Worship This Week – September 3, 2006

Worship This Week – September 3, 2006
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (LW, Series B)
Seasonal Emphasis: General descriptions of Christian living in this world
Today's General Theme: God's love embraces and supports those who suffer
Mood of Service: Encouraging/hopeful
NOTES: It is obvious that suffering is a common fact of life in this fallen world. Those who love and worship God are not exempt from this unfortunate feature of earthly existence. Does our Christian religion have anything to offer those who find themselves caught up in trouble and misery? Today's worship speaks to this concern. (www.pericope.org)

Processional Hymn How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds - St Peter -- 279 -- Lyrics
Old Testament Reading Proverbs 9:1-6
Epistle Reading Ephesians 5:15-20
Holy Gospel John 6:51-58
Hymn of the Day Lord Jesus Christ, Life-Giving Bread - Aus tiefer Not -- 248 -- Lyrics
Recessional Hymn I Am Jesus' Little Lamb - Weil ich Jesu Schaflein bin -- 517 -- Lyrics

Labels: Worship

  ¶ 8/29/2006 07:29:00 AM 0 Comments

 

Pastor's Sermon Posted

Pastor Watt's Sermon for The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, August 13th has been posted on his sermon website. You can read it by clicking here.
The text is

So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John 6:41-51, ESV )

From the Sermon:

When we come to faith either through the water pour on our heads in Holy Baptism, or when we hear and believe the Good News about Jesus life death and resurrection for us, we are born again, that is we have a new spiritual life. Just like the our physical life, our spiritual life has attributes too. In it we live in holiness and love for all people. We embrace God's commandments and keep them. Spiritual life needs nourishment too. That's the second type of bread that Jesus says he gives. It's the "bread come down from heaven." It's Jesus. He says of himself that he has come to bring life "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." (John 10:10, ESV) The food that he gives is food for eternal life. In fact the spiritual life that God gives lasts forever.

Labels: Sermon, Worship

  ¶ 8/25/2006 04:17:00 PM 0 Comments

  Family Bible Class - Walk Through the Liturgy - Hymns

Family Bible Classes Resume
A Walk Thru the Lutheran Liturgy

This summer’s topic: A Walk Thru the Lutheran Liturgy
This Sunday we’ll look at The Hymns Lutheran's use in worship. We'll talk about what makes a hymn a good choice for singing during worship.
Sunday at 10:30am.

Labels: Education

  ¶ 8/25/2006 11:48:00 AM 0 Comments

  Worship This Week - August 27, 2006
Worship This Week – August 27, 2006
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (LW, Series B)
Seasonal Emphasis: General descriptions of Christian living in this world
Today's General Theme: Humility is characteristic of God's children
Mood of Service: Determined/devotional
NOTES: There is great similarity between today's emphasis and that of Pentecost 4. However, that Sunday proclaimed the great truth that God forgives, while today focuses more on the attitude of the person who sees his need for that forgiveness. The beauty of God's grace in Christ is certainly shining strongly through both Sundays! In emphasizing the humility that characterizes God's children, we need to remember that such humility cannot be manufactured by our human wills, but is itself a gift of the Holy Spirit working through the Word. In other words, the preaching of humility is a preaching of the Law and serves to lead us to the comfort of the Gospel when we see our failures. Yet this emphasis is important as a form of spiritual self-examination. (www.pericope.org)
The Old Testament 1 King 19:4-8
The Epistle Eph 4:30-5:2
The Holy Gospel John 6:41-51

Order of Service: Matins
Hymn of Invocation: O Holy Spirit, Enter In - Wie schon leuchtet -- 160 – Lyrics
Office Hymn: Draw Us to You- Ach Gott und Herr -- 153 -- Lyrics
Canticle: Te Deum LW 8
Closing Hymn: In In You Is Gladness - In dir ist Freude -- 442 -- Lyrics

Labels: Worship

  ¶ 8/24/2006 07:45:00 AM 0 Comments

  Pastor's Sermon Posted Pastor Watt's Sermon for The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, August 13th has been posted on his sermon website.  You can read it by clicking here.
The text is

Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” (Exodus 24:3-8, ESV)

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 32:1-4, ESV)

From the sermon...

We should be shaking with fear. We should be hiding under the pew in terror. But, God doesn’t strike us dead as we deserve. He doesn’t give us a plague to bear… or even worse turn away from us and leave us on our own, as we so often ask him to do. He doesn’t do that because of what He has already done for us. He has made for us a covenant, a promise, just like he did with His straying children in the desert. He has made with us a covenant of blood.

Labels: Sermon, Worship

  ¶ 8/12/2006 06:31:00 AM 0 Comments

  Listen to KFUO!
Free Programming for your Christian Faith Listen to Worldwide KFUO!

KFUO is the Radio Voice of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. It is located on the Concordia Seminary Campus in St. Louis, MO. They broadcast across the nation and stream audio around the world proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ to the world. Worldwide KFUO provides quality programs and resources that nurture Christian faith, support and supplement the church's witness to the Gospel and strengthen communication efforts of local congregations.

Here’s some of the Valuable content that is available for FREE download and podcast on the web:

• Issues Etc – Talk Radio for the Thinking Christian


• The Bible Study – Daily Study of God’s Word with St. Louis Area LCMS Pastors


• Law and Gospel – Rev. Tom Baker, discusses Topics from a Law and Gospel prospective


• Wrestling With the Basics – A lighthearted look at the Teachings of the Christian Faith

Find KFUO at http://www.kfuo.org

Labels: News

  ¶ 8/09/2006 10:30:00 AM 0 Comments

  Pastor's Sermon Posted Pastor Watt's Sermon for Rudy's Funeral, August 8th has been posted on his sermon website.  You can read it by clicking here.
The text is

The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. (Exodus 15:2, ESV)

From the sermon...

God has become our salvation in Jesus Christ. His strength didn’t fail him even in the face of death. He didn’t have to suffer and die on the cross for you and me and Rudy. He chose to do it. He chose to do it because He had you and me and Rudy in His heart. He knows how we hate death. He knows how we fear it. He knows what sin does to us. So there on the cross He took our death for sin, our punishment. And what’s most important to remember today, that even though Jesus was strong on the cross, He showed us strength we really need to see today.

Labels: Sermon, Worship

  ¶ 8/08/2006 04:58:00 PM 0 Comments

  Worship This Week – August 13, 2006
Worship This Week – August 13, 2006
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost (LW, Series B)
Seasonal Emphasis: God deserves our praise
Today's General Theme: God's children serve Him faithfully
Mood of Service: Determined/Militant/Spirited
NOTES: Faithfulness and loyalty are prized traits among humans. Both are outward indicators of love. The person who proves unfaithful or disloyal has not simply made a mistake, these outward characteristics point to an inner attitude that does not really care for the person, group or institution toward which he or she should be faithful. On the other hand, the person who proves trustworthy shows that he or she has his or her heart in what they are doing. Could there be any person, group or institution who more deserves our wholehearted faithfulness than our heavenly Father? He has done so very much for us and has clearly proven His amazing love. (www.pericope.org)
Processional Hymn Take my Life, O Lord, Renew - Patmos -- 404 -- Lyrics
Old Testament Reading Exodus 24:3-11
Epistle Reading Ephesians 4:1-7
Holy Gospel John 6:1-15
Hymn of the Day The Church's One Foundation - Aurelia -- 289 -- Lyrics
Distribution Hymns
   Blest Be the Tie That Binds - Boylston -- 295 -- Lyrics
   I Come, O Savior, to Thy Table - Ich sterbe taglich -- 242 -- Lyrics
Recessional Hymn May We Thy Precepts, Lord, Fulfill - Meribah -- 389 -- Lyrics

Labels: Worship

  ¶ 8/08/2006 10:15:00 AM 0 Comments

  United... in Howard. See Pastor Watt's latest "Howard" post on his Sermon Blog titled "United... in Howard" Our Savior provides the words we need to hear when we need to hear them. From the post:

Pastor Jehn's words just crossed the pages of time through the lips of the one hundred year old lying in front of me. What he taught her stuck in her brain to be released to my ears over all that distance of time.

Labels: Article, Holy Communion, Theology

  ¶ 8/07/2006 06:47:00 AM 0 Comments

  Pastor's Sermon Posted Pastor Watt's Sermon for Bertha’s Funeral, July 25th has been posted on his sermon website.  You can read it by clicking here.
The text is

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:13-22, ESV)

From the sermon...

That’s exactly why Jesus came to earth. He actually tore down the dividing wall of hostility. He has already made things the way they are suppose to be. God has reconciled old enemies. God had healed old scars. God has brought together Jew and Gentile. He has done it all Himself in Jesus Christ. Jesus blood shed on the cross has put an end to all sin between them. Through Jesus, God has united Jews and Gentiles into His Church, the One Holy Christian and Apostolic Church. We have one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one Spirit and one Holy Word of God. God has already done it all and we, you and I, right now, have it. Jesus Christ has made things the way they are suppose to be.
How that? You ask, as you look across the aisle at the person you can’t seem to get along with. How has Jesus torn down the wall that separates me from the people I enjoy fighting with? He’s done it with His Holy and precious blood and His innocent suffering and death.

Labels: Sermon, Worship

  ¶ 8/06/2006 03:33:00 PM 0 Comments

  This is Howard...  This is Howard...

I was out walking tonight and took this picture of the new Howard sign. They put it in for Howard's 125th anniversary. Nice. It is a nice place to be. They tell me Howard is typical South Dakota. Well, I am a born and bred Nebraska boy, so I'm not sure exactly what that means. If it means the people are warm and friendly to a fault, well that's Howard. It's a place where it's not unusual for the local businesses to make special arrangements for their customers. "It's part of what we do so we can live in a place like this." I was told by one of them. "It's what makes Howard... well Howard." He said. I guess that's small town middle america talking.

And yet, there are many folks here who just need to hear the Gospel again. Lots of us around here grew up with the faith and it's easy to take it for granted. It's easy to let it be a small part of your whole life and kind of forget that it's most important thing in your whole life...a little like breathing. What Jesus did for us is so much a part of who we are, so much a part of everything we do, that we can't really imagine life any other way. What we forget is that there are people around us who don't know about Jesus. We forget that there are people around us who haven't heard about Jesus in a long time. We forget that the privilege of hearing about the forgiveness of sins in Jesus isn't a common thing. Everyone needs to hear about their sin and Jesus death on the cross to take it away. Even those who firmly hold on to God's promise in Jesus to do just that. We forget that lot's of our friends and neighbors don't hear about that, even on Sundays. Well, that's why God puts His people in small towns, too. What a privilege it is to live in a place where we can really get to know people. God puts us next door to someone we get to know better than they do in big cities. We share common community meals together. We sit by each other at High School football games. We find ourselves together at the post office and the grocery store. If we could just remember to share the thing that is more important to us than anything else. Hey, it really doesn't matter if they know Jesus already. God puts us across the table in the coffee shop to speak forgiveness in Jesus over a coffee cup, especially to a neighbor we know very well.

So I thank God for living in a small town. A place where neighbors still care about each other, and even occasionally go out of their way to help. Is Howard perfect? No. People are people. Sin is sin. Bad news travels fast in small groups. Jesus is there, too, because we are there. He puts us there to speak about Him. This is Howard...

Pastor Watt

Labels: Article

  ¶ 8/03/2006 11:18:00 PM 0 Comments

  Afternoon Ladies Aid Visits Whispering Winds - Aug 2, 2006
On Aug 2, 2006 the Ladies Aid (Afternoon) held there monthly meeting at Whispering Winds in Howard, SD. All had a great time and the food was great! See the pictures here.

Labels: News, Photos

  ¶ 8/02/2006 05:03:00 PM 0 Comments

  Acolyte Procedures Acolyte Procedures

Lighting the Candles

1. Arrive 15 min. early
2. Make sure there are hymnals and bulletins on the pew where you will be sitting
3. at 9:25 am enter the Sacristy.   (The little room near the front of the church).
4. Put on one of the robes available and wait for Pastor to arrive
5. Pray with the Pastor for Holy Spirit to be with us as we serve the congregation
6. At the start of the processional hymn, enter the chancel and bow before the altar.
7. Move inside the upper rail and light the candelabra candles, beginning with the candles closest to the statue of Jesus (inside to outside)
8. If it is a communion Sunday light the communion candles, on the altar, at the same time
9. Move outside the altar rail and bow to the altar together
10. Walk down the isle and sit together on the Pulpit side of the church
11. Participate in the worship service

Extinguishing the Candles

1. When the last verse of the recessional (closing) hymn begins, stand and move toward the altar rail
2. Bow together at the rail and move inside
3. Extinguish the candles on the candelarbra first.  Begin farthest from the statue of Jesus (outside to inside)
4. If it is a communion Sunday, extinguish the communion candles, on the altar, at the same time
5. Move outside the altar rail and bow to the rail together
6. Walk to the sacristy and de-vest (remove the robe)
7. After you leave the sacristy please be sure to bow to the altar on our way

Labels: Calendar, Worship

  ¶ 8/01/2006 11:26:00 AM 0 Comments

  Worship This Week - August 6, 2006
Worship This Week – August 6, 2006
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost (LW, Series B)
Seasonal Emphasis: God deserves our praise
Today's General Theme: Through His Word, God calls us to righteousness
Mood of Service: Determined/bold
NOTES: Today's service has a focus on God's activity through His Word. We are taught that God expects His children to show their faith in renewed living while today's service teaches that the Word as a Means of Grace actually works in us to give new life.   God promises to gather and restore His people.  Today’s readings use the imagery of sheep and shepherd as an illustration of God working in through His Word.  (www.pericope.org)
Processional Hymn The Lord's My Shepherd - Belmont -- LW416 -- Lyrics
Old Testament Reading Jeremiah 23:1-6
Epistle Reading Ephesians 2:13-22
Holy Gospel Mark 6:30-34
Hymn of the Day Jesus, Priceless Treasure - Jesu, meine Freude -- 270 -- Lyrics
Recessional Hymn Lord, Keep us Steadfast in Thy Word - Erhalt uns Herr -- 334 -- Lyrics

Labels: Worship

  ¶ 8/01/2006 08:55:00 AM 0 Comments