This coming Sunday will be a special
day. This coming Sunday is Trinity Sunday where we remember that we worship one
God in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God the Father has created
you. God the Son has died and risen for you. God the Spirit has promised to
guide you. That is why we are bold to say: Let us make our beginning in the
Name of the Father, and of the † Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Opening Prayer: Almighty and
everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the
eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the Unity in
the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us
from all adversities; for You, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
Hymn: #39 Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God
Almighty
Confession/Absolution:
LORD - we pray to you also for the
forgiveness of our sins. Have mercy upon us, most merciful Father.
In Your compassion forgive us our sins.
Known and unknown. Things done. And left undone. And so uphold us by Your
Spirit.
That we may live and serve you in newness of
life. To the honor and glory of Your Name. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on you. Forgive you
all your sins.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ. And may He
strengthen you in all goodness.
And by the
power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.
John 3:1-16 There was a
Pharisee called Nicodemus. He was one of the Jewish leaders. He came to speak with Jesus at night. He said
to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we know that God has sent you to us. We have seen the
miracles that you are doing. Nobody could do these things unless God was with
him.’ Jesus replied, ‘I tell you this:
Unless a person is born from above, they cannot understand the kingdom of God.’
Nicodemus asked, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot return into
his mother's body. He cannot be born a second time.’
Jesus explained, ‘I tell you this: Unless
a person is born by water and by God's Spirit, he cannot come into the kingdom
of God. People give birth to what is
human. But God's Spirit gives birth to spirit. I said to you, “You must be born from above.”
What I said should not surprise you. When someone is born by God's Spirit, it is
like the wind that blows. The wind blows wherever it chooses to blow. You can
hear it. But you do not know where it came from or where it is going.’
Nicodemus asked, ‘How can this happen?’ Jesus replied, ‘You are an important teacher
of people in Israel. You ought to understand these things! I tell you this: We
speak about things that we know. We tell you about what we have seen. But even
then, you people do not believe our message. I have told you about things that
happen in this world. And you do not believe me. But now I am telling you about
things that happen in heaven. So I do not think that you will ever believe me
about those things. The Son of Man came down from heaven. Nobody else has gone
up to heaven except him. Long ago Moses lifted the metal snake in the
wilderness to save his people. In the same way, people must lift the Son of Man
on a cross. As a result, everyone who believes him will be able to live forever
with God.
God loved the people in the world so much
that he gave his one and only Son to save them. As a result, everyone who
believes in the Son will not die. Instead, they will live forever with God.’[i]
Law/Gospel Theme: Our lesson for
today reminds us that God the Father loved the world so much that He sent
Jesus! The blessed and beautiful truth of the Gospel is that we do not
have to do anything special to receive this new life. We receive this salvation
great and free as a gift! And It’s all
For You!
In our Gospel story today, Nicodemus heard
Jesus say that he should be “born again.” Nicodemus had heard about
Jesus. And he wanted to ask Jesus some questions about who He was and what He
was doing. He came to Jesus at nighttime. And started asking Him how He was
doing the things He did.
Jesus told Nicodemus that he needed to be
born again. And Nicodemus had a tough time understanding that. Was he
supposed to shrink down and become a tiny baby all over again? How could that
happen? Jesus explained that this was a different kind of birth.
What does that really mean?
1. You are born once
– We are all born human.
We have physical bodies. And physical
birth. We’re all human. That is the one thing that binds us together as people.
We are human. We are mortal.
Jesus also has shared our nature. He too,
took on flesh and dwelt among us. As a human He experienced everything that you
do. He was born. He grew. He grew tired. And got thirsty and hungry. He became
physically weak. He died. And he had a human body after His resurrection. He
felt every emotion that you will ever experience in this life. You are not
alone. Jesus knows and understands everything you experience in this life.
Jesus is like you in every respect —
human body, heart, mind, and will — Except for sin (Hebrews 2:17; 4:15). How
amazing that the divine Son of God would not just take on part of our humanity
on that first Christmas, but all of it — And then take that true humanity all
the way to the cross for you, and now into heaven and the new creation.
And He promises you to give you HIS OWN
LIFE.
Being born again happens through the
POWER of His Holy Spirit.
2. You are born
twice – born spiritually – born again by Water and the Spirit.
Jesus tells us that faith gives us this
new life. You become a new creation. And have a special kind of “birth” that
saves you eternally. Do you know what we have to do to receive this? Nothing at
all! All we have to do is believe it to be so. And trust in the Father’s
promises.
Jesus told Nicodemus to accept His free
gift of salvation. And receive eternal life. Jesus told Nicodemus that God
loved us so much He gave up His son. What a beautiful gift! That message wasn’t
just for Nicodemus. It’s for you, too!
All we have to do is trust the Father’s promises
and receive that new life. Why don’t we thank God for that right now?
Prayer: LORD - Thank you for sending
Jesus. Thank you that we can have this new life. Help us remember that every
day. Thank you for your love and care.
Hymn: #40 How Firm A Foundation
The Collect for Purity Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name, through Christ our Lord. Amen
In peace let us pray to the LORD. Today we pray…
For all people in their daily life and work.
We pray -For our families, friends, and neighbors, and for those who are alone.
We pray -For this community at Lincolnshire, the nation, and the world.
We pray -For all who work for justice, freedom, and peace.
We pray -For the just and proper use of your creation.
We pray -For the victims of hunger, fear, injustice, and oppression.
We pray -For all who are in danger, sorrow, or any kind of trouble.
We pray -For those who minister to the sick, the friendless, and the needy.
We pray -For the peace and unity of the Church of God.
We pray -For all who proclaim the Gospel, and all who seek the Truth.
We pray -For all who serve God in his Church.
We pray -For the special needs and concerns at this place... we ask you to hear us,
Lord.
We pray -For your mercy is great. We thank you, Lord, for all the blessings of this
life... We will exalt you, O God our King; And praise your Name for ever and
ever.
LORD, let your loving-kindness be upon them,
who put their trust in you.
Direct us, O Lord, in all our actions by
Your gracious favor, and further us with Your continual help that in all our
works, begun, continued, and ended in Your name, we may glorify Your holy name
and finally by Your mercy receive eternal life.
Visit, O Lord, the homes in which Your
people dwell, and keep all harm and danger far from them.
Grant that we may dwell together in peace
under Your protection, sharing eternally in Your blessings.
Lord God, You
showed Your glory and led many to faith by the works of Your Son. As He brought
gladness and healing to His people, grant us these same gifts, and lead us also
to perfect faith in Him.
Almighty God, you
sent your Son to proclaim your kingdom and to teach with authority. Anoint us
with the power of your Spirit, that we, too, may bring good news to the
afflicted, bind upon the brokenhearted, and proclaim liberty to the captives.
Faithful God,
whose mercies are new to us every morning, we humbly pray that You would look
upon us in mercy and renew us by Your Holy Spirit.
Keep safe our
going out and our coming in, and let Your blessing remain with us throughout
this day. Preserve us in Your righteousness and grant us a portion in that
eternal life which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Luther’s Morning Prayer
We thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept us from all harm and danger; and we pray that You would keep us this day also from sin and every evil, that all our doing and life may please You. For into Your hands we commend ourselves, our body and soul, and all things. Let your Holy Spirit be with us, that the evil foe have no power over us.
As our Savior
Christ has taught, we are bold to pray:
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.
Go and live a
deeper life in Christ. A more holy communion with one another. And a greater
love for the world.
The Blessing of
God; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be with you all.
Hymn: #37 He’s
Got the Whole World in His Hands
Words – 1,905
Passive sentences
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Readability 83-%
Reading Level -4.2
Image of the Trinity copyright Ed Riojas, Higher Things
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