651.645.2575
www.mtolive-wels.net
Carl
R. Henkel, pastor
Easter Sunday
April 8,
2007 9:00am
Thank You for sharing this time of worship with
us. We're glad you're here! Please sign the Friendship Register. Do come
again! If you do not have a local church
home, we invite you to make your home with us.
Here you will find Christian love, opportunities for spiritual growth,
warm friendships, and a feeling of being part of the family of God.
The
Offering And The Friendship Register: The members of
Assisting Us In Worship This Morning
Pastor Norb & Margaret Meier, greeters ~
Joel Meier, head usher
Linda Henkel and
Margaret Meier, keyboards
~ Jennifer Arps and Liberty Belter, flute
Alyssa Moline and
Angela Young, trumpet
~ Marcia Schuyler,
clarinet ~ Alex Wiedmann,
violin
We Gather To Celebrate The Resurrection
WORDS OF
WELCOME
David
prophesied it! The apostles witnessed it!
Pastor: "The Lord is risen!”
People: “He
is risen indeed!"
Pastor: Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.
People: One generation will commend Your works to
another: they will tell of Your mighty acts.
Pastor: Our God is a God who saves.
People: He does not treat us as our sins deserve.
Pastor: For God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us,
People: That in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
Pastor: Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, and therefore all died.
People: And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for
themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again.
Pastor: May His Spirit inspire our praise to Him for all of His many blessings showered upon us,
People: And make us able to serve Him willingly throughout our lives.
OPENING HYMN Hymn #157
"Jesus Christ Is Risen Today"
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
Pastor: Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
People: for His steadfast love endures forever!
Pastor: Let
People: "His steadfast love endures forever."
Pastor: Let us confess our sins to God our Father, asking Him for the sake of His Son, Jesus, to grant us forgiveness.
People: Almighty God, merciful Father, we confess to You
all our sins and failings. We have not fulfilled Your Law nor have we obeyed Your commandments. We sin daily and indeed deserve nothing
but Your punishment. With sorrow-filled hearts we turn
to You, asking for mercy and forgiveness. In the name of our crucified and risen Lord, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Pastor: God has forgiven you all your sins! Jesus Christ has taken our sin to the cross and shed His blood for our forgiveness. We have been buried with Him in Baptism and have risen with Him to new life. As His servant, I announce the grace of God to all of You and in the stead and by the command of our Risen Savior, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
Pastor: This
is the day the Lord has made!
People: Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Pastor: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Pastor: Let us pray: The Day of Resurrection has dawned upon us, the day of true light and life, wherein Christ, the life of believers, arose from the dead. Let us give abundant thanks and praise to God, that while we solemnly celebrate the day of our Lord's resurrection, He may be pleased to bestow on us quiet peace and special gladness; so that being protected from morning to night by His favoring mercy, we may rejoice in the gift of our Redeemer.
People: Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT Exodus 15:1-11
(Moses
and the people of Israel sing a song, praising God for saving them from
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: "I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted. The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him.
“The
Lord is a warrior; the Lord is His name. Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has
hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh's officers are drowned in the
"Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic in power. Your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy. In the greatness of Your majesty You threw down those who opposed You. You unleashed Your burning anger; it consumed them like stubble. By the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood firm like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
"The enemy boasted, 'I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.' But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
"Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like You-- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”
RESPONSE (sung to the tune of hymn #149)
Christ the Lord this day has risen,
The bright crown to Him is given.
He now rules o'er all the
world,
All the earth bow
down in praise.
EPISTLE LESSON I Corinthians 15:3-23
(Paul's encouragement to hold fast to the teaching of the resurrection of Jesus.)
For what I received I passed on to you as of
first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures, and that He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that,
He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of
whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all He
appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be
called an apostle, because I persecuted the
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them-- yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead. But He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised.
For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
But
Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits
of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through
a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a
RESPONSE (sung to the tune of hymn #149)
Alleluia, Christ is king,
Over death does He now reign.
He has brought forth life from death.
By His Gospel now we live!
(c) Rev. Russell A. Nebhut, 2004. Used by permission.
GOSPEL LESSON Luke 24:1-12
(The resurrection of Jesus from the dead.)
Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the 24th chapter.
People: Glory
to You, O Lord.
Pastor: But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them,
People: "Why do you seek the living
among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how He told you, while
He was still in
Pastor: And they remembered His words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
People: Now
it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other
women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed
to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
Pastor: Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
Pastor: This is
the Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise
to You, O Christ.
CHOIR ANTHEM “We
Welcome Glad Easter”
THE CONFESSION OF OUR FAITH (spoken responsively)
Pastor: In Whom do you
believe?
People: I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth
Pastor: Lord God, we exalt You
as our Maker, Creator of the universe!
People: I believe in Jesus Christ, His only
Son, our Lord
Pastor: Lord Jesus, as Peter declared, so we
declare, "You are the Messiah, sent from God!"
People: He was conceived by the power of the
Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary
Pastor: Jesus, You are Son of Man and Son of
God, fully human and fully Divine.
People: He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, died, and was buried.
Pastor: Precious Lord, even as You predicted Your terrible death, so it came to pass. You
are the Savior and Redeemer of the world.
People: He descended into hell.
Pastor: You proclaimed Your
victory over sin, death and hell itself.
People: THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN FROM THE
DEAD! He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father
almighty.
Pastor: Hallelujah! You are the Resurrection
and the Life!
People: He will come again to judge the living
and the dead.
Pastor: You are King of kings and Lord of
lords. We await
the day of Your coming!
People: I believe in the Holy Spirit,
Pastor: You are our Comforter, Counselor, our
Helper and our Guide.
People: the holy Christian Church,
Pastor: We are the Church, O Lord, the Bride being made ready for the Bridegroom!
People: the communion of saints,
Pastor: There are people all over the world who
believe in You and who are saved.
People: the forgiveness of sins,
Pastor: You have fulfilled our greatest need –
the total, absolute, complete forgiveness of all our sins.
People: THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY,
Pastor: You are our Redeemer, O Lord. We know
that You live and that You will stand upon the earth
at the last, and that we too will be resurrected from the dead.
People: and the life everlasting.
Pastor: Thank you for the cross and the empty
tomb, Lord Jesus. By Your death and
resurrection we have eternal life.
All: Christ is risen! He is risen
indeed! Alleluia! Amen!
HYMN Hymn #156
"Awake,
My Heart, with Gladness”
RESPONSE Hymn #165 stanzas 1 and 9
O sons and
daughters of the King, whom heav’nly hosts in glory
sing,
Today the grave
has lost its sting! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia!
On this most holy
day of days, to God our hearts and voices raise
In laud and
jubilee and praise! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia!
Pastor: Lord Jesus, risen gloriously from the dead, we worship You as our living Savior, who has redeemed us to be Your own eternally; and we adore You as Conqueror of Satan, sin and death.
People: Accept us and our Easter hallelujahs, which we bring to You with all believers of all ages and races and nations.
Pastor: Joy fills our hearts as we come into Your presence; for Your resurrection proclaims to us and all believers forgiveness of all sins,
People: which brings peace to our hearts and songs of
praise to our lips. We know that
we are now reconciled to God, our heavenly Father.
Pastor: Joy fills our hearts as we worship You, the eternal, living Lord; for death cannot hold us in terror, and even the grave cannot keep our dust and ashes. We need not weep despairing tears;
People: for You will raise us and all believers to eternal life. Our loved ones fallen asleep in You are in Your safekeeping, eternally delivered from this world of suffering and pain.
Pastor: Joy fills our hearts as we today join with all Your people to praise You; for we know that the gates of hell will not prevail against Your Church,
People: which by Your power and strength goes on from victory to victory as we bear witness of You and confess Your name to the ends of the earth.
Pastor: Take full possession of our hearts today. Cleanse us from all sin. Keep us in Your grace. Let not the cares and worries of life rob us of the joy of Your Gospel.
People: Increase the number of Your faithful people from day to day. Gather from all nations of the earth Your own elect. Then Yours shall be the glory, Yours the honor, Yours the praise, throughout all eternity. Amen. Hallelujah! Amen.
LORD'S PRAYER
HYMN Hymn #146
“His
Stanzas 1-3: Choir
and Sunday School children
Stanza 4: Congregation He burst the
chains of sin, opened deaths dark jail.
God filled Him
with new life, life that could not fail.
Right before their
eyes, Jesus did arise.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
CLOSING
PRAYER
BENEDICTION
CLOSING HYMN Hymn #152
“I Know that My Redeemer Lives”
Today: 7:30am Easter
Breakfast
9:00am “Time of Grace” on WUCW, Channel 23
9:00am Festival
of the Resurrection Worship
10:00am Fellowship
Hour
10:30am NO Education Hour
Monday: 11:30am Mt.
Olive Worship Service on Cable Channel 14
Tuesday: 11:30am Senior Luncheon at
7:00pm “More Than
Rubies” Bible Study
Thursday: 10:00am “Explorers of the Word” Bible
Class
Next Sunday: 9:00am Family
Worship with Holy Communion
10:30am Education
Hour
DATE: Tuesday,
April 10th
TIME:
WHERE:
MENU: Ham, Mashed Potatoes &
Gravy, Green Beans, Rolls & Butter, Coconut Cream Pie or Banana Cream Pie
COST: Freewill
Offering
·
Try
your luck at “Spring Bingo”!
It’s Been 10 Years since
Whenever We Have The
Sincerest Thanks
to the following people for providing chancel flowers on this Easter
Sunday. Your flowers may be picked up at
the close of this morning's worship service or you may leave them and pick them
up at a later date. Thanks also to our
Altar Guild for all your work in arranging the flowers so beautifully. Your service of love does not go
unnoticed!
Bob & Lois Bentson To
the glory of God
Darryl & Pam Folkens To
the glory of God
Josh & Becky Fulwider To
the glory of God
Pastor
& Linda Henkel In
memory of Herman and Helen Henkel
Laura Henriksen In
honor of Grandma Mary Henriksen
Jerry & Mary Holen In
memory of loved ones
Don & Ann Karpenko To
the glory of God
Joel Meier Family In memory of Fran's dad,
Joseph Falteisek
Pastor Norb & Margaret Meier To
the glory of God
Lee & Linda
Petersen In memory of
loved ones
Jerry Schelkoph In
memory of Marlene Schelkoph
Mae Schmidt To the glory of God
Greg & Marcia
Schuyler In memory of loved
ones
Kevin Stifter Family To
the glory of God
Marlene Struwe In
memory of parents
Ed & Marcella
Voss To the glory of God