Good morning and welcome to the broadcast of the Divine Service at Zion Lutheran Church in Chippewa Falls.
To help you follow along, the Order of Worship for today's service is available under the radio tab on our website, ZionLCMSCF.org.
The Lord bless you today through the hearing of His word.
to Zion Lutheran Church on this third Sunday of Easter.
And we'll begin with our opening hymn, number 719.
I leave all things to God's direction.
Holy Spirit.
Beloved in the Lord, let us draw near with the true heart and confess our sins unto God, our Father, beseeching him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.
Our help is in the name of the Lord.
I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord.
Oh, Almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor miserable sinner, confess unto you all my sins and iniquities, with which I have ever offended you, and justly deserved your temporal and eternal punishment.
But I am heartily sorry for them, and sincerely repent of them.
And I pray you of your boundless mercy.
And for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of your beloved son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, the poor, sinful being.
Upon this, your confession, I by virtue of my office as a called and ordained servant of the word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ.
I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Glory be to God on high.
you
Let us pray.
O God, through the humiliation of your Son you raised up the fallen world.
Grant your faithful people, rescued from the peril of everlasting death, perpetual gladness and eternal joys.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
After the reading of the Old Testament lesson, we will chant together Psalm 23, which is found in the front part of your hymn.
Turn there in anticipation.
Old Testament reading from Ezekiel chapter 34.
For thus says the Lord God I myself will search for the sheep and will seek them out The shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that they have been scattered So will I seek out my sheep and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered On the day of clouds and thick darkness and I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and will bring them into their own land
I will feed them the mountains of Israel by the ravines and in all the inhabited places of the country.
I will feed them with good pasture and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land.
There they shall lie down in good grazing land and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.
I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep and I myself will make them lie down declares the Lord God.
I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy.
I will feed them injustice.
This is the word of the Lord.
We sing together Psalm 23.
The epistle is from 1 Peter chapter 2.
He himself bore our sins and his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed, for you were strung like sheep, but now have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.
This is the word of the Lord.
Please stand in honor of the gospel.
Holy Gospel according to Saint John the 10th chapter.
Jesus said, I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd who does not own the sheep sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees.
And the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd.
I know my own, and my own know me.
Just as the father knows me, and I know the father.
And I lay down my life for the sheep.
And I have other sheep that are not of this fold.
I must bring them also.
And they will listen to my voice.
So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is the gospel of the Lord.
Together we confess our faith is written in the words of the Nicene Creed.
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, light of light, very God, very God.
Begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made, who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried.
And the third day he rose again.
according to the scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father.
And he will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified.
who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy Christian, an apostolic church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
This is Good Shepherd Sunday as we hear in the readings, the hymns.
And so how do you know who the Good Shepherd is?
Of course, Christ tells us he is the Good Shepherd.
People listening to him know he's referring to himself as God in the flesh.
As we heard Ezekiel talking about, God said, I.
I worship my people.
But we know that the good shepherd is the one who lays down his life for the sheep.
That makes him good.
He's not like the hired hand.
The hired hand doesn't care for the sheep.
When he sees danger, he flees.
The hired hand is hired to do the work of the shepherd, to lead, to green pasture for food.
to lead to still water, to safely drink, to protect from predators.
The sheep need that shepherd.
They need somebody to do all these things for them in order to survive.
But the hired ants were interested in taking care of themselves and the sheep, and as a result, the sheep are snatched and scattered.
Jesus uses the wolf.
the wolf metaphor, the wolf image to represent all that seizes and scatters those who belong to him, the shepherd.
This includes sinful desires of the flesh, the world, the enticement of the world, and the devil himself.
We understand these threats.
We understand the wolf.
We know how often our sinful flesh would rather not do what God tells us to do.
including Sunday morning.
It might rather be somewhere else.
Sleep in or indulge in some activity that we find more stimulating than sitting through a worship service.
Understand the enticements of the world.
Understand what the world thinks about going to church.
Doesn't seem to matter to the world.
It seems perhaps a waste of time.
Easy to pick up a casual attitude.
About church because of what the world says it doesn't really matter if you go, you know, you've already heard what was said it doesn't change anything and so forth And we're familiar with the lies of the devil trying to get us to doubt God's word to trust Rather than ourselves or someone else rather than God So we understand the wolf
the threat, the danger of the wolf.
We understand the sheep, including us, cannot defend themselves against these forces that threaten to seize scatter.
So that's why we, the sheep, need a shepherd to defend, to protect us from the wolf.
And we are in danger when we wander from that shepherd.
Christ, the good shepherd.
comes to us here in his word and in his sacraments, and he's called you here.
You have responded to his voice.
He's the good shepherd.
He seeks out his scattered sheep to deliver them, and he gathers them to feed them.
He gathers them to feed them in rich pasture, such as here.
He binds up the broken, strengthens the sick.
He leads down, lays down his life.
for the wandering and the wayward sheep.
It's on the cross where Christ bore in his body the attacks of the wolf, the attacks of sin, death, and the devil for you so that you would be saved.
He now lives to restore your soul in the still waters of baptism to lead you in the paths of righteousness by the voice of the gospel.
To prepare a table.
of his holy supper before you that you might dwell in his house forever.
For, as Peter says, you are straying like sheep, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.
Jesus, the good shepherd, does have undershepherds who serve on his behalf.
Pastors serve as undershepherds.
Pastors call to faithfully proclaim his word.
So that you hear the voice of the good shepherd so that you are led to green pasture and still water parents Especially fathers as heads of the household also serve as under shepherds to Christ God gives fathers the role and the responsibility to shepherd the children he entrusts to their care This means that the father is responsible for providing for and protecting the children God has given him
He's also given the responsibility to raise up his children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.
The father is to teach his children the words of the Lord.
The small catechism was written for the heads of the families to teach in their homes.
And it is an excellent resource for doing this, as you know.
You may not know, it's included in the hymnal.
The hymnal also full of excellent resources for the family.
And I encourage you to look, page 321 is where the small catechism starts.
If you haven't observed that already, of course it includes the commandments, how to live, and the explanation that give us a fuller, clearer understanding of what it means to be one of Christ's sheep.
Well, there's some other treasures in there that I'd like to bring to your attention.
because this is a trustee guide, especially as you're kind of reading through scripture.
We know that we can be misled if we've heard false teachings, so the catechism helps to clarify and direct us and understand rightly what God's word says, the words of Christ, and so that we can also teach our children and be reminded ourselves about God's word.
We do spend a lot of time in this catechism here by the way if you haven't noticed The insert has that guide for daily prayer and meditation it always includes a section of the catechism for your refreshment or instruction in your family Wednesdays we go over that in the the theme of the service for a Wednesday divine service Our youth who are catechized before confirmation are instructed primarily through
the text of the small catechism.
As an example of how the catechism helps us to understand rightly the explanation of the third commandment seems pertinent.
It tells us that we are to fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching His word, but hold it sacred and gladly here and learn it.
From this we understand that it's God's goodwill for his children to be
regularly in church and regularly attending to his word.
And if you look at the explanation of the third article, the Creed, 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 gift, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.
So we rely on the Holy Spirit calling us by the gospel.
Enlightening us with his gifts, sanctifying us and keeping us together in the true faith.
This doesn't happen apart from the word, apart from church.
The explanation continues.
In the same way he calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it, keeps it with Christ in the one true faith.
In this Christian church we daily and richly, he daily and richly forgives all our sins.
and the sins of all believers.
On the last day, he will raise us and all the dead and give eternal life to us and all believers in Christ.
And in the Lord's prayer, we learn to pray and believe that God's will is done when he breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world and our sinful nature, which do not want to hello God's name or let his kingdom come.
when he strengthens and keeps us firm in his word and faith until we die.
We are praying that the good shepherd protect us from the wolf.
And we know that he does because he tells us to pray and trust that he answers this prayer.
Catechism is a way to help us know the voice of the good shepherd so that we don't go astray.
So how do you avoid the hired hands who care nothing for you, who will abandon you when they see danger?
You listen.
Do you hear the voice of Jesus, the good shepherd?
Is it the same voice you hear when you're reading his word, when you're studying the Bible?
Is it the same voice you hear when you attend the divine service?
This voice speaks the gospel which gives the forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation freely through Christ and for his sake.
His voice will speak to the wolf of sin, the threat of the devil, death, so that you will be delivered and restored.
You learn to know him and his voice here in church.
You learn to trust them because you keep them as you go out into the world and you recognize that is the voice of the good shepherd.
I can follow him and trust him anywhere.
The voices that don't coincide that sound different or not his voice.
You learn to know him by keeping this word and following him.
This is where the intimate knowledge comes with Christ, not just having it up in your head, but actually living it, holding fast to it, trusting it.
And if you don't hear words from your pastor that are consistent with Christ, that includes me.
Your responsibility is to let me know.
Is that the word of Christ?
You do not want to be misled by a hired hand who cares more for themselves than for you, the sheep entrusted to his care.
And the shepherd who comes after me will also want to hold them accountable to the word of Christ as you have come to know it and trust it so that you can follow faithfully.
So you are encouraged to regularly read and study God's word along with the catechism so that you'll be strengthened by God.
kept firm in the word until you die.
As I said, heads of households are given this role as under shepherd to make sure this happens at home, to lead and care for and protect the sheep entrusted to you.
The alternative is to flee when you see danger and abandon the sheep.
This happens when you see someone being led astray by sin.
Don't speak God's word to that person.
who essentially abandoned them to the wolf to be seized or scattered.
This, of course, is a role that we all play in taking up our cross and following Christ.
And we bring His word to those who are straying for their sake.
That may be the sin of straying away from church, perhaps having been misled that they don't need church or it doesn't matter.
If nobody says anything to them, they'll continue to despise preaching in God's word.
They'll no longer hear the voice of the shepherd, so they will go astray and be vulnerable to the wolf who will snatch and scatter them.
But Jesus, the good shepherd, seeks the lost and the straying.
They are his possession.
He will not abandon them.
As disciples of Christ,
We can speak Christ's word to the strength and know that if there is sheep, they'll respond.
We can speak God's commands to them and what they mean clearly to those who have been led astray so that they might follow the good shepherd.
And when we remind them that the good shepherd laid down his life for them, that they might not perish and have eternal life with him, respond.
As Jesus says later in this chapter of John, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
Jesus gives us the assurance that through his word, he is uniting and gathering and drawing people to himself, and so we, his sheep,
Hold his word sacred and glad they hear and learn it.
Amen.
May the peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
Please stand.
In peace, let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For faith, patience, strength, and joy, that, born again to a living hope, we may trust our Heavenly Father and proclaim the praises of His risen Son.
Let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the church that God would send faithful shepherds to care for His flock here and scattered throughout the world, that He would keep them devoted to Christ and His truth and
So turn them in dutiful service toward his people, that God would spare us from hirelings who serve ego, belly, or the world's doctrines, and that he would give discerning ears to his sheep to listen for the voice of Christ, our good shepherd.
Let us pray to the Lord.
For all Christian homes that they may be places where faith is nurtured and where we may learn to live our new lives in holiness and righteousness, let us pray to the Lord.
for our leaders that they would serve their people and promote peace, that many may seek the Lord where he is found in the sanctuary of his church.
Let us pray to the Lord.
In thanksgiving for our risen Christ, the first fruits from the dead who has secured forgiveness for our troubled consciences, that he would also bless with temporal health those who suffer, especially Vicki, Lynn, Anita, Lois, Larry, Lewis.
Chuck Marlis, Tim, Greg, Grant, Doris, Matthew, Megan, Mark, Ethel, Bob, Peter, Fred, Harold, Joan, Greg, Linda, Jaden, Rick, Thorfinn, Lacey, Marilyn, Marlene, George, Ann, Dawn, Florence, and Zoe.
That he would grant us aid not only in this moment, but also true and moral health in the world to come.
Let us pray to the Lord.
For the faithful reception of Christ's very body and blood that by his Holy Spirit what we receive with our lips we may keep in holy hearts and show forth in holy lives.
Let us pray to the Lord.
In thanksgiving for the mighty saints of old and for their witness preserved through the ages that with them we would faithfully await the day when we are received into God's everlasting presence to the life that death cannot end.
Let us pray to the Lord.
These things and whatever else you know that we need, kind Father, grant us for the sake of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
We continue with the service of the sacrament on page
194.
Let us give thanks unto the Lord our God.
It is the enterprise so to
do.
It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and at all places give thanks to you, Holy Lord, Almighty Father, everlasting God.
And most especially, are we bound to praise you on this day.
for the glorious resurrection of your son, Jesus Christ, the very Paschal Lamb, who was sacrificed for us and bore the sins of the world.
By his dying, he has destroyed death.
And by his rising again, he has restored to us everlasting life.
Therefore, with Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John, and with all the witnesses of the resurrection, with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven.
we laud and magnify your glorious name.
Evermore praising you and saying.
Art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory.
forever and ever.
Amen.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread.
And when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, take, eat.
This is my body, which is given for you.
This do it remembrance of me.
In the same way also, he took the cup after supper.
And when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, drink of it, all of you.
This cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins as to as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.
The peace of the Lord be with you always
Thank you for tuning in to the Divine Service at Zion Lutheran Church in Chippewa Falls.
May the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
If you have any prayer requests, please let us know.
You may call us at 715-723-6380 or stop by and visit 110 East Grand Avenue in Chippewa Falls.
If you're looking for a church home, we'll gladly tell you more about Zion or help you find a congregation near you.
These broadcasts are paid for by generous gifts made to our radio fund.
If you'd like to contribute, click the Give tab on our website, ZionLCMSCF.org, or send a check to Zion Lutheran Church Radio Fund, 110 East Grand Avenue, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, 54729.
Zion is a member of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Center.