
Williams
October
25 worship attendance: 158
Serving
Faith Today November 8
Acolytes Alyssa
Magyar
Altar care
Communion assistants Walter Kopf Ken Schoepf
Alyssa Magyar
Greeters Marla Holle Dingledine family
Lay assistants Walter Kopf Ken Schoepf
Readers
Ushers Dick and Sally Knoll Dick and Sally Knoll
Nursery Corey and Kim
O’Brien Melinda and Lauren Schultz