Trinity Sunday
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Prelude, Welcome, and Information Hymn
#413 Holy,
Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty! |
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The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you
all. And also with
you. Psalm 29 1Ascribe to the Lord, O
heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 2Ascribe to
the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy
splendor. 3The voice of
the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord,
over mighty waters. 4The voice of
the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of
majesty. 5The voice of
the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of
Lebanon. 6He makes Lebanon skip like a
calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. 7The voice of
the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. 8The voice of
the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of
Kadesh. 9The voice of
the Lord causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all
say, “Glory!” 10The Lord sits
enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king
forever. 11May the Lord give
strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace! Glory to God in the highest, and peace
to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly king, almighty
God and Father: We
worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the
Father, Lord God, Lamb of God: You
take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us. You are seated at the right hand
of the Father; receive our prayer. For
you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you
alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit,
in the
glory of God the Father. Amen |
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The Lord be with you. And
also with you. Let us pray. Almighty Creator and ever-living
God: we worship your glory, eternal Three-in-One, and we praise your power,
majestic One-in-Three. Keep us steadfast in this faith, defend us in all
adversity, and bring us at last into your presence, where you live in endless
joy and love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. |
Reading:
Isaiah 6:1-8
A reading from the book of the Prophet Isaiah
6In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne,
high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2Seraphs
were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their
faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3And
one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of
hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4The pivots on
the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with
smoke.
5And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I
live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of hosts!” 6Then one of the seraphs flew to
me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of
tongs. 7The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that
this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted
out.” 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I
send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”
The Word of the Lord
Reading:
Romans 8:12-17
A reading from the letter to the Romans
12So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live
according to the flesh— 13for if you live according to the flesh,
you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you
will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are
children of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery
to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we
cry, “Abba! Father!” 16it is that very Spirit bearing witness
with our spirit that we are children of God,
17and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with
Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with
him.
The Word of the Lord.
Gospel
Verse:
Alleluia! Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord of Hosts; God’s glory fills the whole earth. Alleluia!
Gospel Reading: John 3: 1-7
A reading from the Gospel of John
3Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2He
came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher
who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the
presence of God.” 3Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you,
no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 4Nicodemus
said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a
second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5Jesus
answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without
being born of water and Spirit. 6What is born of the flesh is
flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not be
astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8The
wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know
where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the
Spirit.” 9Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things
be?” 10Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and
yet you do not understand these things? 11“Very truly, I tell
you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not
receive our testimony. 12If I have told you about earthly
things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly
things? 13No one has ascended into heaven except the one who
descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14And just as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted
up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16“For
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes
in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17“Indeed, God
did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the
world might be saved through him.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Sermon
(added at the end of the document)
Hymn #412 Come, Join the Dance of Trinity
Thanks and Offertory
The
Nicene Creed
We
believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We
believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For
us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit
and the virgin Mary,
and became truly human.
For
our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On
the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he
ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of
the Father.
He
will come again in glory to judge
the living and the dead,
and
his kingdom will have no end.
We
believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the
Son.
With the Father and the Son
he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the prophets.
We
believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We
acknowledge one Baptism
for the forgiveness of sins.
We
look for the resurrection of the dead,
and
the life of the world to come. Amen
Prayers
of the Church:
Trusting Jesus’ promise that we will be heard, we
offer our prayers for the world God loves, the church God calls, and for all
people according to their needs.
[Short
pause]
n Creator
of waters, we are born in water, we are washed in water, we consist of
water. Accept our gratitude for the
gifts of water, the gifts of existence.
God of our baptism,
Wash
us and send us.
n Creator
of waters, in water you bring forth life, sustain life, renew life. Nourish us with your presence in the waters
of life. God of our baptism,
Wash
us and send us.
n Creator
of waters, in our selfishness we abuse your water, we waste your water, we
pollute your water. Forgive us, cleanse
us, and point us in a new direction, that creation may be healed, and the world
may know your abundant care. God of our
baptism,
Wash
us and send us.
n Creator
of waters, you call your church into being through water, and send us to a dry
and thirsty world. Remind us that we do
not go alone, that your Spirit leads us, and Jesus accompanies us. God of our baptism,
Wash
us and send us.
n Creator
of waters, in a world of illness, you point us to healing. In a world of conflict, you point us to
peace. In a world of death, you point us
to life. Use your people, gathered in
worship, to pour your love into everything we do, and everything we are. God of our baptism,
Wash
us and send us.
n Creator
of waters, in water you claim us, in water you name us, in water you bear us
toward the world to come. May we embrace
life as you have embraced us, that all creation may know your cleansing
flood. God of our baptism,
Wash
us and send us.
n Creator
of waters, bless our homes and our town with your peace. Help us all to find
common ground for the common good. God of our baptism,
Wash
us and send us.
n
Creator of
waters, bless the congregation of St. Ansgar Church, London, and their pastor,
Pr. David Wirt. God of our baptism,
Wash us and send us.
We
ask all this in the name of Jesus, our living Lord.
Amen.
Hymn #456 Baptized in Water
The
Lord’s Prayer
Finally let us pray for all things as
our Lord would have us ask:
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.
Lord, now you let your servant go in peace;
your
word has been fulfilled.
My own eyes have seen the salvation
which
you have prepared
in
the sight of every people:
A light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.
Hymn
#414 Holy God, We Praise Your Name
Benediction and Sending
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.
Amen.
Go in peace. Serve the Lord. Thanks
be to God!
---------------------------------------------------
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And
one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of
hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
-
For
all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
-
For
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes
in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
·
If you
decided to listen to this service in order to have the Trinity explained to
you, I’ll tell you right now, you’ll be disappointed. The greatest theological
minds in the history of the Christian Church could not explain or fully
understand the Trinity. Someone like me could not even try. Even to say
something as trite as “It’s a mystery we have to take on faith” falls far short
of the reality. I have my own theological fantasies, but they are not worth
sharing here.
·
The best I
can do is to avoid preaching heresy. That in itself will be hard enough to do.
·
So where
shall I go with this on Trinity Sunday? At the Easter Vigil, the readings
include the creation account from the book of Genesis. The Good News of Jesus
Christ is the constant focus in our Gospel readings all through the year. As
the Easter season ends and the festival of Pentecost come nearer, we hear of
the work of the Holy Spirit and hear of it especially at Pentecost Sunday.
We’ve heard this almost all our lives.
·
What comes
next is the application of the life of the Trinity to our lives. That is something we can talk about! It may not make
any sense right off to say we can live in the Trinity. However strange or
mysterious, it is none-the-less real.
·
When we were
baptized – when-ever that might have been, we were immersed in more than water.
We were immersed in the life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As the water
was used, the name of the Trinity was invoked: “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit.” That phrasing is not just for nice (as some people say), but for the gifts
of grace and the power of God. Those words call us to a special sort of life
and a particular relationship with God and with all those around us.
·
When we live in the Trinity, we live in God’s
power, God’s grace, and God’s own life. We live in the community that God has
called into being. In a way, God – whom we know as Father, Son, and Spirit – is
a loving community. Each is alive in themselves and each loves the others “as
themselves.” Love is the basis here.
·
John tell us “No one has ever seen God;
if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. … God is love, and those
who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.” (1John 4: 12, 16b)
·
This then is
real “enthusiasm.” The word has come to mean excitement, although originally it
mean the person was filled with a spirit of a divinity. By definition,
Christians are enthusiastic, filled with the Spirit of the living, creating,
redeeming God, whether or not we feel excited.
·
The way we
live in the Trinity is to love one another in Spirit and truth. None of us can
tell what shape that might take in our lives for each of us, filled with God’s
Spirit, will express that in differing ways according to that same Spirit.
·
As we were
once immersed in the water of baptism, we remain immersed in the life of the
Trinity all of our lives. We draw our very lives from the life of the Trinity
and that Trinitarian life continues to call us on and convert and transform us
into what God wants us to be in God.
·
How this will
be is a daily mystery and I use that term not as a way of avoiding the question
but as a way of expressing what is going on under our very noses and yet beyond
our very sight. Isaiah was faced with it in his frightening vison. Paul spoke
of it in calling Christians “Children of God.” Jesus tell us through John that
God’s love is transforming the world around us, within us, and through us who
have been born from above.
·
Finally in
the very life and love of the Trinity in which we live, we hear and have the
courage to answer the call as Isaiah did:
Here am I; send me!
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