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.
with number 916 only begotten word of God in number 916
begins on page 184 divine service setting three in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
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.
I said I will confess my transgressions unto the
Lord.
The poor miserable sinner confessed 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 partly sorry for them,
and I
sincerely repent of them, and I am afraid of your pointless mercy, and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter, suffering, and death.
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.
Turn to the yellow insert.
We sing together the
intro.
the words.
this is
Glory be to God.
Let us pray.
Almighty and merciful God, of your bountiful goodness, keep from us all things that may hurt us, that we, being ready in both body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish whatever you would have us do 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 Genesis chapter 28.
Jacob left Bershiba and went toward Hurran.
And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night because the sun had set, taking one of the stones of the place he put it under his head and lay down at that place to sleep.
And he dreamed.
And behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven.
And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, your father, and the God of Isaac, the land at which you lie, I will give to you and to your offspring.
Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south.
And in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land.
For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
And Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.
He was afraid and said, how awesome is this place?
This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Return to the yellow insert and together sing the
gradual
The epistle reading is from Ephesians chapter four.
Be angry and do not sin.
Do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil.
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
We stand in honor of the gospel.
Gospel according to St.
Matthew, the ninth chapter.
Getting into a vote, Jesus crossed over and came to his own city.
And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic lying on a bed.
And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven.
Behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, this man is blaspheming.
But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, why do you think evil in your hearts?
For which is easier to say your sins are forgiven or to say rise and walk?
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.
He then said to the paralytic, rise, pick up your bed and go home.
And he rose and went home.
When the crowd saw it,
They were afraid and they glorified God who had given such authority to men.
This is the gospel of the Lord.
Together we confess our faith as written in the words of the Nicene Creed.
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 conscious pilot.
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 is spoke by the prophets.
and I believe in one holy Christian apostolic church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the light of the world to come.
Amen.
Holy Spirit, amen.
And maybe seated.
I'm using parts of a sermon prepared by Reverend Rolf Kreuz in this based on our gospel reading today.
And based on what we do as Lutherans, at the beginning of the divine service, we confess our sins to God.
We deserve his punishment, temporal and eternal punishment.
We say that we're sorry for them.
We repent of them.
We pray that for the sake of Jesus Christ,
And he be gracious and merciful to us.
And as your pastor, I just say upon this, for confession, I by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the word, announce the grace of God to all of you.
And instead, 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 the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
For many Protestant Christians in our country, these words
which down strange, maybe even offensive.
They may not be used to hearing those words.
They're used to hearing that God forgives sins.
But they're not used to hearing the man say, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
And they're sureing the people that give this I speak is God's forgiveness.
And yet the authority of Jesus Christ to forgive sins here on earth is a treasure.
It's a treasure that Christ himself has entrusted to his church.
The priceless treasure for you to receive and to believe and to hold on to.
God claims the authority to forgive sinners their sins through words spoken by men.
Jesus proved it.
Jesus is...
the Son of God, eternally begotten of his father, and Jesus is the Son of Man, born of the Virgin Mary.
In the Gospels, Jesus identifies himself as both Son of God and Son of Man.
In the Gospel reading today, Jesus calls himself the Son of Man.
The Son of Man forgives sinners, their sins.
The scribes who were present there when Jesus was doing this, they judge Jesus as a blasphemer for
claiming the power to forgive sins, they weren't denying God the power to forgive sins.
They believed in the forgiveness of sins.
But they also knew that all sin is committed against God.
And God is the only one with the authority to forgive.
Only God in heaven can forgive sins.
That's true.
Only God in heaven can forgive sins.
And yet we live here on earth.
This is where we sin.
This is where sin is.
We sin and we're sinned against and here is where we suffer the effects of sin.
The forgiveness is in heaven and not here on earth.
We sinners need a way to get to heaven, to get the forgiveness that we need.
And yet it is the very sin that we...
are guilty of that keeps us from being able to do so, keeps us from being able to go to
heaven
to get this forgiveness.
In the Old Testament reading today, we hear about a dream that Jacob had when he had stopped to rest along this journey going to his mother's homeland.
In the dream, he saw ladders joining heaven to earth with angels ascending and descending on it.
And God was at the top of the ladder.
Jacob was at the bottom.
This dream reveals that God in heaven would join the human race.
God would become a man, a descendant of Jacob, and heaven would join earth.
The forgiveness of sin that only God in heaven can give would be one here on earth and given here on earth.
Jesus claimed the authority on earth to forgive sins.
By healing the man who was paralyzed, he showed his power to forgive sins.
All physical ailments are a result of sin, everything that we suffer from.
And it's not that this particular malady of the paralytic is a punishment from God for that sin, as if either he, the paralytic, or his parents had done something in particular that caused the paralysis.
Because the reality is that everything in our bodies and minds and souls that don't work the way they should,
Well, all of that is because of sin and the effects of sin.
By healing, by healing this paralytic, Jesus showed his power to forgive sinners, their sins.
By healing all the disease that Jesus healed.
This paralytic could not go to Jesus on his own power, right?
Paralysed.
And this represents us.
in our sin, paralyzed.
The sin that we commit in thought, word, and deed, it keeps us away from God, paralyzed.
God comes to us.
God becomes our brother.
He descends Jacob's ladder and is here on earth that he claims the right to forgive sins.
Here on earth, he wins the right to forgive sins.
where our God and our brother goes to where all sin of all sinners is punished.
Your sin against your brother and your sister.
Your neighbor's sin against you.
All the sins that you've never heard of were all placed all on Jesus Christ on the cross who suffered the full punishment that they deserved.
Heaven came down to earth to remove the sin from earth.
that cupped us out of heaven.
And God speaks the words that give the forgiveness of sins.
When Jesus said to the paralytic, take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven, that man's sins were forgiven him.
Jesus, the son of man, has the authority to forgive sins.
To said so, he healed the man to prove it.
And Jesus...
died on the cross and rose from the dead to secure it.
He speaks and it's done.
When Jesus had died and risen from the dead, he appeared to his disciples and gave to them and to his church the authority to forgive sins.
The authority he claimed, the authority he earned, the authority he earned he gave.
And Christians can speak words to convey God's forgiveness.
sinful human beings forgive sinful human beings by God's authority.
Since they have God's authority to do so, it is God who is doing it.
The pastor forgives sins in Jesus' name because God called him to do so in his ministry as his minister called to that office for that very purpose.
But it's not only the pastor who has this authority.
Christ gave it to the church.
And the church is made up of all Christians.
All Christians may and should forgive in Jesus' name.
Forgiveness is not stuck in heaven.
Forgiveness is here on earth.
Nobody but Jesus has this authority.
This means that only his church can exercise it because he gave his authority to forgive to the church.
And to give
And he gave this authority only to the church.
The governments of this world do not have the authority to forgive anyone since.
The state can prosecute, imprison, even put to death.
They cannot forgive.
They can fail to punish or commute a sentence.
They call it a pardon when the president or governor of a state sets a prisoner free.
No prison president or governor has the power to take sin off that person's soul and set him free before God Only Christ can do so and Christ does so only within his church on earth This is why the church is the ark of salvation outside of which no one can be saved Everyone needs the forgiveness that Christ alone can give and nowadays forgiveness of sins is
given way to denial of sin, even among those who call themselves Christians.
Portion, pornography, Plutony, self-indulgence, bits of rage, selfish ambition, and other sins.
They come from the deceitful desires of our fallen nature.
They're defended and excused or explained away.
And so instead of seeking forgiveness for sin and the power of the Holy Spirit that comes from forgiveness, people remain trapped in their sin and hurts them, invitors them, it destroys them.
Sin needs to be forgiven.
Everyone needs the forgiveness that Christ alone can give.
Everyone needs to hear the words of Christ's absolution.
Everyone needs to believe these words because they give what they say.
That's what brings us Christians together every Sunday here as we listen to the voice of Jesus forgiving our sins Jesus speaks the words we need to hear From these words we have the forgiveness we need to live useful lives here on earth We need forgiveness here on earth where we live need to receive it We need to give it Cannot give what we do not have and what we
have, we can give away.
We can give it away without losing any of it.
God forgives us because he loves us.
God puts his own authority behind the words he speaks and he gives that authority to us.
Take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven.
Christ proved it.
The crowd was afraid and they glorified God that God had given such authority to men.
Dear Christians,
You can forgive those who sin against you.
You don't have to wait until they walk up to you.
Ask for it.
Maybe they can't walk.
They can't ask.
Maybe they're trapped in their sins as the paralytic was trapped in his paralysis.
And yet your forgiveness can be the voice of God.
Christians give as they receive.
Christians forgive as they are forgiven.
Forgiving those who sin against us is a mark of being a Christian.
The Son of Man will have the power here on earth to forgive sins until the end of time.
And here is where we need it.
Here is where he gives it.
Words of forgiveness give us what they say.
They define who we are and they empower us to forgive.
Amen.
May the peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
Please stand.
Welcome our newest members here this morning and we're gonna follow the the right to reception of members by profession of faith Beloved in the Lord our Lord Jesus Christ said to his Apostles whoever confesses me before men I will also confess before my father who is in heaven But whoever denies me before men I will also deny before my father who is in heaven
Lift up your hearts therefore to the God of all grace and joyfully give answer to what I now ask you in the name of the Lord Do you this day in the presence of God and of this congregation Acknowledge the gifts that God gave you in your baptism Do you renounce the devil in all his works and all his ways Do you believe in God the Father Almighty
In Jesus Christ is only Son our Lord and in the Holy Spirit.
Do you hold all the prophetic and apostolic scriptures to be the inspired Word of God and the doctrine of the evangelical Lutheran Church drawn from them and confessed in the small catechism to be faithful and true?
Do you intend to hear the Word of God?
and receive the Lord's Supper faithfully.
I do by the grace of God.
You intend to live according to the word of God and in faith, word indeed, to remain true to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even to death.
I do by the grace of God.
You intend to continue steadfast in this confession and church and to suffer all even death rather than fall away from it.
Do you desire to become a member of this congregation?
I
do.
Will you support the work of our gracious Lord, the work our gracious Lord has given this congregation with your prayers and the gifts God has given you?
With the help of God.
Upon this, your confession of faith, I acknowledge publicly that you are members of the evangelical Lutheran Church and of this congregation.
Receive the Lord's supper.
and participate with us in all the blessings of salvation that our Lord has given to his church, the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Invite the congregation to stand as we pray.
Lord God Heavenly Father, we thank and praise you for your great goodness in bringing these your sons and daughters to the knowledge of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.
and enabling them both with the heart to believe and with the mouth to confess his saving name.
Grant that by your word and spirit, they may continue steadfast in the one true faith and the fellowship of this congregation as together we await the day when all who have fought the good fight of faith shall receive the crown of righteousness.
Through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit.
One God, now and forever.
Lori, welcome, Hunter, Hollis, welcome, greetings, Natalie and Kelly, Asher, Orphan and Brother Matt.
Welcome.
It's great to have you amongst us.
Receive the blessing of our Lord, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Be with you all.
Amen.
You may return and we'll continue with prayer of the church.
Let us pray for the whole church of God and Christ Jesus.
and for all people according to their needs.
Create in us clean hearts, O God, by the forgiveness of your Son, that we may put off the old ways of sin and walk in the way of His commandments.
Lord, in your mercy, we glorify you, Lord God, that you have given such authority to men to forgive sins in the name of Jesus Christ, whose blood has made atonement for the sins of the world.
Focus every word and deed of your ministers in the church or this office of the keys that the gospel may predominate in our worship and life together.
Lord in your mercy.
Heavenly Father, you call your children to put off the old man of sin daily and live together in the forgiveness of Christ.
Fill our homes with your Holy Spirit.
Leave no place for the devil, but work for your righteousness and holiness among us.
Lord in your mercy Almighty God preserve the lives of Donald our president Tony our governor and all our leaders Even as you rule the world by your mighty power Be pleased to give wisdom to our nation that it may have peace and success in accordance with your commandments Lord in your mercy Merciful Lord your son healed the sick and the broken here are prayers for those in need among us
especially the families of Pastor Jones and Don Walker, Vicki, Lynn, Anita, Lois, Lewis, Marlis, Greg, Grant, Thorfinn, Doris, Matthew, Megan, Melissa, Mark, Ethel, Dave, Red, Harold, Joan, Jaden, Rick, Virginia, Lacey, Marilyn, Marlene, George, and Florence.
And grant them healing now and resurrection at the last day.
Lord, in your mercy.
Holy Father, how awesome is this place, the very house of God and the gate of heaven.
Here, according to his word, your son is bodily present with us in the sacrament of the altar.
Bring us to eat and drink worthily at his supper in repentance and faith.
That through its forgiveness and healing, we may put off the old self and be renewed in true righteousness and holiness.
Lord, in your mercy.
Lover of mankind you desire that all be saved and find forgiveness in your son Inspire our witness to those we know and love that we may bring them to his feet for true and eternal healing Lord in your mercy Almighty and everlasting God by your son Jesus Christ you mercifully help the paralytic and body and soul We implore you be gracious to us also or give our sins and govern us by your Holy Spirit
that we may not be the cause of our own sickness or afflictions.
Keep us in your fear and strengthen us by your grace, that we may escape wrath and punishment, both eternal and eternal and temporal, 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.
and 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 He who writes 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 and death upon a cross.
Risen from the dead, he has freed us from eternal death and given us life everlasting.
Therefore, with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify your glorious name, ever more praising you and saying.
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.
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 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.
This goes off and as you drink it, and remember it, it's 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.
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Zion is a member of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Syn...