Author: Zaferos Office

The Christian Faith
One Word At A Time:
Righteousness

Summer Bible Camp Sunday
Living Shepherd Lutheran Church
365 W. Grand Ave Laramie, WY
June 25, 2017

Welcome to Living Shepherd!
A few notes before worship
- We’re so glad you joined us for worship today!
- Restrooms are located on your right and on your left immediately after you walk through the double doors next to the fireplace.
- We love having children in our worship service! However, if your child becomes restless, the café (first door on the left past the restrooms) is a great place to regroup and grab a cup of coffee.
- You are our guest! If there is something else we can help you with, please let any one of us know!
- Finally, you’ll find everything you need for worship printed in this service folder. Lord’s blessings on your worship!
Today’s Service
If you’ve been around Living Shepherd for a while, you may have noticed that every now and then, we’ll have a string of readings from one book of the Bible—usually from a New Testament letter. This week is week 2 in a 16 week tour through the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans! These 16 lessons read like a curriculum for St. Paul’s Bible Basics class. They provide us with an excellent opportunity to walk through the basic teachings of the Christian Church, one word at a time. This week’s focus is on Righteousness. Lord’s blessings on your worship this morning!
A Prayer before We Begin
Dear Lord, I thank you for giving me this opportunity today to gather together with fellow believers to join in worship and praise. May my worship and meditation this day be pleasing in Your sight and be deserving of Your honor. Amen.

Opening hymn
Hymn 384 — By Grace I’m Saved
INVOCATION
The name of the triune God and the sign of the cross
remind worshipers of their baptisms.
P: In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
CONFESSION
P: Dear friends, let us approach God with a true heart and confess our sins, asking him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us.
C: Lord of life, I confess that I am by nature dead in sin.
For faithless worrying and selfish pride, For sins of habit and sins of choice,
For the evil I have done and the good I have failed to do, You should cast me away from your presence forever. O Lord, I am sorry for my sins. Forgive me, for Jesus’ sake.
ABSOLUTION
The use of the keys is that special power and right which Christ gave to his church on earth: to
forgive the sins of penitent sinners.” For further information see: John 20:21-23.
Also see Luther’s Small Catechism, “The Use of the Keys and Confession.”
P: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again. In his great mercy, God made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in our sins. Hear the word of Christ through his called servant: I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
P: O God, the strength of all who trust in you, mercifully hear our prayers. Be gracious to us in our weakness and give us strength to keep your commandments in all we say and do; through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
God’s Word
Exodus 3:1-15
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’
MATTHEW 9:9-13
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ v For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Children’s Devotion
Psalm 46:1 A Mighty Fortress
1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
God’s Word In Our Lives
Romans 4:18-25 Righteousness
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

HYMN OF THE DAY
Hymn 200 — A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Children
All
All
All

CONFESSION OF FAITH
P: Living in a world where people believe that the universe was formed through chance and accident, what do you believe?
I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
P: Living in a world where people are confronted with the guilt and punishment of sin, what do you believe Jesus did for you?
C: I believe 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 is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
P: Living in a world where people are without hope and certainty, what do you believe?
C: 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.
WORSHIP REGISTERS
Thanks for visiting us today! We’d love to have a record of your visit!
Any information you’d be willing to share would be greatly appreciated!
OFFERING
Moved by God’s love in Christ, the people of Living Shepherd
offer him our first and best gifts, purely out of thanks to
him. To those visiting, you are our guests. While your
gifts are welcome, please do not feel obligated to give.
You can also support our ministry by clicking the
“give” button at www.LivingShepherd.com

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
We pray on behalf of this church as well as on behalf of
God’s people throughout our nation and the world.
P: O Lord, our God, you are wise and powerful, good and gracious. Your mercies are new every morning. Each day you open your hand and provide for the needs of your children on earth.
C: We praise you for every grace and blessing.
P: Strengthen your Church in all the world. Let your comforting message of salvation in Jesus be proclaimed to troubled souls everywhere.
C: Use our ministries and offerings to extend your healing and your hope.
P: We bring you our requests for the various structures of our society. Bless our national, state and local governments
C: Grant us civil servants who are worthy of honor and respect.
P: Grant prosperity to our businesses and industries. Give employers a sense of fairness toward their workers, and employees a feeling of joy and pride in their workmanship.
C: Help us find satisfaction in all work well done.
P: Invigorate the schools of our land. Give success to every effort that helps students read, think, and communicate in ways that will promote an informed and responsible citizenry. Arouse curious minds to discover the wonders of your creation.
C: Give us teachers and students who pursue excellence.
P: Strengthen the families of our country. Give fathers and mothers a renewed commitment to be good parents. Give children and young people the wisdom to regard their parents as your representatives.
C: Lead us to love one another as you have loved us
P: Hear us, Lord, as we bring you our private petitions
Silent Prayer
P: Gracious Father, we pray boldly as Jesus taught, with the confidence that you will hear us and with the faith that you will respond for our welfare. For it was your only Son who taught 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.
BLESSING
The blessing of Aaron has been spoken over God’s people for over 3,500 years.
The Lord said, “So they will put my name on [them],
and I will bless them” [Numbers 6:27].
P: The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.
C: Amen
Closing Hymn
Summer Bible Camp Theme Song In Jesus The Victory’s Won (lyrics printed on page 14)

In Jesus The Vict’ry’s Won!
In Jesus, the vict’ry’s won!
Share the news with ev’ryone!
The sacrifice of God’s own Son—
King of a,ll salvation!
Shout that God is mighty!
Fear not, His Word is true!
Through sin and pain, He comes to save;
Jesus’ vict’ry’s won for you!
Repeat
In Jesus, the vict’ry’s won!
Share the news with ev’ryone!
The sacrifice of God’s own Son—
King of all salvation!
In Jesus (Jesus), the vict’ry’s won! (Vic t’ry’s won!)
Share the news (Share the news) with ev’ryone! (ev’ryone!)
Repeat
In Jesus, the vict’ry’s won!
Share the news with ev’ryone!
The sacrifice of God’s own Son—
King of all salvation!
King of all salvation!

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Text and tune: Kim Busby, © 2017 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Permission granted to reproduce for the year of purchase.
All music printed with permission by
OneLicense.net License Number A-721545 & CCLI License Number 11269453
Artwork by Ian Welch — 2010 Graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary
© 2014 Ian M. Welch. All Rights Reserved. paramentics.com
Living Shepherd Logo by Rachel Westra — Westra Design

WELCOME!
We welcome everyone here today and thank you for joining us for Worship! We hope that you will join us again soon. If you haven’t met him yet, we encourage you to introduce yourself to Vicar Reich!
Treats from Sweets Bakery and Coffee!
We hope you can stick around after worship to join us for some treats from Sweets Bakery and some freshly brewed coffee!
Church Picnic
Also after worship this morning, we’re going to have a picnic! Plan to stick around after worship for burgers catered by Born in a Barn! Thanks to Clayton Scholl at Born in a Barn for providing the meal!
Meeting With Tredo Group Tomorrow Night!
Jeff Tredo and two members of his team at Tredo Group will be in Laramie Monday night and Tuesday morning. Monday night (tomorrow) we’re going to have a brief meeting at 5:30 pm to discuss the designs of our future church home as they stand. That meeting will take place here in the café. Plan to join us! Tuesday morning Jeff and his team will be visiting the building site and meeting with some general contractors.

Pastor Pete Zaferos
E-mail address: pastorzaf@gmail.com
www.LivingShepherd.com
Pastor’s Phone: (307) 399-9288
Call or Text Anytime!!

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