IMMANUEL LUTHERAN CHURCH PRELUDE A Congregation of the North American Lutheran Church Please be mindful of social distancing recommendations as you 920 Fillmore Street – Whitewood, SD 57793 – 269-2104 choose a place to sit. You may wear a face mask to protect www.immanuellutheranwhitewoodsd.com yourself and others. Pastor David J. Baer – [email protected] – 722-6347 Second Sunday in Lent February 28, 2021 WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS OPENING PRAYER Immanuel is celebrating its centennial this year. Worship P O Lord, our Maker, Redeemer, and Comforter, we are services that led to the founding of our congregation started assembled in Thy presence to hear Thy holy word. We pray in Whitewood in Advent of 1920. The first worship service Thee so to open our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that through the was held on December 5, 1920. The congregation was preaching of Thy word we may be taught to repent of our sins, formally organized on April 3, 1921. As part of our to believe on Jesus in life and in death, and to grow day by day centennial observances this year, we are using some hymns, in grace and holiness. Hear us for Christ’s sake. Amen. liturgical music and texts that were used by Lutherans over the last 100 years. *HYMN, “The God of Abraham Praise” (vv. 1-4) Hymn 544 Most of our liturgy for the Lenten season is from “The 1. The God of Abr’ham praise, Lutheran Hymnary,” published in 1913 by the Norwegian Who reigns enthroned above; Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the Hauge’s Evangelical Ancient of everlasting days, Lutheran Synod and the United Norwegian Lutheran And God of love. Church of America. Those three church bodies merged in Jehovah, great I Am! 1917 to form the Norwegian Lutheran Church of America. By earth and heav’n confessed; The Norwegian Lutheran Church of America changed its I bow and bless the sacred name name to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1946. The Forever blest. constitution adopted at the founding of Immanuel states that “the public worship of the congregation shall be conducted 2. The God of Abr’ham praise, in conformity with the ritual contained in the Lutheran At whose supreme command Hymnary, modified, however, according to circumstances, From earth I rise and seek the joys as the congregation may deem advisable.” At his right hand. I all on earth forsake — Portions of the liturgy from “The Lutheran Hymnary” was Its wisdom, fame, and pow’r — reprinted in a 1932 hymnal called “The Concordia And him my only portion make, Hymnal” which was widely used among Norwegian- My shield and tow’r. American immigrants and likely also used by members of Immanuel. 3. The God of Abr’ham praise, *KYRIE Whose all-sufficient grace Shall guide me all my pilgrim days In all my ways. He deigns to call me friend; He calls himself my God! And he shall save me to the end Through Jesus’ blood. 4. He by himself has sworn; I on his oath depend. I shall, on eagle wings upborne, To heav’n ascend. I shall behold his face; I shall his pow’r adore, And sing the wonders of his grace Forevermore. *CONFESSION OF SIN P Let us bow before the Lord and confess our sins: P Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, we poor sinners confess unto Thee, that we are by nature sinful and unclean, *ABSOLUTION and that we have sinned against Thee P Almighty God, our heavenly Father, by thought, word and deed. hath had mercy upon us, Wherefore we flee for refuge to Thine infinite mercy, and hath given His only Son to die for us, seeking and imploring Thy grace, and for His sake forgiveth us all our sins. for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. To them that believe on His Name, C O most merciful God, he giveth power to become the sons of God, who hast given Thine only-begotten Son to die for us, and hath promised them His Holy Spirit. have mercy upon us, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. and for His sake grant us remission of all our sins; Grant this, Lord, unto us all. and by Thy Holy Spirit C Amen. increase in us true knowledge of Thee, and of Thy will, and true obedience to Thy Word, to the end that by Thy grace we may come to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. *PRAYER OF THE DAY — WORD — FIRST READING, Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.” Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude P Let us pray together . of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name C O God, shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a who seest that of ourselves we have no strength: multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and Keep us both outwardly and inwardly; I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will that we may be defended from all adversities establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring which may happen to the body, after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting and from all evil thoughts covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. which may assault and hurt the soul; God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she one God, world without end. shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” L The Word of the Lord. (NRSV) C Thanks be to God. PSALM 22:23-31 L You who fear the LORD, praise him! C All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; SPECIAL MUSIC, “Who But You” Jon and Shelley Iverson stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! L For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; CHILDREN’S MESSAGE C He did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him. HYMN, “We Gather, We Gather, Dear Jesus, to Bring” (v. 3) L From you comes my praise in the great congregation; Those arms, which embraced little children of old, 45 C My vows I will pay before those who fear him. Still love to encircle the lambs of the fold; L The poor shall eat and be satisfied; That grace which inviteth the wandering home, C Those who seek him shall praise the LORD. Hath never forbidden the youngest to come, May your hearts live forever! Hath never forbidden the youngest to come L All the ends of the earth shall remember written not for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be and turn to the LORD; reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord C And all the families of the nations from the dead, who was handed over to death for our trespasses shall worship before him. and was raised for our justification. L For dominion belongs to the LORD, Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have C And he rules over the nations. obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in L To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; our hope of sharing the glory of God. (NRSV) C Before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, L The Word of the Lord. and I shall live for him. C Thanks be to God. L Posterity will serve him; C Future generations will be told about the Lord, L And proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, *LENTEN GOSPEL ACCLAMATION C Saying that he has done it. SECOND READING, Romans 4:13 - 5:2 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”) — in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against From the “Service Book and Hymnal” (1958) hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.