A Sermon Series at Huntersville Lutheran SOLus Christus | Christ Alone 10.25.20 Huntersville Lutheran A Changeless Message for A Changing Community Worshipping at the Brick Row Bible Class @ 8:45 | Worship @ 9:30am Huntersvillelc.com | 248-807-3057 | [email protected] elcome! Thank you for joining us for worship this morning. Our service is centered W on our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lived, died, and rose from the dead so that we would have eternal life in him. God reveals this soul saving message in his Word. We gather to find strength though God’s powerful and holy Word. Take a few moments to familiarize yourself with the order of service, readings, and hymns, and fill out the take action card. May God bless our time together this morning. About Our Worship The gospel is the good news about what Jesus did to be the Savior for sinners. It is also the power of God—the very thing he uses to work faith in our hearts and transform our lives. Therefore, gospel-centered worship places the gospel in central focus. This order of service is called the liturgy. In the message, in specially selected Scripture readings, and in carefully crafted songs, prayers, and creeds, the liturgy proclaims the good news about Jesus from start to finish. Gospel-centered worship is also designed to include the participation of the entire assembly (including children). For Your Convenience Restrooms are located through the doors at the rear of the building, to the right. Follow the arrows once you are in the hallway. Service Participants Rev. Doug Van Sice, pastor of Huntersville Lutheran Andrea Van Sice, keyboardist 1 | Page SERIES NOTES | THE HEART OF IT ALL Over 500 years ago, a German monk from a backwater town posted 95 statements for debate on some castle church doors. Unintendedly, this monk’s singular action was the spark that ignited a revolution in both the church and the world: the Lutheran Reformation. And it is because of this Reformation that we exist today, and why we call ourselves Lutherans. But why was this “Reformation” needed, and what was “reformed?” Well, to be quite frank, the church had completely lost her way. During the dark days of the middle ages, the truth of God’s Word was hidden away in monasteries, accessible only to monks and clergy. The church of that day was not teaching that we are saved by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Instead, people were told that they needed to try and earn their way to heaven—or worse, that they had to buy their way to heaven. The truth of God’s Word was rejected, and the traditions of men put in its place. Simply put, the church had lost the heart of it all. But, by his grace, God used men like Martin Luther to reform his church and return her to these four fundamental truths: That mankind is saved by grace alone, through faith alone, on the basis of scripture alone, in Christ alone. That’s it. But that’s the heart of it all. Throughout this sermon series, “The Heart of It All,” we will be exploring these fundamental truths rediscovered during the Lutheran Reformation of the Church and why they are still, 500 years later, at the heart of who we are, what we do, and why we do it. SERIES WEEKS OCTOBER 25th | SOLUS CHRISTUS (In Christ Alone) So much of life can pass by without much pause for the hugely serious. It can seem a bit easier to walk through life not talking about or finding answers to questions regarding God, death, and what happens next. Although that may seem simpler, there comes a time when we must have some kind of hope that doesn’t disappoint…some kind of peace that lasts. What is that for you? Whatever it is, it needs to be something to which you point and say, “This is it.” And in both what God says and how he says it shows God’s solution to that eternal dilemma. And it’s more than you might anticipate. NOVEMBER 1st | THE HEART OF IT ALL 2 | Page ORDER OF SERVICE Opening Hymn | My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less | 3 | Page Invocation1 In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. C Amen. Confession of Sins Dear friends, let us confess our sins with a true heart in the presence of God and one another. Almighty God, our heavenly Father, C We have strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed what we have devised and desired in our hearts. We have offended you and sinned against your holy law. We have done those things that we should not have done, and we have not done those things that we should have done. Have mercy on us, Lord! Spare us, forgive us, and restore us, according to your promises in Christ Jesus. Our gracious Father in heaven has been merciful to us. He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Redeemer and Savior. Jesus paid the penalty for our guilt by his death on the cross and freed us from death by his resurrection from the grave. As a called servant of Christ and by his authority, I say to you what God says to you: your sins are all forgiven in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. C Amen. 1 Beginning in the name of the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is a reminder of your baptism. In your baptism, God washed you of your sin, placed his name on you, adopted you as his dear child, and made you a heir to his eternal kingdom. 4 | Page Lord, Have Mercy | Kyrie2 | In peace, let us pray to the Lord: For the well-being of all people everywhere, for the growth of your church in all the world, and for the strengthening of all who serve and worship here, hear our prayer, O Lord. C Lord, have mercy. For one another, young and old, for your blessings that come with every stage of life, and for joy in doing your will, hear our prayer, O Christ. C Christ, have mercy. For our public servants who work day and night to bring protection, justice, learning, and health to this and every place, hear our prayer, O Lord. C Lord, have mercy. Lord of life, live in us that we may live for you. C Amen. 2 The word Kyrie is a Greek word from the phrase Kyrie eleison which means, “Lord, have mercy!” This is the most heartfelt cry of a believer to his Lord. It is not a cry for forgiveness, but a cry for mercy that our Lord and King hear us and help us in our necessities and trouble. Christians have been praying the Kyrie at Sunday worship for more than 1700 years (that’s why its name is Greek, the language most commonly spoken at the time). This morning, may it also be our heartfelt cry to our Lord and King. 5 | Page Glory Be To God | Gloria in Excelsis3 | 1. All glory be to God on high! Your name, O Lord, we glorify; We praise you for your peace and grace, Your favor toward our fallen race. 2. Our grateful thanks to you we bring, For your great glory, heav’nly King, For all, O Father, you have done Through Jesus Christ, your only Son. 3. O Lamb of God, to you we pray. You take all human sin away. Have mercy, Lord; receive our prayer; From God’s right hand, your mercy share. 4. You, Christ, are holy—Lord alone; The Father’s glory you made known. We by your Spirit sing again: “All glory be to God!” Amen. Prayer of the Day Let us pray: Lord God, forgive the wrongdoing of your people and be gentle with us in our weakness. Deliver us from the bondage of our sin and direct us to the path of righteousness; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C Amen. Be Seated 3 This ancient song of the church gets its name from its first few words in Latin: Gloria in Excelsis Deo! This was the greatest song of praise ever heard on earth. An angel choir sang it in the Judean sky the night Jesus was born (Luke 2:14). This song has been sung in Christian churches for 1500 years. As Martin Luther once said, “This ancient song did grow, nor was it made, but came from heaven.” 6 | Page THE WORD Children’s Message First Reading | Leviticus 16:1-10, 15-17, 20-22, 34 | The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the LORD. 2 The LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover. 3 “This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place: He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban.