Zion Lutheran

Day of Pentecost May 11, 2008   SCRIPTURE Acts 2:1–21   Pentecost was a Jewish harvest festival that marked the fiftieth day after Passover. Luke portrays the Holy Spirit being poured out upon the disciples before the gathered and astonished people assembled in Jerusalem for the festival. Filled with the Spirit, the disciples were able to witness to the power of Christ’s resurrection.   When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.  ²And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.  ³Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.  ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.              ⁵Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.  ⁶And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.  ⁷Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?  ⁸And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?  ⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,  ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,  ¹¹Cretans and Arabs — in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”  ¹²All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”  ¹³But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”              ¹⁴But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say.  ¹⁵Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.  ¹⁶No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:  ¹⁷‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. ¹⁸Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit;and they shall prophesy.   ¹⁹And I will show portents in the heaven above             and signs on the earth below,blood, and fire, and smoky mist.   ²⁰The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.   ²¹Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

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Fifth Sunday of Easter April 20, 2008

GOSPEL

John 14:1-14

On the night that he is to be arrested, Jesus shares final words with his disciples. As the one through whom God is known, he promises to go before them and act on their behalf

            Jesus said to his disciples, “Don’t go losing your nerve. Stick with God, and stick with me too. My Father’s house has plenty of room for everyone. If that weren’t the case, I wouldn’t have been telling you that I’m off to book you in, would I? And you can be sure that if I go and book you in, then I’ll be back to pick you up so that we can be together. Anyway, you know which track will get you to where I am going.”

            Thomas disputed this, saying, “Lord, we don’t even know where you are headed, so how are we supposed to pick the right track to get there?”

            Jesus said, “I am the right track, and the whole truth, and the real life. No one gets near the Father without my help. If you really knew me, then you would also know my Father. And now you do! You know my Father and you have even seen him.”

            “If only!” said Philip. “Lord, if you’d just show us the Father, we’d more than happy.”

            Jesus replied, “All this time I’ve been with you, and you still haven’t worked me out, have you Philip? To see me is to see the Father. So what’s the point of asking me to show you the Father? Haven’t you got it sorted out in your head that I am one with the Father, and the Father is one with me? When I tell you something, I’m not speaking off my own bat. The Father who lives in me is at work in everything I say. Take my word for it that I am one with the Father, and the Father is one with me; or if my saying it is not enough for you, then surely the things you’ve seen me do prove the point. I kid you not when I tell you that anyone who trusts in me will do the very same things. In fact, you’ll do even greater things than I’ve done, because I’m going back to the Father and handing over the reins to you. I’ll back you up and do whatever you ask when you’re doing my work. That’s how the Son will give the glory to the Father. If you’re working on my behalf you can ask me for anything and I’ll do it.”

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Third Sunday of Easter April 6, 2008 GOSPEL Luke 24:13–35 Jesus is revealed through the scriptures and in the breaking of bread.   ¹³Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,  ¹⁴and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.  ¹⁵While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, ¹⁶but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.  ¹⁷And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad.  ¹⁸Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?”  ¹⁹He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him.  ²¹But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place.  ²²Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning,  ²³and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.  ²⁴Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.”  ²⁵Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!  ²⁶Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?”  ²⁷Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.          ²⁸As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on.  ²⁹But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them.  ³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  ³¹Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.  ³²They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?”  ³³That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together.  ³⁴They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!”  ³⁵Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

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Easter Sunday Festival Worship

Sunday March 23, 2008    10:30     Gospel John 20:1-18 This morning began with confusion: the stone was moved and the tomb was empty. Disciples arrive, then angels, and finally Jesus himself. Out of the confusion, hope emerges, and a weeping woman becomes the first to confess her faith in the risen Lord.   Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. ²So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” ³Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. ⁴The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in.  ⁶Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, ⁷and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. ⁸Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; ⁹for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. ¹⁰Then the disciples returned to their homes.           ¹¹But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; ¹²and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. ¹³They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”  ¹⁴When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” ¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). ¹⁷Jesus said to her, “Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” ¹⁸Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

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Lenten Meditation 40 Days of Community: We’re Commissioned to Reach Out Together March 5, 2008

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Fourth Sunday in Lent 40 Days of Community: We’re Called to Serve Together March 2, 2008 SCRIPTURE Psalm 23   ¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. ² He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, ³ he restores my soul.  He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. ⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;  your rod and your staff, they comfort me. ⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,  and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

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Third Sunday in Lent 40 Days of Community: We’re Connected to Grow Together February 24, 2008 GOSPEL John 4:5-42   Jesus defies convention to engage a Samaritan woman in conversation. Her testimony, in turn, leads many others to faith.

  ⁵So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.  ⁶Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.              ⁷A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”  ⁸(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.)  ⁹The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)  ¹⁰Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”  ¹¹The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?  ¹²Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?”  ¹³Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.”  ¹⁵The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”              ¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.”  ¹⁷The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’;  ¹⁸for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!”  ¹⁹The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet.  ²⁰Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.”  ²¹Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  ²²You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.  ²³But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.  ²⁴God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”  ²⁵The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.”  ²⁶Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”     ²⁷Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?”  ²⁸Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people,  ²⁹Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?  ³⁰They left the city and were on their way to him. I have food to eat that you do not know about.”  ³³So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?”  ³⁴Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.  ³⁵Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting.  ³⁶The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.  ³⁷For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’  ³⁸I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”              ³⁹Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.”  ⁴⁰So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days.  ⁴¹And many more believed because of his word.  ⁴²They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

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Lenten Meditation 40 Days of Community: We’re Commissioned to Reach Out Together February 13, 2008

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Third Sunday after Epiphany January 27, 2008 GOSPEL Matthew 4:12–23   Jesus begins his public ministry shortly after John the Baptist is imprisoned by Herod. He proclaims the nearness of God’s reign and calls four fishermen to be his first disciples.   ¹²Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.  ¹³He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,  ¹⁴so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:  ¹⁵“Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles —   ¹⁶the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”   ¹⁷From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  ¹⁸As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea — for they were fishermen.  ¹⁹And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”  ²⁰Immediately they left their nets and followed him.  ²¹As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them.  ²²Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.              ²³Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

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Baptism of Our Lord January 13, 2008 GOSPEL Matthew 3:13–17   Before Jesus begins his ministry, he is baptized by John, touched by the Spirit, and identified publicly as God’s child. ¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.  ¹⁴John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”  ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.  ¹⁶And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.  ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

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