Sunday, February 25, 2018

180 Anniversary Service



A 21st Century Parish with a 1st Century Faith
Acts 2:42


Celebrating the signing of our Parish Charter
February 25, 1838 – February 25, 2018
  



Greetings in Christ! On this day, 180 years ago, February 25, 1838 fifty-six persons under the pastoral guidance of Pr. Jesse Hoover gathered to sign our congregation’s charter becoming the first Christian congregation in Adams County and only the second church in northeast Indiana. Through the years the Lord had directed us to remain a house of peace, a safe haven and a harbor of hope in this world. May the Lord continue to bless our Friedheim family to remain a House of Peace.   




The Opening Hymn:
Years of Joy and Preservation

Thanks, dear Lord, and adoration
For Thy blessings we received,
Years of joy and preservation
For our church, Lord, You did give;
Words of love and free salvation,
Sacraments for all in need,
On this day of Jubilation
Honor, praise, and thanks we give.

To this day, Lord You have given
Thy true Word to guide our lives,
Helped us through great trials and hardships
Gave us comfort, strength in strife
Schools to teach the Word to children
Guidance for our youth this day
Love and care for family living,
Praise, Oh Lord, to Thee we say.

Zion, lift your hearts and voices
On this celebration day.
Thanks and praise to our dear Savior,
Guide our footsteps on our way
May we all be true and faithful
To Your Word and Sacrament
Spread the news of our Salvation
Love and mercy without end.
 – Words and music © 1988 by Jo Buuck and Lydia Kalthoff

The Invocation
P: Recalling our baptism, we make our beginning in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C: AMEN

P 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.

P Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C who made heaven and earth.

P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Silence for reflection on God's Word and for self-examination.

P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C 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, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.

P 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 T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.

The Introit                    1 Chron. 29:10b, 11, 13; antiphon: Ps. 26:8

O LORD, I love the habitation | of your house*
and the place where your | glory dwells.
Blessèd are you, O LORD, the God of | Israel*
our father, forever and | ever.
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the | majesty,*
for all that is in the heavens and in the | earth is yours.
Yours is the kingdom, | O LORD,*
and you are exalted as head a- | bove all.
And now we thank you, | our God,*
and praise your | glorious name.
Glory be to the Father and | to the Son*
and to the Holy | Spirit;
as it was in the be- | ginning,*
is now, and will be forever. | Amen.
O LORD, I love the habitation | of your house*
and the place where your | glory dwells.

The Prayer of the Day: O God, You see that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul through Jesus Christ, Your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
The Choir
The Service of the Word




The Way of the cross Involves Suffering for Christians
Theme: Lent is a Time of Suffering



Genesis 28:10-17God confronts Jacob while fleeing from Esau
Romans 5:1-11Christians rejoice in their sufferings for Christ
Mark 8:31-38 Jesus announces His suffering in Jerusalem









Hymn of the Day: “Great is Thy FaithfulnessLSB #809


The HomilyThe Way of the cross involves suffering” –Mark 8:27-38
1.       Deny self v.34
2.       Lose self v. 35
3.       Crucify self v. 34

The Announcements

The Gathering of the Morning Offering

Litany for our 180th Anniversary Celebration

For the Church universal, of which these buildings are a visible symbol,
We thank you, Lord.

For your presence whenever two or three have gathered in Your name,
We thank you, Lord.

For this place where we may be still and know that you are God,
We thank you, Lord.

For the fulfilling of our desires and petitions as You see best for us,
We thank you, Lord.

For our past and a vision of the future that lies ahead,
We thank you, Lord.

For the gift of the Holy Spirit and new life in baptism,
We thank you, Lord.

For the pardon of our sins when we have fallen short of Your glory,
We thank you, Lord.

For the Sacraments in which we have a foretaste of Your eternal kingdom,
We thank you, Lord.

For the blessing of our vows and the crowning of our years with your goodness,
We thank you, Lord.

For the faith of those who have gone before us and for our encouragement by their perseverance,
We thank you, Lord.

For all the benefactors of this place who have died in the peace of Christ and are at rest
We thank you, Lord.

For the fellowship of all your saints,
We thank you, Lord.

O God, from living and chosen stones you prepare an everlasting dwelling place for Your majesty. Grant that in the power of the Holy Spirit those who serve You here may always be kept within Your presence. This we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever.
Amen.

The Prayers of the People of God at Friedheim

We praise You heavenly Father for the great privilege which is ours this day to humbly come before You, and lovingly praise and thank You as we reflect on the history of our parish which was established 180 years ago.

We thank You for every memory that our celebrations revives, and for the great number of witnesses who have made the 180th  anniversary of our church an occasion for celebration.

We pray that You will deepen within each of us a sense of gratitude for the many sacrifices made for us by those who have gone before us, and thereby find this parish a house of peace, a safe haven and a harbor of hope. May we continue to see, by faith, the needs of those around us and the needs of those who shall come after us, and do all that is possible to show to them our witness in word and deed of the riches of life with Christ. In Jesus name we pray.


The Benediction

Day of Jubilation

This day of Jubilation, We raise our thanks to Thee
For many blessings given, Faithful we’ll strive to be
For many blessings given, Faithful we’ll strive to be.


As members then of Zion, United here we stand
And bow our heads in worship, Lord bless our church and land
And bow our heads in worship, Lord bless our church and land.

The little ones do feed them, With food Lord from above
That tells of their dear Savior, And His undying Love
That tells of their dear Savior, And His undying Love.

Be with our precious youth, Lord.  For them we truly pray
Keep them forever faithful, And pure in heart each day
Keep them forever faithful, And pure in heart each day.

The lonely, sick, and shut-ins, Oh, grant them Lord to be
Faithful and true ‘til You come, To take them home to Thee
Faithful and true ‘til You come, To take them home to Thee.

Let’s now unite our efforts, To spread the news abroad
Our Savior has redeemed us, He is our King and Lord
Our Savior has redeemed us, He is our King and Lord.
 – Words and music © 1998 by Jo Buuck and Lydia Kalthoff


"Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest" - John 3:35

No comments: