PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH – “The Great Commission” – HOLY TRINITY – June 4, 2023

The Holy Triune God Recreates Us in the Image and Likeness of Christ Jesus The holy Triune God “created the heavens and the earth,” and “behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:1, 31). However, after Adam and Eve fell into sin and plunged God’s good creation into decay and death, the Son of God would be “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God”…

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OPENING HYMN: #822 Alleluia! Let Praises Ring
HYMN OF THE DAY: #656 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
CLOSING HYMN: #498 Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest

PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH

“The Great Commission”

HOLY TRINITY

June 4, 2023

+ AS WE GATHER +

The Holy Triune God Recreates Us in the Image and Likeness of Christ Jesus

The holy Triune God “created the heavens and the earth,” and “behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:1, 31). However, after Adam and Eve fell into sin and plunged God’s good creation into decay and death, the Son of God would be “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” to be “crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23). As Jesus “received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:33), He also raises up all the baptized and pours out the Spirit upon them through the preaching of His Gospel. He sends out His apostles to “make disciples of all nations” by “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” and “teaching them to observe all that [He has] commanded” (Matt. 28:19–20). Through such baptizing and teaching — Gospel and Sacraments — the holy Triune God recreates us in the image and likeness of His incarnate Son, Jesus, the Christ, and behold, it is “very good” (Gen. 1:31).

WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

OPENING HYMN: #822 Alleluia! Let Praises Ring

INVOCATION

P      In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C     Amen.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION       Psalm 3:4, 8

P     If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

C     But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Silence for meditation and reflection.

P     Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.

C     Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.

P     Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C     Amen.

+ Service of the Word +

INTROIT         Psalm 8; antiphon: v. 9
                        (spoken responsively as marked)

¹O Lord, our Lord,
            how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
      ²Out of the mouth of babes and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
            to still the enemy and the avenger.

³When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
            the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
⁴what is man that you are mindful of him,
            and the son of man that you care for him?

⁵Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
            and crowned him with glory and honor.
⁶You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
            you have put all things under his feet,
⁷all sheep and oxen,
            and also the beasts of the field,
⁸the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
            whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

⁹O Lord, our Lord,
            how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Kyrie

P     In peace let us pray to the Lord. 

C     Lord, have mercy.

P     For the peace from above and for our salvation let us pray to the Lord.

C     Lord, have mercy.

P     For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all let us pray to the Lord.

C     Lord, have mercy.

P     For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship and praise let us pray to the Lord.

C     Lord, have mercy.

P     Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.

C     Amen.

SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY

P      The Lord be with you.

C     And also with you.

P     Let us pray.

       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.

C     Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING    Psalm 16:8–11

Blessèd be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity.
            Let us give glory to him because he has shown his mercy to us.
I have set the Lord always before me;
            because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
            my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
            or let your holy one see corruption.
You make known to me the path of life;
            in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
            and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
            is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Blessèd be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity.
            Let us give glory to him because he has shown his mercy to us.

L          This is the Word of the Lord.

C          Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL    Psalm 145:3, 5b, 6b
                        (spoken together)

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
            and his greatness is unsearchable.
On your wondrous works, I will meditate,
            and I will declare your greatness.

Second Reading            Acts 2:14a, 22–36

            ¹⁴Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, . . .

            ²²“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— ²³this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. ²⁴God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. ²⁵For David says concerning him,

“‘I saw the Lord always before me,
            for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
²⁶therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
            my flesh also will dwell in hope.
²⁷For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
            or let your Holy One see corruption.
²⁸You have made known to me the paths of life;
            you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

            ²⁹“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. ³⁰Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, ³¹he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. ³²This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. ³³Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. ³⁴For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at my right hand,
            ³⁵until I make your enemies your footstool.’

³⁶Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

L          This is the Word of the Lord.

C          Thanks be to God.

VERSE              Isaiah 6:3b
             (spoken together)

            Alleluia. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory! Alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL  Matthew 28:16–20

P          The Holy Gospel according to St. John, Twenty-Eighth chapter.

C          Glory to You, O Lord.

    ¹⁶Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

P      This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C     Praise to You, O Christ.

HYMN OF THE DAY: #656 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

“He has Risen, He has Risen Indeed”

SERMON: “The Great Commission”

Athanasian Creed (spoken responsively as marked)

“ The Athanasian Creed declares that its teachings concerning the Holy Trinity and our Lords incarnation. This creed is what the true Church of all times and in all places has confessed. The church continues to confess this truth that the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy spirit, has given Himself for our salvation.”

Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith.

Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will without doubt perish eternally.

And the catholic faith is this,

that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance.

For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Holy Spirit is another.

But the Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.

Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit:

the Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Spirit uncreated;

the Father infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite;

the Father eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal.

And yet there are not three Eternals, but one Eternal,

just as there are not three Uncreated or three Infinites, but one Uncreated and one Infinite.

In the same way, the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, the Holy Spirit almighty;

And yet there are not three Almighties, but one Almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God;

And yet there are not three Gods, but one God.

So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord;

And yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord.

Just as we are compelled by the Christian truth to acknowledge each distinct person as God and Lord, so also are we prohibited by the catholic religion to say that there are three Gods or Lords.

The Father is not made nor created nor begotten by anyone.

The Son is neither made nor created, but begotten of the Father alone.

The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeding.

Thus, there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.

And in this Trinity none is before after another; none is greater or less than another;

But the whole three persons are coeternal with each other and coequal, so that in all things, as has been stated above, the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped.

Therefore, whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity.

But it is also necessary for everlasting salvation that one faithfully believe the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, it is the right faith that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is at the same time both God and man.

He is God, begotten from the substance of the Father before all ages; and He is man, born from the substance of His mother in this age:

perfect God and perfect man, composed of a rational soul and human flesh;

equal to the Father with respect to His divinity, less than the Father with respect to His humanity.

Although He is God and man, He is not two, but one Christ:

one, however, not by the conversion of the divinity into flesh, but by the assumption of the humanity into God;

one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person.

For as the rational soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ,

Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead,

ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

At His coming all people will rise again with their bodies and give an account concerning their own deeds.

And those who have done good will enter into eternal life, and those who have done evil into eternal fire.

This is the faith; whoever does not believe it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

After each petition:     P   … Lord, in Your mercy:

                                    C    hear our prayer.

At conclusion:              P   … one God, now and forever.

                                    C    Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER          Matthew 6:9–13

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. Amen.

CLOSING PRAYER

P      Let us pray.

O God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works, give to us, Your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey Your commandments and also that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. 

C     Amen.

BENEDICTION

P      The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look upon you with favor and T give you peace.

C     Amen.

DISMISSAL

P      Go in peace! Serve the Lord!

C   Thanks be to God.

CLOSING HYMN: #498 Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest

Creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish, Series C, Quarter 3. Copyright © 2022 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission.