IMMANUEL LUTHERAN CHURCH

AVILLA, INDIANA

GOD WITH US

Volume LXXX 897-2071 Number 20

May 17 9:30 AM 2020

Pastor: Rev. Patrick Kuhlman 260-338-1997

Seminarian: Matthew Christian, Mark Zieroth

Chancel Society: Jennifer Kuhlman

Website: www.immanuellutheranavilla.com

Email: imavilla@embarqmail.com

For counseling needs contact Pastor Kuhlman for referral to Cross

Connections. www.crossconnectionscounseling.com

ORGAN PRELUDE

RINGING OF THE BELL

DIVINE SERVICE – SETTING ONE – PAGE 151

HYMN – No. 602 – The Gifts Christ Freely Gives

1. The gifts Christ freely gives He gives to you and me

To be His Church, His bride, His chosen, saved and free!

Saints blest with these rich gifts Are children who proclaim

That they were won by Christ And cling to His strong name.

2. The gifts flow from the font Where He calls us His own;

New life He gives that makes Us His and His alone.

Here He forgives our sins With water and His Word;

The triune God Himself Gives pow’r to call Him Lord

3. The gifts of grace and peace From absolution flow

The pastor’s words are Christ’s For us to trust and know.

Forgiveness that we need Is granted to us there;

The Lord of mercy sends Us forth in His blest care.

4. The gifts are there each day The holy Word is read;

God’s children listen, hear, Receive, and they are fed.

Christ fills them with Himself, Blest words that give them life,

Restoring and refreshing Them for this world’s strife.

5. The gifts are in the feast, Gifts far more than we see;

Beneath the bread and wine Is food from Calvary.

The body and the blood Remove our ev’ry sin;

We leave His presence in His peace, renewed again.

6. All glory to the One Who lavishes such love;

The triune God in love Assures our life above.

His means of grace for us Are gifts He loves to give;

All thanks and praise for His Great love by which we live!

INVOCATION

P: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy

Spirit.

C: Amen.

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 reflection on God’s Word and for self-examination.

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: In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die

for us, and for His sake God forgives us all our sins. To those

who believe in Jesus Christ He gives the power to become

the children of God and bestows on them the Holy Spirit.

May the Lord, who has begun this good work in us, bring it

to completion in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

C: Amen.

INTROIT – Psalm 119:89-93; antiphon: Psalm 119:105

P: Your word is a lamp to my feet

C: and a light to my path.

P: Forever, O LORD, your word

C: is firmly fixed in the heavens.

P: Your faithfulness endures to all generations;

C: you have established the earth, and it stands fast.

P: By your appointment they stand this day,

C: for all things are your servants.

P: If your law had not been my delight,

C: I would have perished in my affliction.

P: I will never forget your precepts,

C: for by them you have given me life.

P: Glory be to the Father and to the Son

C: and to the Holy Spirit; P: as it was in the beginning,

C: is now, and will be forever. Amen. P: Your word is a lamp to my feet

C: and a light to my path.

KYRIE

P: In peace let us pray to the Lord.

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

Lord.

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.

P: For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship

and praise let us pray to the Lord.

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

HYMN OF PRAISE - This Is the Feast

COLLECT OF THE DAY

P: The Lord be with you.

P: Let us pray.

C: O God, the giver of all that is good, by Your

holy inspiration grant that we may think those

things that are right and by Your merciful

guiding accomplish them; through Jesus

Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and

reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God,

now and forever.

First Reading – Acts 17:16-31

While Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was

provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So

he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout

persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who

happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic

philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What

does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a

preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus

and the resurrection. And they took hold of him and brought him

to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching

is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to

our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.”

Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would

spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something

new.

So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of

Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For

as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I

found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’

What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of

heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is

he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since

he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all

the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the

boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in

the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him.

Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for

“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;

as even some of your own poets have said,

“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine

being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art

and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked,

but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because

he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in

righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he

has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

P: This is the Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

Epistle – 1 Peter 3:13-22

Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is

good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you

will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in

your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being

prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason

for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those

who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s

will, than for doing evil.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the

unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in

the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and

proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not

obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the

ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons,

were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds

to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but

as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the

resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at

the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers

having been subjected to him.

P: This is the Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

ALLELUIA

Holy Gospel – John 14:15-21

P: The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the fourteenth

chapter.

[Jesus said:] “If you love me, you will keep my

commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you

another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth,

whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor

knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in

you.

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little

while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me.

Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I

am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my

commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he

who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and

manifest myself to him.”

P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

HYMN – No. 725 – Children of the Heavenly Father

1. Children of the heav’nly Father

Safely in His bosom gather;

Nestling bird nor star in heaven

Such a refuge e’er was given.

2. God His own doth tend and nourish;

In His holy courts they flourish.

From all evil things He spares them;

In His mighty arms He bears them.

3. Neither life nor death shall ever

From the Lord His children sever;

Unto them His grace He showeth,

And their sorrows all He knoweth.

4. Though He giveth or He taketh,

God His children ne’er forsaketh;

His the loving purpose solely

To preserve them pure and holy.

SERMON

Text: John 14:15-21

Theme: Love and Keeping Commandments

APOSTLES’ CREED

C: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of

heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our

Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the

virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified,

died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third

day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into

heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father

Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living

and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church,

the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the

resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

P: Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and

for all people according to their needs.

(there is a time for silent prayer)

After each petition

P: let us prayer to the Lord

C: Lord, have mercy

At the conclusion of the prayer:

P: Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we

pray, trusting in Your mercy, through Jesus Christ, our

Lord.

C: Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER

P: Lord, remember us in Your kingdom and teach us to pray:

C: 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.

COLLECT FOR THE WORD

P: Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scripture to be

written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read,

mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by the patience and

comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold

fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ,

Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the

Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

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 give you peace.

HYMN –No. 801 – How Great Thou Art

1. O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder

Consider all the works Thy hand hath made,

I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,

Thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed;

Refrain

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

2. When through the woods and forest glades I wander,

I hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;

When I look down from lofty mountain gradeur

And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze;

Refrain

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

3. But when I think that God, His Son not sparing,

Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in

That on the cross my burden gladly bearing

He bled and died to take away my sin;

Refrain

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

4. When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation

And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!

Then I shall bow in humble adoration

And there proclaim: “My God, how great Thou Art!”

Refrain

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

Acknowledgments

Divine Service, Setting One from Lutheran Service Book

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from The

Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by

Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used

by permission. All rights reserved.

Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2006 Concordia

Publishing House.

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WELCOME - We welcome all worshippers to our services at

Immanuel this week. As God comes to us in Word and in

Sacrament may we experience His love and His power in the

singing of praise and the living of our lives to His glory.

VISITORS - Welcome all visitors this week. Be sure to pick up a

visitor packet from an usher or from our Information Rack in the

east entrance.

SERVICE ENLARGEMENTS, LARGE PRINT HYMNS &

ASSISTIVE LISTENING DEVICES - are now available for the

service each week. It will include the service, hymns, and the

insert of readings. They will be available at both entrances next to

the bulletins. Please return them after the service.

RECORD OF FELLOWSHIP - ALL members and visitors are

asked to record their attendance at church and communion. Please

return the record to the center aisle.

CHILDREN’S ACTIVITY TOTES - are available at both

entrances for children age kindergarten and younger. Please return

them after the service.

NURSERY - Exit the southeast door, the nursery is the third door

at the bottom of the stairs. The first door is the lounge where you

may listen to the service on the speaker.

CHURCH OFFICE - If you need to meet, speak, or make an

appointment with the Church Secretary the office is open on

Monday and Wednesday. If you need to meet or speak to Pastor

Kuhlman you can always reach him on his cell 812 361-7403 and

at his home 260 338-1997. Please note that the church will be

locked at all times unless two people are present.

FLOWERS - The flowers on the altar today are given to the glory

of God by Terry and Grace Housholder.

MEETINGS AND EVENTS: none

JUNE NEWSLETTER DEADLINE is tomorrow May 18th

.

CONFIRMATION will be Sunday, May 31st. Owen VanGessel

will be confirmed during our morning service.

PORTALS OF PRAYER - 2020 April - June small Portals of

Prayer are in the information rack in the east entrance and on the

table in the back of the church. Watch for the large print April –

June soon. January thru March are still available on the ledge of

the mailboxes in the east entrance.

AVILLA FOOD PANTRY - Please don’t forget the needy people

in our community. You may place your food donations in the box

in the east entrance.

BULLETIN BOARD - Cross Connection; Worship for Shut-Ins;

PRAYER LIST- Prayer for the sick & recovering:

Judy McKinley, Dan Phares, Georgia Zimmerman, Paul DeLong,

Donna Kurtz, Carolyn Scammahorn, Mary Hall, Mike Stockert,

WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS are now on our website.

The announcements in the bulletin each week can be seen on our

website under Blog and then correct month.

INFORMATION RACK- last week’s bulletin; extra May

Newsletters; Visitors Packet; April - June 2020 Portals of Prayer;

Lutheran Witness; Cross Connection; Thrivent Dollars

information; Lutherans for Life.

LAST WEEK’S STATISTICS: Worship Attendance – Sunday 37 + Jesus

God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

WORSHIP SERVICE NEXT WEEK: Sunday: Morning Worship 9:30AM

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY – The eyes of faith look to Jesus,

and the heart rejoices.