Pages

Thursday, July 18, 2024

Weekly Newsletter

Glimpses of Glendale
Glendale Lutheran Church Newsletter


July 18, 2024

How's Your Comprehension? - article by Joel Hempel


Quite frankly, academic comprehension was a challenge for me throughout most of my undergraduate studies – until I met Marcia. Go figure!

In Ephesians 3:18-19, St. Paul prays that Christians then and now would have the strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of God’s love], and to know [the] love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.


Although my comprehension improved after meeting Marcia, I still struggled to appreciate the magnitude of God’s love for you and me. Understandably! Notice the oxymoron Paul uses when he implores us to know the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge! God’s love for us is beyond human understanding because it doesn’t make sense how the Creator of the Universe can be so much in love with people who were and continue to be oppositional.   

God wants us to know that although we cannot know what surpasses human understanding, He surely wants us to invest ourselves in trying. God inspired biblical authors to write about his love for us so we would read and absorb the fullness of His love for us (see Micah 7:18-19; Romans 8:38-39; Ephesians 2:4-6; 1 John 4:8-10).


God inspired poets and musicians to create love songs and hymns that lift us out of ourselves and into the arms of God (e.g., Love Divine, All Loves Excelling by Charles Wesley; My Song is Love Unknown by Samuel Crossman; Oh, How He Loves You and Me by Kurt Kaiser).


And God inspires us to love one another with the love we have received from on High (see 1 John 4:7-8, 11-12; 1 Corinthians 13:1-8).


However, it is important to note that behaviors and attitudes can get in the way of looking deeply into the eyes of God, the eyes of the Gospel, and seeing God’s never-ending, never-failing, always-forgiving love.


Among those things that can get in the way are these:


  1. Believing we don’t deserve God’s love because of an ongoing feeling of inadequacy or shame.
  2. An unrepented pattern of sinning blocks a person’s ability to experience God’s love, thus resulting in not receiving a more complete and satisfying life in Christ.
  3. Self-aggrandizement and thinking too highly of oneself. Not seeing any real need to turn away from anything, and thus no heartfelt need to seek or receive forgiveness.


What does God think of those behaviors and attitudes that get in the way of growing in our comprehension of His love? First, God sees us for who we are. If anyone is in Christ [within his embrace], that person is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).


Secondly, our Lord wants us to think on, reflect about, repeatedly and frequently pay attention to the fact that whatever our age, we are new in Christ. At our core, we are NOT our lesser selves. God wants us to see ourselves as He sees us: His saved by grace, adopted and forgiven children. I have loved you with an everlasting love. (see Jeremiah 31:3; John 3:16-17; Romans 8:1; Ephesians 4:22-24; Hebrews 4:15-16; 12:5-6).


By God’s strength and courage, we will leave behind the ways of our old self and more fully take hold of God’s love, clearly revealed in our Lord’s death on the cross. There is no greater love!

Save the Date!


Ladies of GLC you are invited to an “open house” Bridal Shower for Faith Jonas on Sunday afternoon, September 22 from 2:00-3:30 pm. Please stop by the Family Life Center and congratulate Faith and enjoy some cake, punch and fellowship. Faith and Aidan are registered on theknot.com. Please RSVP to Sue Schultz 314-304-0556 or Miriam Lee 314-606-3409 by September 16th. 

Finance Update

Next Sunday's Bible Readings

Genesis 9:8-17; Ephesians 3:14-21; Mark 6:45-56

Worship Leaders

This Sunday - 7/21

Lector: Julie Atwood-Wise

Communion: Mike Toney & Seminary Student

Greeters: Ken & Jeanne Clark

S/V: Terry Young

Ushers: Tony Petzoldt, Ron Froesel, John Steele, Jack Hurley

Children's Message: Ryan Philpot

Next Sunday - 7/28

Lector: Ryan Philpot

Communion: John Steele & Seminary Student

Greeters: Paul & Sandy Barbercheck

S/V: Ken Clark

Ushers: Terry Buchholz, Rodger Lubben, Jeanne Lipinski, Judy George

Children's Message: Janet Leet

The Word Within the Word
Online Calendar

Glendale Lutheran Church

Monday-Thursday 8:00 am-4:30 pm

(314) 966-3220

glendalelutheranchurch@gmail.com

Connect With Us:
Facebook  Twitter  Instagram  

Worship Bulletin


Welcome to Glendale Lutheran!


A viewing guide for “The Chosen” is available in the back of the church. Season 4 is now available.


Deacon List…If you need to talk to a fellow believer, email or call Pastor Scott or one of these deacons: Joel Hempel (jhempel411@gmail.com), Marcia Hempel (mshempel11@att.net), Bob Jacobson (rjacobson@hy-c.com), Tony Petzoldt (tonypetzoldt@sbcglobal.net), or Becci Lauber Sasser (beccijlauber@yahoo.com). 

The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

July 21, 2024

9:15am

Prelude


Greeting and Welcome


Lighting of the Candles


Hymn of Invocation – Come, People of the Risen King


Come, people of the Risen King

Who delight to bring Him praise

Come all and tune your hearts to sing

To the Morning Star of grace

From the shifting shadows of the earth

We will lift our eyes to Him

Where steady arms of mercy reach

To gather children in


Rejoice, Rejoice

Let every tongue rejoice

One heart, one voice

O Church of Christ, rejoice


Come, those whose joy is morning sun

And those weeping through the night

Come, those who tell of battles won

And those struggling in the fight

For His perfect love will never change

And His mercies never cease

But follow us through all our days

With the certain hope of peace


Come, young and old from every land

Men and women of the faith

Come, those with full or empty hands

Find the riches of His grace

Over all the world, His people sing

Shore to shore we hear them call

The Truth that cries through every age

"Our God is all in all"


+ Preparation +


Invocation

P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen.


Opening SentencesPsalm 40:11, 16; 145:1–4

P: I will extol You, my God and King, and bless Your name forever and ever.

C: Every day I will bless You and praise Your name forever and ever.

P: Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable.

C: One generation shall commend Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.

P: As for You, O LORD, You will not restrain Your mercy from me; Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness will ever preserve me!

C: But may all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who love Your salvation say continually, “Great is the LORD!”


Confession and Absolution

P: Let us humble ourselves before God, confess our sins to Him, and ask His gracious forgiveness.

C: We humbly confess to God Almighty, before the whole company of heaven and before one another, that we are sinful human beings by nature and by deed. We have not always put God first. We have used His holy name in ways that do not honor Him. We have not always been thoughtful caretakers of His creation and have not shared His bounty with others at all times. We have been heedless in word and deed and have not always kept our thoughts, words, and deeds pure and honorable. We strayed from His paths of righteousness and have sinned in ways we know and in ways we do not even recognize. We have wished for that which is not rightfully ours and have not put the best construction on all things and on all people. We pray God to have mercy on us, to forgive us all our sins, and to bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

P: The almighty and merciful Lord grant us pardon, forgiveness, and remission of all our sins. As a brother in Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen.


+ Word +


Introit 

P: You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

C: Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre!

P: He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills.

C: He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry.

P: His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,

C: but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

All: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen

P: You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.


Salutation and Prayer of the Day

P: The Lord be with you. 

C: And also with you.

P: Let us pray. Heavenly Father, though we do not deserve Your goodness, still You provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may acknowledge Your gifts, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: Amen.


First ReadingEcclesiastes 7:1–14, 20

A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth.

It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.

Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.

The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.

It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools. For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity.

Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart.

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.

Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.

Wisdom is good with an inheritance, an advantage to those who see the sun. For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.

Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked?

In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.


P: This is the Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.


Epistle Ephesians 2:11–22

Remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 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.


P: This is the Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.


Holy GospelMark 6:30-44

P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the sixth chapter.

C: Glory to You, O Lord.


The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.


P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C: Praise to You, O Christ.


Apostles' Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.


And 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 sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence 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.


Children’s Hymn – Let Me Learn of Jesus (AGPS 156)


Let me learn of Jesus; 

He is kind to me;

Once He died to save me,

Nailed upon the tree.


When I go to Jesus, 

He will hear me pray,

Make me pure and holy,

Take my sins away.


Oh, how good is Jesus! 

May He hold my hand

And at last receive me

To a better land.


Children’s Sermon – Ryan Philpot 


Hymn of the Day – Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise (LSB 802)


Immortal, invisible, God only wise,

In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,

Most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,

Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.


Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,

Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;

Thy justice like mountains high soaring above

Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.


To all life Thou givest—to both great and small—

In all life Thou livest, the true Life of all;

We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree

And wither and perish—but naught changes Thee.


Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,

Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;

All laud we would render: O help us to see

’Tis only the splendor of light that hides Thee.


Sermon 


Offering 


Offertory  


Prayers


+ Celebrating birthdays this week: 21 – Thomas Sowers, William DeBord, Landon Climer; 23 – Tom Crabtree, Silas Renschler; 24 – Clayton Toney, Julie Atwood-Wise

+ Wedding anniversaries: 25 – John & Pat Steele; 27 – Mike & Lisa Grossenheider


Special Celebrations and Needs:

+ Church family members: Family and friends of Rudy Schaser, mourning his death last month; Valerie Wehmueller, with a broken arm; Sherman Moore; Janet Hurley, upon the return of her cancer; Sharon Gaal, recovering from surgery; Vicki Lucas, recovering from a stroke; Paul Schultz; Ken Kight; Gloria Nobis.

+ Friends of our congregation: Barbara Huggins, in rehab with a broken leg; Eddie, brother-in-law of Andrea Anderson, fighting lymphoma of the uvula; Rebecca Guion, daughter-in-law of Mary Guion.

+ Those who are homebound or in nursing facilities: Twylah Atwood, Mary Aufderheide, Jules Bush, Frank & Sharon Gaal, Mary Guion, Jerry & Jane Keathley, Cindy Smith, Shirley Williams


+ Sacrament +


Preface

P: The Lord be with you.

C: And also with you.

P: Lift up your hearts. 

C: We lift them to the Lord.

P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

C: It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

P: It is truly good, right, and proper that we should give thanks to You, O Lord, for in Jesus Christ, the servant of all, You have shown Your saving power and Your great compassion. Grant that we may live in humility, honoring our Good Shepherd in all that we do. Gathered at the Table of the Lord, we rejoice that we are given a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. Pour out Your Holy Spirit upon us, merciful Lord, that we rejoice in the gifts before us and praise You with thankful hearts.


Prayer of Thanksgiving

P: Blessed are You, O Lord of heaven and earth. We give thanks to You for the gifts of bread and wine here before us and for Your gracious provision for all of Your creatures. Invited by Your grace and supported by Your love, we come to Your Table with thanksgiving and praise. Grant that we with true faith and trust in Your words of promise receive the bread and wine, that is, the very body and blood of Christ, as a guarantee of the salvation that He purchased for us through His innocent suffering and death on the cross. Receive our prayers and praises and grant us Your goodness and mercy day by day. To You alone, O Father, be all glory, honor, and praise with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: Amen.


The Words of Our Lord

P: 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 do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”


Proclamation of Christ

P: As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

C: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

P: O Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, in giving us Your body and blood to eat and to drink, You lead us to remember and confess Your holy cross and passion, Your blessed death, Your rest in the tomb, Your resurrection from the dead, Your ascension into heaven, and Your coming for the final judgment. So remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:


Lord’s Prayer

Our Father who art 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.


Pax Domini 

P: The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C: Amen.


Distribution 


Distribution Hymn – Your Table I Approach (LSB 628)


Your table I approach;

Dear Savior, hear my prayer.

Let not an unrepentant heart

Prove hurtful to me there.


Lord, I confess my sins

And mourn their wretched bands;

A contrite heart is sure to find

Forgiveness at Your hands.


Your body and Your blood,

Once slain and shed for me,

Are taken at Your table, Lord,

In blest reality.


Search not how this takes place,

This wondrous mystery;

God can accomplish vastly more

Than what we think could be.


O grant, most blessèd Lord,

That earth and hell combined

May not about this sacrament

Raise doubt within my mind.


Oh, may I never fail

To thank You day and night

For Your true body and true blood,

O God, my peace and light.


Blessing


Post-Communion Collect

P: Let us pray. Almighty and ever-living God, we thank You for having fed us with the body and blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ, assuring us thereby that we are truly members of His Body, the church. And we ask You to help us by Your Holy Spirit that we may continue in this fellowship and do the good works You desire us to do; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 

C: Amen.


Benediction 

P: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and + give you peace.

C: Amen.


Closing Hymn – O Word of God Incarnate (LSB 523)


O Word of God incarnate,

O Wisdom from on high,

O Truth unchanged, unchanging,

O Light of our dark sky:

We praise You for the radiance

That from the hallowed page,

A lantern to our footsteps,

Shines on from age to age.


The Church from You, dear Master,

Received the gift divine;

And still that light is lifted

O’er all the earth to shine.

It is the chart and compass

That, all life’s voyage through,

Mid mists and rocks and quicksands

Still guides, O Christ, to You.


O make Your Church, dear Savior,

A lamp of burnished gold

To bear before the nations

Your true light as of old!

O teach Your wand’ring pilgrims

By this their path to trace

Till, clouds and darkness ended,

They see You face to face!


Postlude 




+ WORSHIP LEADERS +

Preacher/Liturgist – Seminarian Ryan Philpot

Celebrant – Pastor Steve Albers

Organist/Pianist – Seth Carruthers

Lector – Julie Atwood-Wise

Communion – Mike Toney & Seminary Student

Sound/Video – Terry Young

Ushers – Tony Petzoldt, Ron Froesel, John Steele, Jack Hurley

Greeters – Ken & Jeanne Clark


Acknowledgments
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.