The Fifth Sunday of Easter

April 20, 2008 9:00am

Thank You for sharing this time of worship with us. Do come again! If you do not have a local church home, we invite you to make your home with us. You will find Christian love, opportunities for spiritual growth, warm friendships, and an appreciation of being part of God’s family. Visitors: Please include your email address in the Friendship Register information. Thanks!

The Lord's Supper is being celebrated today. This special meal, instituted by Christ, unites us with Him and our brothers and sisters in the faith. This sacrament is intended for those who are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; trust in Jesus Christ as the only way to heaven; and believe that the true body and blood of Jesus are present with the bread and wine of Holy Communion. Guests who share this faith are invited to speak with the pastor before joining us in this holy meal.

Please Don’t Rush Off After The Worship Service! Stick around for some refreshments and a little conversation. We hope you are able to stay! The Education Hour begins at 10:30am.

Assisting Us In Worship This Morning

Mildred Rilling and Marlene Struwe, greeters

Nicole Burkhardt, organ and keyboard

Alyssa Moline & April Ganske Pearson, trumpets

Tim Wiedmann, communion assistant

We Gather To Worship The Lord

Order of Service: The Service of Word and Sacrament, page 26 in the front of the hymnal

Hymns: 228 537 529 474

Message: Acts 17:1-12

“Being Bold For Jesus Can Get You In Trouble!”

FIRST LESSON Acts 17:1-12

When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ," he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.

But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason's house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: "These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar's decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus."

When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.

As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

EPISTLE I Peter 2:4-10

As you come to Him, the living Stone-- rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him--you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame."

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone," and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message-- which is also what they were destined for.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

HOLY GOSPEL John 14:1-12

Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."

Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we don't know where You are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really knew Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him."

Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don't you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? The words I say to you are not just My own. Rather, it is the Father, living in Me, who is doing His work. Believe Me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

This Week At Mt. Olive

Today: 8:45am Prayer Time in the Fireside Room

9:00am Family Worship Service

10:00am Refreshments and Social Time

10:30am Sunday School and Adult Education Hour

2:00pm Mt. Olive Chinese Church Worship Service

Monday: 2:00pm Worship Service at Lyngblomsten Healthcare Center

7:00pm “Beautiful Feet” Bible Study

Wednesday: 5:30pm Confirmation Class

Thursday: 10:00am “Explorers of the Word” Bible Study

7:00pm “Women in the Word” Bible Study

Friday-Sunday: “Oklahoma” at St. Croix Lutheran High School

Saturday: 8:30am Spring Church Cleaning and Project Day

Next Sunday: 9:00am Family Worship Service

Thursday (5/01): 7:00pm Ascension Worship/St. John’s, NE Minneapolis

Seminary Student On Price Is Right: While on tour in California last month, the choir from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, WI was in the audience of “The Price Is Right” for a taping. Because of a confidentiality agreement, we can only report that choir member Dustin Blumer from Orlando, FL was chosen to "come on down." You'll have to tune in TOMORROW MORNING (Monday, April 21^st) to see the outcome. We're told the choir itself may make an appearance.

The SCLHS Drama Department presents Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical Oklahoma! this Friday, April 25 – 7pm; Saturday, April 26 – 7pm; Sunday, April 27 – 2pm. Reserved seating only. Tickets: $8 – adults; $6 – students/seniors. Order tickets by calling 651-455-1521, x392, or stop in the school office. This will be your last chance to see Senior Sarah Schuyler in a SCLHS production!

The Camp Croix Board has scheduled two weekends for camp cleanup and maintenance. These two weekends are: April 25th - 27th and May 2-4th. Rain or shine, there is work to do. There is plenty of painting and staining needed in the lodge and general camp cleanup and maintenance outside too. If you can volunteer for a day, please come and join us. If you can stay over night, there is space available to stay in the lodge, the nurse’s cabin, in the cabins, or one of the camping spots if you have a camper. No charge of course! No food is provided so plan accordingly. If you have any questions, contact: Tom Hosek (651) 472-3788 or Henry Hoeft (651) 278-3339. In case you plan to do some fishing, a fishing license for the 2008-2009 season is required by April 1st, 2008.

The Ascension Of Jesus Into Heaven, until recently, was celebrated with special worship services in all our congregations. Sadly, most congregations have dropped this special worship opportunity because of poor attendance. We’d like to offer an opportunity for you to again celebrate this special event with your fellow Christians. This year’s service will be held May 1^st, 7:00pm, at St. John’s in Northeast Minneapolis, (15 minutes from Mt. Olive.) About six congregations have been invited. Please plan to attend! If you’d like to serve as an instrumentalist or sing in a mass choir, please sign up today! Pie and ice cream will be served by the ladies of St. John’s following the service.

Women's Guild Work Night: Thursday, May 8, 7:00pm. All members of Mt. Olive are invited to join us on May 8th as we work on projects to be sent to Terry and Mary Schultz for their mission work in Peru. As many of you heard earlier this year, the MSELP (ELS in Peru) plans to build a kindergarten school building in the area hardest hit by the earthquake that hit Peru last August. Terry can use any and all items that we can supply him with. This includes cross-stitched crosses, laminated bible story pictures, completed craft projects that can be used for teaching and student gifts, etc. No matter what your skill level, we can use your help. If you can help with cutting, please bring a good pair of scissors that you feel comfortable using. We will try to have all other supplies that you will need on hand. We'll end our time together with a light snack and fellowship. Thank you! Linda Petersen and Pam Folkens