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.
for Trinity day after our Independence Day celebration.
We'll begin with our opening hymn number 731 O God for sake may not.
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.
Amen.
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 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, 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 in certain sing together the intro it.
you
Glory be to God.
you
Let us pray.
Oh God, you have prepared for those who love you good things that surpass all understanding or into our hearts such love toward you that we loving you above all things may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever.
The Old Testament reading is from 1 Kings chapter 19.
and after the fire, the sound of a low whisper.
And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
And behold, there came a voice to him and said, what are you doing here, Elijah?
He said, I've been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts.
For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword.
And I, even I only am left.
and they seek my life to take it away."
And the Lord said to him, Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you arrive, you shall anoint Haseel to be king over Issyria.
In Jehu, the son of Nimshi, you shall anoint to be king over Israel.
In Elisha, the son of Shefat, and Abal Mahola, you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.
And the one who escapes from the sword of Haseel shall Jehu put to death.
And the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death.
Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel all the knees that have not bowed to Baal in every mouth that has not kissed him.
So he departed from them and found Elisha, the son of Shefat, who was plowing with twelve Yokevaks in front of him, and he was with the twelfth.
Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him, and he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.
And he said to him, Go back again.
For what have I done to you?
And he returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them, and boiled their flesh with the yolks of the oxen, and gave it to the people, and they ate.
Then he arose and went after Elijah.
and assisted him.
This is the word of the Lord.
We sing together the psalm printed in your yellow insert.
The epistle is from 1 Peter chapter 3.
and his lips from speaking deceit.
Let him turn away from evil and do good.
Let him seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayer.
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?
But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed.
Have no fear of them nor be troubled.
But in your hearts, regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.
This is the word of the Lord.
The Holy Gospel according to St.
Luke, the fifth chapter.
On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Ganesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to
put out a little from the land.
And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.
Simon answered, master, we toiled all night and took nothing.
But at your word, I will let down the nets.
And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish.
And their nets were breaking.
They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.
And they came and filled both the boats so that they began to sink.
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
For he and all who are with him were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken.
And so also were James and John, sons of Sebedee, who were partners with Simon.
And Jesus said to Simon, do not be afraid, for now on you will be catching men.
And when they have brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
This is the gospel of the Lord.
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, a 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 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 Son together is worshiped and glorified, who is spoke 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.
He graced you in peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
In the Old Testament reading, Elijah was set free when the Lord spoke to him at the entrance of the cave.
He'd been running for his life, terrified for his life.
He's feeling sorry for himself all alone.
He's hundreds of miles from where the Lord wanted him to be.
I think he's the only faithful prophet remaining.
The Lord.
Before speaking to him in that small voice, he had revealed judgment to come precursor in the wind tearing apart the rocks and the mountains and the earthquake.
But he comes to Elijah who perhaps in shame had covered his head to come to the entrance to restore Elijah.
The Lord told Elijah, in that voice, go, return on your way.
And he gave Elijah specific tasks and promises and assurance.
And it's God's word that freed Elijah of the fear and doubt that he had been experiencing.
And he responded with faithful obedience to God's word.
And the Gospel reading, Peter was set free by the Lord's word.
The Lord spoke to him on the boat.
Peter, another fisherman, had been discouraged.
They had been fishing all night and caught nothing.
The Lord was teaching from the boat, and Peter was listening.
And he responded when he said, let down the knots reluctantly at your word.
The knots miraculously filled, and knowing his sinful nature, Peter is afraid
to be in the presence of this one who simply makes fish come into the net.
This is creator.
The Lord told Peter, do not be afraid.
From now on you will be catching men.
With these words he absolved Peter, resolved him of his sin and he freed him to do what Jesus told him to do.
He freed him of the fear and doubt.
that he was expressing, and Peter responded with full obedience to Christ's word.
Yesterday, our nation celebrated the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration, and at the heart of that Declaration is the recognition that people have rights given to them by the Creator, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
But this was not declaring that citizens of the colonies could do whatever they wanted and live however they chose.
Although they were declaring independence from the governance of England, they were still under the governance of the colonies.
They were still governing authorities to honor and obey.
But they were now recognizing and declaring the rights given by God.
still under his authority.
So they were free to live however, God wanted them to live.
Now as citizens of the United States of America, we celebrate and we give God thanks for the rights and privileges that we do enjoy even today.
We are free to openly gather here in the house of worship to hear God's word, to receive his sacraments.
free, the public could call upon God's name in prayer and praise, thanksgiving.
We are free to live out our God-given vocations as citizens, as neighbors, as husbands and wives, parents and children.
And this is what freedom in Christ looks like, faithful obedience to Christ in his word.
Freedom in Christ does not mean that you live however you want.
True freedom is in Christ and only in Christ.
Because apart from Christ, we are enslaved to sin.
We're condemned to death.
But Christ has set us free so that we may live with Him now and in eternity.
St.
Paul wrote, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus, from the law of sin and death.
For God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin.
He condemns sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us.
We walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit.
The gospel of Jesus Christ has set you free.
So that you may walk not according to the flesh but according to the spirit As Christians we celebrate this freedom every day Confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord He has redeemed us we were lost and condemned people purchased and won us From all sins from death and from the power of the devil with his holy precious blood And with his innocent suffering and death that we might be his own
Live under him in his kingdom.
Serve him.
Never lasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.
Just as he is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.
Words from our catechism.
Because of Christ, we no longer are enslaved to sin.
No longer condemned to death.
No longer under the power of the devil.
We belong to Christ.
We're under his care and protection.
We are free to live the righteous innocent and blessed lives.
He intends for us.
This is life according to the spirit life according to the word The spirit instructs and empowers us by the word and we order our lives accordingly We make requests prayers intercession and thanksgiving to God for everyone All in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives and all godliness holiness
Knowing that this is good and pleases God, our Savior.
As Peter wrote, we have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
We do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless.
We keep our tongue from evil and do good.
We seek peace and pursue it.
In our hearts, we regard Christ the Lord as holy and are prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks for a reason.
for the hope that is in us.
We've been given this life and are sustained in it by means of the gospel.
When Peter fell at the knees of Jesus saying, depart from me, I'm a sinful man, oh Lord.
Jesus said to him, do not be afraid.
For now on, you will be catching men.
Jesus is absolving Peter, fear, doubt, and he's commissioning him to go out and do what Jesus had just done to him, preaching the kingdom and absolving sin.
He's using this metaphor that Peter would understand.
Peter knew how to catch fish with nets.
Now he would be catching people with the gospel.
The gospel he had been hearing Jesus speak from the boat, the gospel that the kingdom of God in Jesus.
And Jesus told Peter then he would be catching them alive is how we understand this Greek.
The net is what separates the fish from the sea.
The net is the preaching of the gospel.
The fish are the people.
The sea is the world.
In the Old Testament, scriptures, the sea is associated with chaos and evil and death.
That's what Christ is saving us and others out of through his gospel.
The gospel that separates people from the world, people need to hear that Jesus Christ is Lord, that he has overcome chaos and sin and death and evil at the cross.
They rose from the dead that all who believe in him may have life in him and live with him and in his kingdom forever People need to hear that they no longer must live for themselves fear and anxiety Surviving and the chaos and evil of the world But Jesus has bought them with his blood so they may live under his care and his protection The boat is where Jesus is
And where the miraculous results of the fish are contained, the boat is the church where Jesus is, where his kingdom is present.
It's where his teaching and miracles take place.
It's where believers are gathered.
How Peter, aware of his sinfulness in the presence of Christ, fell in doubt and tried to push Jesus away.
We should not follow this example.
Peter was right to confess his sins, but he should not have told Christ to depart from him.
We must turn our eyes from our sinfulness, from our own sense of righteousness or unrighteousness, from our own sense of worthiness or unworthiness.
Turn our eyes from our self and fix our eyes on Christ, the crucified.
Christ says, don't look at your sins.
They're forgiven.
Christ consoled Peter in his awe and his sense of unworthiness to remove his doubt and to restore his courage.
After absolving Peter of his sins, Jesus commissioned Peter to go out to what Jesus had done to him, preach the kingdom, absolve sins.
That's how the church has created, informed, and preserved.
When we gather at church for the divine service, we're gathered in the presence of Christ.
Jesus has caught you by the net of the gospel.
He's brought you alive into his boat into the church.
You're no longer enslaved to sin, no longer condemned to death.
You're no longer under the power of the devil.
He's gathered us together to be in his presence, to hear his word and receive his gifts.
And you may be weary like Peter after he toiled all night, his unsuccessful attempt to catch fish, but you're in the presence of the Lord.
Listen to him.
He speaks forgiveness of sins into your ears.
He delivers it into your mouth so that you're free to respond in faithful obedience to him.
Amen.
May the peace that passes all understanding.
Keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
Please stand.
Lord God of Hosts, in every generation you preserve a remnant who have not bowed their knees to the false gods of this world.
By your spirit, keep us faithful to you and grant repentance to those who have fallen away.
Lord, in your mercy, Lord God of Hosts, since your foolishness is wiser than men's wisdom and your weakness stronger than men's strength, give all preachers and heroes delight in the folly of Christ crucified.
In whom the fullness of divine power and wisdom are hidden, Lord, in your mercy.
Lord God of hosts, give us faith to let down the nets of your word in our daily vocations and trust your Son to do His gracious work through poor sinners like us.
Lord, in your mercy.
Lord God of hosts, ruler of all nations.
We thank you for the blessings you have bestowed upon the United States of America and her people for 250 years.
We pray that you would grant her good and wise government and sustain her in peace and security, especially so that your holy gospel may be confessed openly and received gladly by her people.
Bless the celebrations of this milestone that they may unite our country as a people and cause us to renew our commitment to the public good.
Let all Christians give respect, honor, and love where each is due as servants of Christ in this world whose eternal citizenship is in heaven.
Lord, in your mercy.
Lord God of hosts, bless the families of Bertha Janky and Marge Thorson.
Hervicki, Lynn, Anita, Daryl, Lois, Lewis, Marlis, Tim, Greg, Grant, Doris, Matthew, Megan, Mark, Ellie, Ethel, Dave, Peter, Fred.
Harold, Joan, Jaden, Rick, Thorfinn, Lacey, Marilyn, Marlene, George, Ann, Dawn, Florence, and all who suffer in body or mind.
Since Christ is at the right hand, they cannot be shaken.
Make their flesh dwell securely, and give them peace in the promise that you will not abandon their souls to Sheol.
Lord in your mercy.
Lord God of hosts, your son is our chosen portion at our cup.
forgiving and nourishing us with his body and blood.
Grant that we may receive him humbly in faith, that you may hold our lot secure in Christ.
Lord, in your mercy.
Lord God of hosts, bless all who suffer for righteousness' sake, and keep them in Christ from fearing or being troubled by those who persecute them.
Lord, in your mercy.
Oh Lord, never depart from us.
Though we are unworthy of you,
and your bounty, you are pleased to receive our meager thanks and reluctant obedience for the sake of Christ's perfect obedience.
Let your word rule us and your spirit revive us to leave behind pride and anxiety alike, that we may follow you in all we do 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 our 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 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 on this day overcame death and the grave and biased glorious resurrection, open to us the way of everlasting life.
Therefore, with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud in magnifier glorious name, ever more praising you insane.
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, cooked bread.
And when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, take heat.
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 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, the 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 Synod.
