Service of Prayer and Preaching
Sixth Sunday of Easter
OPENING VERSICLES
L This is the day which the Lord has made;
C let us rejoice and be glad in it.
L From the rising of the sun to its setting,
C the name of the Lord is to be praised.
L Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere;
C I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
L Make me to know Your ways, O Lord.
C Teach me Your paths.
L Sanctify us in Your truth.
C Your Word is truth.
L From the rising of the sun to its setting,
C the name of the Lord is to be praised.
C 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.
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT CANTICLE LSB 261
C The Lord God is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.
With joy will you draw water from the wells of salvation.
And you will say in that day:
“Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name,
make known His deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that His name is exalted.”
The Lord God is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.
Sing praises to the Lord, for He has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitants of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
The Lord God is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.
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.
The Lord God is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation.
READINGS FROM HOLY SCRIPTURE
L A reading from Numbers, the twenty-first chapter.
4From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
L This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Psalm 107
1Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
3and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
3and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
6Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
8Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of men!
9For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
6Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
8Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of men!
9For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
L A reading from The Gospel according to St. John, the 16th chapter.
23[Jesus said:] “In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
25“I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
29His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” 31Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
L This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
RESPONSORY
L Forever, O Lord, Your Word is firmly set in the heavens.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
L Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
C Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where Your glory dwells.
TEN COMMANDMENTS
C You shall have no other gods.
You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
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 T everlasting. Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
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.
SERMON
“Take heart” -- John 16:33
Jesus said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Notice how Jesus has to tell us, “In this world you will have tribulation.”
Back before everything got so difficult, we never expected this kind of tribulation. Everything was going fine, it seemed. And we couldn’t imagine anything going wrong, this wrong.
Lest we become so arrogant as to think, “I’m good, so good. I’ll never have a need, a want a trouble to bother me” -- Jesus says it like it is: “In this world you will have tribulation.”
This Gospel reading took place in Holy Week, just a little before the time when Jesus would be betrayed, arrested and crucified. Earlier in the dialogue, the disciples were listening to what Jesus was saying and then they said, “Aah, now we know what you are saying. Now we understand.
And Jesus said, “Do you?”
He knew that when things got tough in the hours and days ahead, these disciples would abandon Him and run and hide. “Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, [says Jesus] when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.”
Jesus had to tell them of the tribulation that was coming, because they weren’t expecting things would get really bad. No, it’s all going to be ok, they seemed to be saying, trying to fool themselves.
We should not be surprised when we have tribulation in this world.
The disciples should not have been surprised that sinners wanted to kill Jesus. His enemies hated Jesus, like darkness hates light. We shouldn’t be surprised either if we see animosity from those who don’t believe our Lord. If they don’t believe Him, they will ridicule him and us. They will undermine his message. They will try to convince you to go their way and not the Lord’s way, in thinking, speaking and living. In this world there will be tribulation, because the people of this world don’t love the Lord.
We should not be surprised if we have tribulation in this world like disease and epidemic. Sooner or later, there will be sickness and there will be death. We ought to work to postpone it, and mitigate against it. And I suppose that means giving up some of our pleasures and amusements. But Lord knows, you can’t escape the tribulation of disease and death.
So you have tribulation and there is more to come. You have the tribulation of the world around you and the tribulation of suffering in this life, and you have the tribulation of your own conscience as you struggle with your sinfulness and your troubled faith. Jesus has to bring this up for you to consider, to think about, so that you are ready to listen to Him as He gives you help and salvation in tribulation. “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
He says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.” Peace is when you know things will be alright, even if you go through tribulation. Peace is when you know that you are on good terms with Almighty God, because of His Son, Jesus Christ. Peace is when you know that the things that harm the body, cannot harm the soul, if you are with Jesus.
Throughout this section of John’s Gospel that is our text today, and before it and after it, we have the teaching of Jesus passed down to us. He is very clear and careful in describing for us the relationship He has with God, the Father. Jesus said, The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
Jesus is very specific in telling us who He is and where He comes from and where He is going.
You know if you went to someone in a burning building and told them, “hey, take heart. Have courage. Be optimistic.” They might think that your vague encouragement leaves something to be desired. But if you tell the troubled person in a burning building, “hey, take my hand and come with me, this is the way out. I’ll show you the way to safety.” That specific direction is encouraging, hope inspiring, a relief to hear.
Jesus is our specific help in times of tribulation. Specifically He is the Son of the Father, sent out of the love of the Father to love and to save us, His beloved. This description of who Jesus is and what his relationship is with the Father in heaven is uniquely essential for understanding what Jesus means when He says to us, “Take heart.”
We don’t hear Jesus words to us as some vague encouragement, some pep talk, some invitation to us to have some positive thinking on our part. No, these words of Jesus “Take heart” are his command and his call to us to believe.
Take heart He says, don’t be discouraged when the tribulations of this world get intense. Believe me when I say, I have overcome the world. The Father who loves me sent me to this nasty, difficult world to live in it, to overcome its temptations, to show its population my righteousness, what true righteousness is like, and then to suffer in the worst tribulation that there is, the wrath and punishment of the Father for the sins of this world. Jesus says, I endure that punishment for your sins. I bear that most horrid tribulation, laying down my life, and then taking it up again on the third day. So believe me when I say, I have overcome the world and its tribulation.
Then He says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.”
Peace, true and eternal peace, does not come easy. It’s not something you can just come up with by imagining that you have no problems. That’s an illusion, and a self-deception. Much of what you hear as advice about how to cope in tribulation from the world is illusion and deception. It ignores the root cause of tribulation, your sin. It denies and tries to hide the ultimate result of sin and tribulation, which is death and worse, eternal damnation.
The peace Jesus teaches us here is not so simple, and not so easy. Peace often comes at the cost of unavoidable conflict. Jesus’ peace comes from His cross where He in bloody battle overcame sin, death and the devil.
Take heart, dear friends, specifically because Jesus, the Son of God, has saved you.
We are praying for God’s help in this time of tribulation. We are also praying for spiritual help for many, that they would be turned from the worldly ways of thinking and hear Jesus command and call to “Take heart.” For only in Him is there true peace.
Amen.
PRAYER
COLLECT OF THE DAY
P 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.
C Amen.
COLLECT FOR THE WORD
P Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures 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.
C Amen.
OTHER PETITIONS
P Almighty Father, keep this nation under Your care and bless the leaders of our land, especially President Trump, and Governor Reynolds. Preserve us in safety, liberty and livelihood. Heal our divisions, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to the other nations of the earth. Give us grateful hearts for the freedom we enjoy and for the men and women who have given their lives to keep us free. We ask You also to preserve all who work in emergency and medical fields. Extend Your compassionate and caring hand toward all who suffer tribulation in this sinful world. Spare us from this pestilence and its effects, and look with mercy especially upon the destitute, homeless and those impoverished in our inner cities. Motivate Your children to be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, that they would be Your instruments of love to help and assist those in need.
O Holy Spirit, from who flow all good counsel, wisdom and understanding, we thank you for all the blessings you have given to our graduates, Cody and Gina. Continue to guide and teach them in the years ahead. Proseper them in their rightful callings, that they may faithfully serve you and the Father and the Son.
C Amen.
MORNING PRAYER
C I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me.
BLESSING
P Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
P The almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the T Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless and preserve us.
C Amen.
766 OUR FATHER, WHO FROM HEAVEN ABOVE
1 Our Father, who from heav’n above
Bids all of us to live in love
As members of one family
And pray to You in unity,
Teach us no thoughtless words to say
But from our inmost hearts to pray.
Bids all of us to live in love
As members of one family
And pray to You in unity,
Teach us no thoughtless words to say
But from our inmost hearts to pray.
2 Your name be hallowed. Help us, Lord,
In purity to keep Your Word,
That to the glory of Your name
We walk before You free from blame.
Let no false teaching us pervert;
All poor deluded souls convert.
In purity to keep Your Word,
That to the glory of Your name
We walk before You free from blame.
Let no false teaching us pervert;
All poor deluded souls convert.
3 Your kingdom come. Guard Your domain
And Your eternal righteous reign.
The Holy Ghost enrich our day
With gifts attendant on our way.
Break Satan’s pow’r, defeat his rage;
Preserve Your Church from age to age.
And Your eternal righteous reign.
The Holy Ghost enrich our day
With gifts attendant on our way.
Break Satan’s pow’r, defeat his rage;
Preserve Your Church from age to age.
4 Your gracious will on earth be done
As it is done before Your throne,
That patiently we may obey
Throughout our lives all that You say.
Curb flesh and blood and ev’ry ill
That sets itself against Your will.
As it is done before Your throne,
That patiently we may obey
Throughout our lives all that You say.
Curb flesh and blood and ev’ry ill
That sets itself against Your will.
5 Give us this day our daily bread,
And let us all be clothed and fed.
Save us from hardship, war, and strife;
In plague and famine, spare our life,
That we in honest peace may live,
To care and greed no entrance give.
And let us all be clothed and fed.
Save us from hardship, war, and strife;
In plague and famine, spare our life,
That we in honest peace may live,
To care and greed no entrance give.
6 Forgive our sins, Lord, we implore,
That they may trouble us no more;
We, too, will gladly those forgive
Who hurt us by the way they live.
Help us in our community
To serve each other willingly.
That they may trouble us no more;
We, too, will gladly those forgive
Who hurt us by the way they live.
Help us in our community
To serve each other willingly.
7 Lead not into temptation, Lord,
Where our grim foe and all his horde
Would vex our souls on ev’ry hand.
Help us resist, help us to stand
Firm in the faith, a mighty host,
Through comfort of the Holy Ghost.
Where our grim foe and all his horde
Would vex our souls on ev’ry hand.
Help us resist, help us to stand
Firm in the faith, a mighty host,
Through comfort of the Holy Ghost.
8 From evil, Lord, deliver us;
The times and days are perilous.
Redeem us from eternal death,
And, when we yield our dying breath,
Console us, grant us calm release,
And take our souls to You in peace.
The times and days are perilous.
Redeem us from eternal death,
And, when we yield our dying breath,
Console us, grant us calm release,
And take our souls to You in peace.
9 Amen, that is, so shall it be.
Make strong our faith in You, that we
May doubt not but with trust believe
That what we ask we shall receive.
Thus in Your name and at Your Word
We say, “Amen, O hear us, Lord!”
Make strong our faith in You, that we
May doubt not but with trust believe
That what we ask we shall receive.
Thus in Your name and at Your Word
We say, “Amen, O hear us, Lord!”
Text (sts. 1, 6, 8–9): Public domain
Text (sts. 2–5, 7): © 1980 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: CPH Limited Promotional License no. 119000000
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Service of Prayer and Preaching from Lutheran Service Book
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2018 Concordia Publishing House.
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