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oday we celebrate the Festival of the Reformation of the Church. The heart of the gospel is the forgiveness of sins, purchased and won for us through the innocent death of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who was slain for the sin of the world. The teaching of the Christian Church is based on Scripture alone. Neither church traditions, the decrees of popes and councils, nor emotion or reason can replace the pure Word of God as the foundation of truth.
On October 31, 1517, a German monk and priest named Martin Luther nailed 95 theses (statements for debate) on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. In the years that followed, Luther maintained that the Bible should be our only source of teaching, not man-made traditions. He showed that God saved us by grace alone, through faith alone. He returned the Bible to the hands of the people and quite literally changed the world.
The central issue of the Reformation is still an issue that every human being must wrestle with today: How can I be a good person? How can I know that God loves me and forgives me? How can I be certain that after this life on earth I will not be punished eternally for my sins? How can I know that I’m going to heaven?
Today we gather to observe the anniversary of the beginning of the Lutheran Reformation. We celebrate the grace of God who reformed his Church and brought back the pure, simple, beautiful truth of the gospel of free forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus our Savior. This celebration also recognizes 175 years of God’s grace to our Wisconsin Synod.
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hank you for joining us for this special service! Our Area Reformation Service is a combined effort of the WELS (Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod) churches in Tucson and southeastern Arizona, which make up the Saguaro Circuit. It has been the practice of these churches to gather together on a Sunday afternoon in late October or early November to celebrate God’s grace and to commemorate the Lutheran Reformation.
The order of worship we will follow is printed in this worship folder for you to follow along and participate. LARGE PRINT worship folders are available at the entrances for those who desire them. Today we are using elements from the Christian Worship hymnal. You will find these blue worship books in the hymnal racks in each pew. You will be asked to open the hymnal to participate in parts of the service.
We thank Professor Joel Otto for encouraging us with his message today. Professor Otto serves as the dean of students and professor of church history and education at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon, WI. He also serves as the Chairman of the Board of the WELS Historical Institute. You can learn more about our seminary at wisluthsem.edu and about the WELS Historical Institute at welshistoricalinstitute.org.
Please note: there is no cost to park in our parking lot during the service or fellowship this afternoon. If you receive a citation by mistake, please let our office staff know so it can be cleared. (Grace Office: 520-623-6633; office@gracelutheransaz.org)
+ ORDER OF WORSHIP +
You are invited to use the time during the preservice music to prepare your hearts and minds for worship by praying, meditating on the music, or reading through this worship folder. If you would like to carry on a conversation, we ask that you kindly move to our courtyard area to do so.
WELCOME
OPENING HYMN—If Your Beloved Son, O God Christian Worship 559
PRESERVICE MUSIC: Built on the Rock Trumpet Ensemble
My Heart Is Filled with Thankfulness Redeemer Woodwind Ensemble
A Mighty Fortress Arr. Jan Bender
The Church’s One Foundation Trumpet Ensemble
Please stand
INVOCATION
Minister: In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit.
Congregation: Amen.
RESPONSIVE READING FROM PSALM 46
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.
As our service begins, the minister speaks the words spoken at our baptisms and makes the sign of the cross, marking us anew as redeemed children of God.
The Church uses Psalm 46 in services that celebrate the power of the Lord in the face of every evil attack.
1 Corinthians 3:11: “No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
Revelation 5:9: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.”
God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
The mighty Lord is with us; The God of Jacob is our fortress.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray.
Almighty God, through the preaching of your servants, the blessed Reformers, you caused the light of the gospel to shine forth. Grant that we may faithfully defend it against all enemies and joyfully proclaim it to the salvation of people everywhere to the glory of your holy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
Please be seated
The children are invited to come forward to sing.
CHILDREN’S SONG
The Church’s One Foundation Christian Worship
The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord; she is his new creation by water and the Word. From heav’n he came and sought her to be his holy bride; with his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.
Elect from ev’ry nation, yet one o’er all the earth; her charter of salvation: one Lord, one faith, one birth. One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food, and to one hope she presses, with ev’ry grace endued.
Text: Samuel J. Stone, 1839–1900, abr., alt. Public domain.
1 This is what the L says:
“Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed.
2 Blessed is the one who does this the person who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing any evil.”
3 Let no foreigner who is bound to the L say, “The L will surely exclude me from his people.” And let no eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.”
4 For this is what the L says:
“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant
5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever.
6 And foreigners who bind themselves to the L to minister to him, to love the name of the L , and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
8 The Sovereign L declares he who gathers the exiles of Israel: “I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.”
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The Lord promised to use even those previously excluded from his people to bring him praise and to share his goodness with others.
We praise God for his grace given abundantly to his people from generation to generation.
HYMN—God, We Sing Your Glorious Praises Christian Worship 911
Congregation and Choir:
Choir:
2 We remember, Lord, your covenant, which extends from heaven to earth: how Christ’s death and resurrection conquers sin, renews our birth. Thank you for this gospel message, which inspires your Church to preach grace to every generation in our deeds and in our speech.
Choir:
3 Filled with all your Spirit’s power, we commit ourselves anew to be faithful to your gospel in the daily work we do. We will shout your glorious praises, telling all who have not heard;
Congregation and Choir:
Congregation and Choir:
Choir:
God, we sing, lift our voices, sing your praise!
These verses have provided the theme of our synod’s 175th Anniversary celebration, “Christ Through Us.” God has reconciled us to himself and works through us to share the good news.
14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
God equips his Church to stand firm against the attacks of Satan, and he calls us to be Christ’s ambassadors to those still walking in darkness.
ADULT CHOIR & ORCHESTRA—O Church, Arise
O Church, arise and put your armor on; hear the call of Christ our captain. For now the weak can say that they are strong in the strength that God has given. With shield of faith and belt of truth we’ll stand against the devil’s lies; an army bold whose battle cry is love, reaching out to those in darkness.
Our call to war to love the captive soul, but to rage against the captor; and with the sword that makes the wounded whole we will fight with faith and valor. When faced with trials on ev’ry side, we know the outcome is secure, and Christ will have the prize for which he died an inheritance of nations. O Church, arise! O Church, arise!
Come see the cross, where love and mercy meet, as the Son of God is stricken; then see his foes lie crushed beneath his feet, for the Conqueror has risen! And as the stone is rolled away, and Christ emerges from the grave, this vict’ry march continues till the day ev’ry eye and heart shall see him.
So Spirit come, put strength in ev’ry stride, give grace for ev’ry hurdle, that we may run with faith to win the prize of a servant good and faithful. As saints of old still line the way, retelling triumphs of his grace, we hear their calls and hunger for the day when with Christ we stand in glory. O Church, arise! O Church, arise! Arise!
Text: Keith Getty, b. 1974; Stuart Townend, b. 1963 © 2005 Thankyou Music, admin. CapitolCMGPublishing,com. Used by permission: OneLicense no. 710199.
John 17:13-23
13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one 23 I in them and you in me so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise be to you, O Christ!
Please be seated
HYMN—Praise Be to Christ Christian Worship 530
Jesus prayed earnestly for his disciples and for those who would become his followers through the message they shared.
SERMON 2 Corinthians 5:14–21 It’s All About Christ!
Please stand
Colossians 1:15, 20: “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ... God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
The Apostles’ Creed developed in the Early Christian Church as a personal confession of faith. It is so named because it confesses the faith taught by the Apostles of Jesus.
CONFESSION OF FAITH
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
OFFERTORY:
If Your Beloved Son, O God
Charles Callahan
Please be seated
OFFERING
Our generous offerings of thanks to God go to support the work of our Saguaro Circuit (Tucson and southeast AZ). In the past these gifts have enabled us to carry out God’s kingdom work in a number of ways and allowed us to join together for Reformation worship each year. Checks may be made payable to Grace Lutheran Church.
In this hymn written by Martin Luther, we ask God to help us hold tightly to the truths found in his Word.
HYMN Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word Christian Worship 862
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Lord, our refuge and strength, we gather to worship and praise you for your ongoing work of reformation in your Church.
Lord, to you alone be glory.
God of grace, in unfathomable love you pitied us sinners and sent your Son as our substitute to deliver us from sin, guilt, death, darkness, and despair.
For your grace, Lord, to you alone be glory.
By your grace you sent your Spirit to call us to repentance. Your powerful gospel rescued us from rebellion and fills us with faith in you, the true and living God.
For saving faith, Lord, to you alone be glory.
By your grace we are heirs of your eternal Word and trustees of the inspired Scriptures, through which you proclaim your saving truth to every generation. By the Scriptures you overthrew the darkness of those who perverted your teachings and restored to your church the message of salvation by grace alone.
For the Holy Scriptures, Lord, to you alone be glory.
In these last days, Lord Jesus Christ, protect your little flock. We are like sheep living among fierce wolves. Satan stalks us like a roaring lion. Defend us from false teachers who twist your Word to satisfy the latest longing.
For wisdom and watchfulness under attack, hear our prayer, O Lord.
Never in the history of the world has your Holy Word been so accessible. We lack only the zeal to treasure your restored truth with lives of faithful Bible study.
For the noble character to search the Scriptures daily, hear our prayer, O Lord.
As we celebrate the Reformation that restored your pure gospel to your Church, we also celebrate our common confession of the pure gospel in Word and sacrament.
For this unity of faith, we give you thanks, O Lord.
We remember the faithful confessors of this and former generations, who have passed down to us your Word of Truth.
For these faithful servants, we give you thanks, O Lord.
In thanksgiving for the many and amazing blessings restored to your Church through the Reformation, we now commit ourselves to your care.
Be our mighty fortress, our trusty shield and weapon, O Lord. Amen.
Matthew 6 and Luke 11 record how Jesus taught his disciples to pray. We use his example prayer as part of our public worship, trusting that he will hear and answer our prayers.
LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.
The blessing of Aaron has been spoken over God’s people for over 3,500 years. The L said, “In this way they will put my name on [them], and I will bless them.” Numbers 6:27
BLESSING
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.
Amen.
This hymn of Martin Luther paraphrases the words of Psalm 46. It has been called “The Battle Hymn of the Reformation.”
POSTLUDE MUSIC:
If Your Beloved Son, O God John Behnke
CLOSING HYMN—A Mighty Fortress Is Our God Christian Worship 863
The congregation will not be ushered out following the service. Instead, please take a moment to greet those gathered to worship with you. You are welcome to remain and socialize in church and to dismiss yourself when you would like. Please join us in the Fellowship Hall (across the Courtyard) for a Reformation “Gemütlichkeit” (fellowship and refreshments) following the service.
To view a recording of this service, please visit https://www.gracelutheransaz.org/service-videos
THANKYOU! Our sincere thanks to all who helped plan, prepare, and conduct the service this afternoon!
Preacher Professor Joel Otto, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary
Liturgist Pastor John Hartmann, Redeemer
Organ Jim Bakken, Grace
Choir & Orchestra Director
Paul Kassulke, Grace
Children’s Choir Director Nate Reich, Redeemer
Children’s Choir Accompanist
Flute
Abigail Schewe, Redeemer
Cheryl Koniar, Redeemer
Oboe Gail Stoeckman, Redeemer
Clarinet Calli Stoeckman, Redeemer; Beth Kassulke, Grace ; Elaine Goldie, Redeemer
Saxophone Jeremy Snavely, Grace; Adam Koniar, Redeemer
French Horn Cora Stuhr, Grace
Trumpet
Nathan Kassulke, Grace; Erin Moldenhauer, Shepherd of the Hills
Ron Koehler, Grace; Sharon Hartmann, Redeemer
Baritone Jason Schmidt, Shepherd of the Hills
Percussion
Piano
Danny Koehler, Grace; Justin Harris, Grace
Shannon Schmidt, Shepherd of the Hills; René Parsons, Holy Cross
Deb Bakken, Grace; Sharon Hartmann, Redeemer
Guitar Larry Mytych, Grace
Greeters DJ & Jenn Miller, Grace
Ushers
Sound and Recording Technicians
Acknowledgements:
Dylan Guenther, Justin Harris, Ferdie Kramm, Zach Miller, Chris Stuhr, Grace
Jeremy Snavely, Danny Koehler, Sam Kassulke; Grace
Scripture readings are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® (NIV®) © 1973, 1978, 1984,2011 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved. Cover Art: Corissa Nelson. CorissaNelsonArt.com.
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