St Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

313 4th Street, Manistee, MI 49660

website: StPaulsManistee.com

facebook: SPLCManistee

Pastor Dennis Himm (810) 252-5821

Trinity Sunday…. Truths about God Too Good to Make Up

WELCOME

HYMN 195 “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty” – please stand for last stanza

M: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen.

M: I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well….Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:14,16)

C: I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true.

M: I will proclaim the LORD’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. (Psalm 2:7) My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? (Psalm 22:1)

C: I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.

M: Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. (Psalm 51:10-13 C: I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.

PRAYER OF THE DAY:

M: 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.

C: Amen.

FIRST LESSON: Isaiah 6:1-8

The triune God delivers Isaiah from guilt and sin and offers Isaiah lofty purpose.

1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

M: The word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

SECOND LESSON: Romans 8:12-17

The triune God gifts us the right to speak to our Father, the comfort of our Brother, and the indwelling of the Spirit.

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.[a] And by him we cry, “Abba,[b]Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

M: The word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

VERSE OF THE DAY:

M: Alleluia. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory. Alleluia.

GOSPEL: John 3:1-17

Jesus teaches a Pharisee named Nicodemus about the kingdom of the triune God, who rules in the heart of all those who are born again.

1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” 3Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” 4“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” 5Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” 9“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. 10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

M: The Gospel of the Lord.

C: Praise be to Christ.

HYMN 277 “God, We Praise You”

SERMON: Romans 8:12-17

The Family of the Triune God

ATHANASIAN CREED - selected sections

M: Whoever wishes to be saved must, above all else, hold to the true Christian faith. C: Whoever does not keep this faith pure in all points will certainly perish forever.

M: Now this is the true Christian faith:

C: We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God, without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being.

M: For each person—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—is distinct, C: but the deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory and coeternal in majesty.

M: 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;

C: 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.

M: In the same way the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, the Holy Spirit is almighty; C: yet they are not three who are almighty, but there is one who is almighty. M: So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God;

C: yet they are not three Gods, but one God.

M: So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord;

C: yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord.

M: For just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually to be God and Lord, C: so the true Christian faith forbids us to speak of three Gods or three Lords. M: 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.

C: So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.

M: And within this Trinity none comes before or after; none is greater or inferior, but all three persons are coequal and coeternal,

C: so that in every way, as stated before, all three persons are to be worshiped as one God and one God worshiped as three persons. M: Whoever wishes to be saved must have this conviction of the Trinity…. This is the true Christian faith.

C: Whoever does not faithfully and firmly believe this cannot be saved. PRAYERS & LORD’S PRAYER

COMMUNION

Because God’s Word clearly teaches us about the Real Presence and the fellowship connected with the Lord’s Supper we kindly ask that only WELS and ELS communicant members come forward to receive the Lord’s body and blood in this Sacrament. Pastor Himm offers a class so you can become a communicant member.

M: The Lord be with you.

C: And also with you.

M: Lift up your hearts.

C: We lift them up to the Lord.

M: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

C: It is right to give him thanks and praise.

M: Praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In love he has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. In perfect unity with his Son and the Holy Spirit, he is the source, guide, and goal of our lives now and always. Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ. To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and thanks and honor and glory for ever and ever:

WORDS OF INSTITUTION

M: The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C: Amen.

COMMUNION DISTRIBUTION

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

M: We give you thanks, O Lord, for the foretaste of the heavenly banquet you have given us in this Sacrament. Through this gift you have fed our faith, nourished our hope, and strengthened our love. By your Spirit, help us to live as your holy people until that day when you will receive us as your guests at the wedding supper of the Lamb, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: Amen.

BLESSING

M: Brothers and sisters, go in peace. Live in harmony with one another. Serve the Lord with gladness.

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.

C: Amen.

HYMN 334 “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow”

ANNOUNCEMENTS & REFRESHMENTS

THANKOFFERING BASKET BY DOOR

The members of St Paul's have joined together to do the Lord’s work in this area and around the world. Our guests may but are not expected to participate in this offering which supports our church’s ministry.

Guests, please sign our Guest Book in the entryway.

If you do not have a church home, St. Paul’s would love to serve you!

All Scripture readings are from the NIV 2011. Used by permission.