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.
after the Trinity are opening him as 504, Father Most Holy.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Beloved in the Lord, let us draw near with a 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.
Who may have the earth.
I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord.
O 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 deserve your temporal and eternal punishment, for 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.
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.
We turn to the yellow insert and sing together the intro.
Lord is the song of all of my life.
The fool shall I be of friend.
I will be
the power.
The Lord is my life
It is day to sound all and all.
Lord, ever see upon us Christ, ever see upon us
Glory be to God on high.
This is the right hand of God, the Father, and we're together.
Let us pray.
O
Lord, grant that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by your governance that your church may joyfully serve you in all godly quietness through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
The Old Testament reading for the fourth Sunday after Trinity is from
Genesis chapter 50 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead They said it may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him But they sent a message to Joseph saying your father gave this command before he died Say to Joseph please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin because they did evil to you
And now please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.
Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, behold, we are your servants.
But Joseph said to them, do not fear.
For am I in the place of God?
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.
To bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today.
So do not fear.
I will provide for you and your little ones.
Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
This is the word of the Lord.
We turn to the yellow insert and sing together the song.
The
epistle is from Romans chapter
12.
Live.
I'm sorry.
Okay.
We have a choice of epistle readings.
And I'm reading the wrong one.
Yeah.
So, my apologies.
Romans 8.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing.
with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope, that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together
in the pains of childbirth until now.
And not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the first fruits of the Spirit grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
We stand in honor of the gospel.
The Holy Gospel according to St.
Luke, the sixth chapter.
Jesus said, be merciful even as your father is merciful.
Judge not and you will not be judged.
Condemn not and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and it will be given to you.
Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over.
will be put into your lap, for with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
He also told them a parable, and a blind man lead a blind man.
Will they not both fall into a pit?
A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone, when he is fully trained, will be like his teacher.
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother,
Brother, let me take the speck, take out the speck that is in your eye when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye.
Your hypocrite.
First, take the log out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.
This is the gospel of the Lord.
Together
we confess our faith as written in the words of the Nicene Creed.
I believe in one God, a 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, the God beloved Father before all worlds, God of God, light of light.
very God, very God.
He got the knot 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 descended 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 sons together is worshiped and glorified, who's hoped by the prophets, and I believe in one holy Christian and 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.
Yeah.
you
Grace, to you and peace from God our Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
In our gospel, Jesus is in the midst of the sermon on the plane.
He's instructing his disciples and us how to live as Christians in relationship to others.
He just told them, love your enemies.
Now he says, be merciful, even as your father is merciful.
How is your father merciful?
He provides.
all of your needs, all your needs for this life, food, clothing, shelter, family, friends, good neighbors, good government, good weather, peace, health, self-control, good reputation, all these things, undeserved, unmerited, God mercifully pours out on everyone, even evil people, out of His abundant mercy.
And beyond that, your father was just.
That his son is only begotten son to receive the punishment that you deserve for your sins.
His mercy put Christ on the cross.
That's where justice and mercy were met.
Christ fulfilling the demands of the law on your behalf, suffering judgment in your stead.
That's the mercy of the father.
And Jesus says, be merciful even as your father is merciful.
Jesus is reminding you that you have received this abundant, overflowing, undeserved mercy in him.
And God is your father because of Christ.
He has made you a son, an heir of the kingdom.
And so now you're to live accordingly.
You're to treat other people accordingly.
The judgment you deserve has been placed upon Christ.
It is not our place to pass this final judgment.
So when someone sins against you, you acknowledge it as sin, but you don't declare judgment upon that person.
You leave that to God.
It was just.
And we'll rightly execute justice.
Certainly, God carries out temporal justice in this world, and He does this through the authorities that He's established.
He carries out temporal justice through parents who have been given this authority in the households.
He does this in the workplace, through bosses and supervisors, the authorities established there.
He carries out justice in the civil realm through the authorities established there.
Parents discipline their children for wrong behavior.
Supervisors discipline employees.
Citizens who break the law are arrested and punished accordingly.
God established the authorities we live under to punish the wicked and to protect the innocent.
And God shows mercy through his son Jesus.
To all who repent and believe in him.
Thus this is met and meets mercy on the cross.
It's out of God's abundant mercy that the eternal punishment we deserve was executed on Christ.
So your sins were placed upon Christ so that he would suffer in your stead.
And your baptism assures you that your sins are forgiven, removed from you.
as far as the east is from the west.
You will not be found guilty on that last day, that day of judgment when Christ returns in glory because his righteousness has been put on you.
That's the mercy of the Father.
That's the mercy that we extend to others.
But it doesn't mean we ignore sin.
We do call sin what it is.
It is evil.
and it does deserve punishment.
But again, unless you're given that role to exercise that authority, that's not what he's talking about.
Jesus is talking about how you treat equals, other people, the same level.
When somebody's sinned against you, you can certainly report it to the authority, and yet you can also acknowledge this sin.
You have wronged me.
May God forgive you both.
A child can tell his parents that his brother hit him, but it's not his place to hit him back.
Not his place to punish his brother in return.
That role belongs to the parents.
They're to exercise justice in the home so that the kids aren't hitting each other.
That's why parents have to enforce justice in the home.
Can't let one child hit another without consequences it wouldn't be safe Similarly employers enforce the policies in the workplace and police arrest criminals to bring them to justice The law and order is maintained This is good But when you're dealing with equals here you are to be merciful as your heavenly father is merciful Again to consider the mercy of your father were given his commands
And we are to keep these in front of us daily.
They're conveniently in your hymenal on pages 321 and 322, and it's good to review those, especially, well, every day, but even before the divine service, where we confess our sins, they reflect our sins, his will for us, also help us to become more aware of how much we break them and how much we do deserve his wrath.
For example, consider the eighth commandment, you shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Catechism explains that this means we should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him and explain everything in the kindest way.
And this includes your enemies and those who sin against you.
When you're sinned against, you may feel justified in punishing that person in return.
But rather than defend them, you attack them.
You say unkind things to them and about them to others.
You intentionally hurt their reputation because you want to punish them.
You don't trust God to exercise judgment, but you take matters into your own hands.
and against that person and your sin against God, and it's
you
who deserves punishment.
And yet God is merciful to you when he brings you to acknowledge and confess your sin, to turn from it in repentance and to seek forgiveness from God and from the one you sinned against.
You receive mercy when you're forgiven.
Even when you suffer earthly consequences for your sin.
So as you consider your life in light of the commandments, you become more aware how much your sin and your sins are like a log in your eye.
This image that Jesus uses, it's intentionally absurd and amusing to make a point.
Imagine trying to do anything with the big log sticking out of your eye.
can't do much, let alone see much.
Obviously, that log has to come out before you can clearly see to remove a speck from your brother's eye.
First, you have to acknowledge you have a log in your eye.
And that seems easy enough.
Everyone else sees the log.
Problem is that log is your sins.
And it's not so easy to acknowledge your sins.
Not so easy to admit that your sins are a problem.
That they harm other people.
That they interfere with your ability to see.
That they deserve punishment.
We grow accustomed to our sins.
We don't see them as a problem.
We act like they're not a problem.
But by God's grace, we are made aware of our sins.
And by God's grace, He removes them so that we can see clearly to help our brother.
And God does this through His church.
We have confession and absolution for this purpose.
We say we have no sin.
We deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We confess our sins and Christ speaks forgiveness to you through the pastor.
The Lord removes the log from your eye.
Your sight's restored.
You can see clearly.
You can see clearly how great of a sinner you are and how merciful your father is.
This helps you to see how small your brother's sin is compared to your own.
You can approach them with humility, gentleness, mercy.
God does want you to help others.
He doesn't want you to ignore sin or act like it's not a problem.
He wants you to deal with it and with others mercifully.
So you must first recognize and appreciate the mercy of God in Christ Jesus.
You daily sin much and God daily and richly forgives you.
He does this by the means of grace in his church, baptism, the Lord's supper, confession and absolution.
They deliver you the forgiveness, one for you by Christ on the cross.
Individual confession, absolution, it means that allows you to specify out loud the particular sins that are troubling you, and maybe unburdening as it does, as you have the forgiveness spoken to you by the pastor, opens your eyes, gives you that clear picture of the mercy that God has for you in Christ.
so that you're able with humility and gentleness to extend mercy to others.
When your eyes are open, when the sins are removed, you see how sinful and deserving of God's judgment you are.
The sin that you see in your brother's eye is very small in comparison to your own condition.
And so the mercy you receive from God enables you to show mercy to your brother.
You don't have to take vengeance that's God's job When you're sinned against you don't repay evil for evil you repay evil with good Have the great example of Joseph with his brothers after all that they had done to him Selling him as a slave in prison for years He had forgiven them long ago as he was trusting in the promises of God
He didn't excuse their evil.
It was evil that they intended, but God meant it for good.
He was trusting in the promises and he left that to God.
So he comforted his brothers with words of forgiveness, promising to care for them.
Jesus, whoever came all evil with the good,
of the cross comforts you with words of forgiveness that you may be merciful even as your father is merciful.
Amen.
And may the peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
Please stand.
Please let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For all baptized children of the Father, that we would be merciful as he is merciful.
Measure others as he measures us in Christ.
Not count their sins against them, but forgive as he has forgiven us.
Let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the church that the Lord would pour out his mercy in rich measure.
for all ministers that their mouths would be open to preach the saving gospel, for all Christians that their mouths would be open to proclaim the marvels of Christ who called us from darkness into His marvelous light, that all works of mercy would attest to His love.
Let us pray to the Lord.
For peace and reconciliation among families that God would visit divided and troubled homes,
clear away hatred and grudges, and make them havens of forgiveness and love.
Let us pray to the Lord.
For our nation's authorities, whom God has set in place, that as he raised up Joseph to work good even from what was meant for evil, though he would work through our leaders to keep many alive and protected in this life, let us pray to the Lord.
For the members of Christ,
Growning as we await the redemption of our bodies and the freedom of the glory of the children of God, that he would turn away the corruption of sin, the futility of our fallen state, and every evil of body and soul.
And for the families of Bertha Janky and Marge Dorson, for Vicki, Lynn, Anita, Daryl, Lois, Louis, Marlis, Tim, Greg, Grant, Doris, Matthew, Megan, Mark, Ellie, Ethel, Dave, Peter,
Fred, Harold, Joan, Jaden, Rick, Thorfinn, Lacey, Marilyn, Marlene, George, Anne, Dawn, and Florence.
That he would give comfort in suffering through the certain hope of his incomparable glory, which will be revealed in us.
Let us pray to the Lord.
For all who commune this day, that in Holy Communion we may receive the forgiveness of sins and be bound together to live in harmony with one another.
And as far as it depends on us, live peaceably with all.
Let us pray to the Lord.
Lord God Heavenly Father, you are merciful.
And through Christ have promised that you will neither judge nor condemn us, but graciously forgive all our sins and abundantly provide for all of our wants of body and soul.
By your Holy Spirit, establish in our hearts a confident faith in your mercy.
each us in turn to be merciful to our neighbor, that we may not judge or condemn others, but willingly forgive all, and judging only ourselves, lead blessed lives in your fear through the same Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit.
Be with you
all.
Let us give thanks unto the Lord our God.
It
is written, Christ, 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, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
who out of love for his fallen creation humbled himself by taking on the form of a servant, becoming obedient unto death, even death upon a cross.
Risen from the dead, he has freed us from eternal death and given life everlasting.
Therefore, with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud in magnifier, glorious name, ever more praising you and saying.
What would 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 to deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.
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 in 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, same 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 do as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.
The peace of the Lord be with you always.
the world.
I was driven to stay.
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 Syn...
