The Fourth Sunday After Pentecost

June 24, 2007 9:00am

Thank You for sharing this time of worship with us. We're glad you're here! 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 an appreciation of being part of God’s family.

Please Don’t Rush Off After The Worship Service. Stay for coffee and refreshments followed by a presentation on the Lutheran Home Association, with particular attention on the exciting new project under construction on the Belle Plaine Campus. We hope you are able to stay!

Assisting Us In Worship This Morning

Bob & Lois Bentson and Lois McNamer, greeters

Kevin Marschel, head usher

Nicole Burkhardt, organ and Clavinova

Pastor Ed Fredrich, guest officiant

We Gather To Worship The Lord

Order of Service: Service of the Word, page 38 in front of the hymnal

Hymns: 225 353 385 330

Message: Luke 7:36-50

“Love Overflowing”

THE FIRST LESSON: II Samuel 11:26-12:10,13-15

When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.

The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

"Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him."

David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity."

Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in His eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.'

...Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." Nathan replied, "The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."

After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became ill.

THE SECOND LESSON: Galatians 2:11-21

When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the Gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

"We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

"If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

THE GOSPEL LESSON: Luke 7:36-50

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so He went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind Him at his feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is-- that she is a sinner."

Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said. "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said. Then He turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give Me any water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give Me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing My feet. You did not put oil on My head, but she has poured perfume on My feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-- for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

This Week At Mt. Olive

Today: 9:00am Family Worship Service

10:00am Fellowship Time and Lutheran Home Presentation

Tuesday: 7:00pm “More Than Rubies” Ladies’ Bible Study

Next Sunday: 9:00am “Time of Grace” on WUCW, Channel 23

9:00am Worship / Holy Communion / Pastor Ed Schulz, preaching

10:00am Fellowship Hour

Sincere Thanks to Pastor Ed Fredrich of Belle Plaine, MN for leading us in worship today. May the Lord bless his message!

Kingsway Retirement Living Construction Moving Along: Huge piles of black dirt and sand dominate the northwestern part of The Lutheran Home Campus in Belle Plaine. Construction crews are laying foundation blocks within a hole 45 feet deep for the 137,800 square foot addition - the future site of Kingsway Retirement Living. This new community consists of 45 units of apartments and 36 units of assisted living for adults 55 and older. Amenities include a rathskeller pub, restaurants, indoor parking, fitness center, business center, library, gift shop, washers and dryers in each apartment, balconies/patios, a hot-tub, and much more. Included within the services and amenities is the commitment to provide spiritual care for those individuals choosing to make Kingsway their new home. Reservations are being accepted for these new homes. Please contact Karolee Coppoc, Administrator, at kcoppoc@tlha.org or at 1-888-600-TLHA (8542), extension 126 to learn more about Kingsway.

A New One-Hour Monday Evening Bible Study begins in July. Called “Time of Grace,” it will begin with a viewing of the weekly “Time of Grace” church service with Pastor Mark Jeske, and continue with a discussion of that week’s text and topic. We’ll meet in the Fellowship Hall so we can view Pastor Jeske’s message on the large screen. We hope you can join us! It starts on Monday, July 9^th, at 7:00pm. Plan to attend!

A Baby Shower For Angela Young is being planned for Saturday, July 28, at 4:00 p.m. Mark your calendars and plan to attend to shower our dear friend Angela with all the things new babies need! A sign-up sheet is posted in the narthex.