Joshua 3 -The Miraculous Crossing of the
Jordan River
Prince of Peace Lutheran ChurchHwy 37 and Pine Street
Hecla, South Dakotawww.heclalutheran.com 605-994-2145
A Church of the Lutheran Confession (CLC)www.clclutheran.com
PRINCE OF PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCHServing us today :
Pastor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nathan J. Pfeifferhome/office (605) 994-2145 cell - (605) 380 - 5195 njpfifer @hotmail.com
Organists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tamar Pfeiffer
Ushers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve and Scott Hansen
Sunday School Superintendent . . . . . . . . . . . . Scott Hansen
5 Sunday after Trinityth
July 24, 2011
Pre-service Meditation Psalm 119, I, pg. 149
Welcome Worshipers! Few things are as fulfilling in life as finishing a project and finishing it
well. It is great when the mortgage for the house or farm is finally paid off and you can burn that piece
of paper. It is great when the car finally gets paid off. It is great when we put that last coat of paint on
the wall and know that the new house is done. When it comes to our salvation, if it were left to us, the
job would have never gotten done. No amount of good works could possibly have come close to paying
off the huge debt of our sin. Thanks be to God that Jesus, His own beloved Son, paid the debt for us - and
paid it in full. From the cross Jesus announced, “IT IS FINISHED!” Everything necessary for our salvation
was finished by Jesus. He is the Way to heaven. He completed the job and it was a job well done indeed!
As we hear how the Children of Israel were able to cross on dry ground into the Promised Land of
Canaan, let us rejoice of how in Christ we are able to easily cross from death to life eternal on “dry
ground.”
A special welcome to our Visitors! Please record your visit with us by signing our guest
register. Feel free to speak with the Pastor or an Usher if you have any questions about the service or our
church. We hope you will join us again!
Opening Hymn
#798 - “God, We Praise You” (Hymn of the Month)
Our Order of Worship:
Lutheran Hymnal pg. 5
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PSALM OF THE DAY:(Psalm 124)
P: "If it had not been the LORD who was on our side," Let Israel now say -- "If it had
not been the LORD who was on our side,
C: When men rose up against us,
P: Then they would have swallowed us alive,
C: When their wrath was kindled against us;
P: Then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
C: The stream would have gone over our soul;
P: Then the swollen waters
C: Would have gone over our soul."
P: Blessed be the LORD,
C: Who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
P: Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers;
C: The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
P: Our help is in the name of the LORD,
C: Who made heaven and earth.
P: Glory be to God!
ALL: + “Glory be to the Father...” (Liturgy continues on hymnal pg 6)
THE GLORIA IN EXCELSIS:(With the angels at Christ’s birth, we glorify God for all He has done to save us - TLH 237:1 adapted)
"All glory be to God on high, Who hath our race befriended!
To us no harm shall now come nigh, The strife at last is ended.
God showeth His good will to men,
And peace shall reign with us again;
Oh thank Him for His goodness! Amen."
THE COLLECT:(A prayer based on the service theme)
P: Let us pray: Almighty, everlasting God, who gave Your only Son to be a High
Priest of good things to come, hereafter grant unto us, Your unworthy servants,
to have our share in the company of the blessed; through Jesus Christ, Your Son,
our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
forever.
C: + “Amen”
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The Scripture Lessons“The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.” (Is 40:8)
NEW TESTAMENT LESSON:1 Peter 1:3-9 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to
his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that
fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 Wherein ye greatly
rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold
temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that
perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory
at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now
ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
THE GRADUAL:(The verse for the day which ties together the Scripture passages and service theme)
P: Hallelujah! Hallelujah! There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in
Christ Jesus. Hallelujah! (Rom 8:1a)
C: + Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
THE GOSPEL LESSON:P: Our Gospel lesson for today is from the gospel according to John, chapter five,
beginning with the nineteenth verse.
C: + Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
John 5:19-29 - Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The
Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever
he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. 20 For the Father loveth the Son, and
sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than
these, that ye may marvel. 21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth
them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. 22 For the Father judgeth no man, but
hath committed all judgment unto the Son: 23 That all men should honour the Son, even
as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father
which hath sent him. 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and
believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The
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hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and
they that hear shall live. 26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the
Son to have life in himself; 27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also,
because he is the Son of man. 28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which
all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have
done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the
resurrection of damnation.
P: So far our Gospel lesson. “Blessed are those that hear the word of God, and keep
it!” (Lk 11:28)
C: + Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
Confession of Faith:
The Apostles’ Creed;
Hymnal pg 12
Pre-Sermon Hymn: (A hymn that prepares us to hear God’s Word)
#294 - “O Word of God, Incarnate”
THE SERMON:(Fifth in a series from Joshua)
Joshua 3 - Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia
Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there
before they crossed over. 2 So it was, after three days, that the officers went through
the camp; 3 and they commanded the people, saying, "When you see the ark of the
covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall
set out from your place and go after it. 4 "Yet there shall be a space between you and
it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know
the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before." 5 And
Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do
wonders among you." 6 Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, "Take up the ark of
the covenant and cross over before the people." So they took up the ark of the
covenant and went before the people. 7 And the LORD said to Joshua, "This day I will
begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with
Moses, so I will be with you. 8 "You shall command the priests who bear the ark of
the covenant, saying, 'When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan,
you shall stand in the Jordan.' " 9 So Joshua said to the children of Israel, "Come here,
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and hear the words of the LORD your God." 10 And Joshua said, "By this you shall
know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from
before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the
Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: 11 "Behold, the ark of the covenant
of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. 12 "Now
therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from
every tribe. 13 "And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the
priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters
of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come
down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap." 14 So it was, when the people
set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of
the covenant before the people, 15 and as those who bore the ark came to the
Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water
(for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), 16 that the
waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away
at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea
of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over
opposite Jericho. 17 Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD
stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry
ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.
Sermon Theme and Notes:
“Land Me Safe on Canaan’s Side”
1) Obstacles
2) The LORD’s safe passage
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THE OFFERTORY:(We pray that God would bless us by His Word)
+ Create in me a clean heart, O God . . . (Hymnal pg 12)
Post-Sermon Hymn:
#513 - “Art Thou Weary, Art Thou Troubled”
~ Offering of Thankful Hearts ~In support of the Gospel ministry
here at Prince of Peace and throughout the CLC
~ Prayers and Lord’s Prayer ~~ Benediction ~
The Closing Hymn:
#54 - “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah”
Announcements for 7-24-11"If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." (James 4:15)
CLC NEWS Pastor Timothy Holland has resigned from his call as pastor of Rock of Ages, Grand
Rapids, MI for personal reasons. He continues to serve as pastor of Our Savior Lutheran,
Cadillac, MI. ^ Holy Cross Lutheran School (Phoenix, AZ) has called member Staci Sue
Nieuwenhuis to serve as kindergarten teacher. ^ The Mission Helper Team in Nepal
(including Natalie Schreyer) will be wrapping up their evangelism trip to Nepal this week,
returning to London on Tuesday. Please remember them in your prayers. If you’d like
more information about this year’s Mission Helper Trip, you can read their blog
http://2011mhtnepal.blogspot.com/ (Also on the “LINKS” page of our website.)
SERVICE TO OUR NATION Last week and this week are pretty busy military weeks for our
families. We rejoice to hear that Doris returned safely to the states last week from her
tour in Afghanistan. We are thankful that the LORD sustained her and brought her safely
back to her native land. This week Amy leaves for SD National Guard basic training at
Fort Sill, OK. We pray that the LORD would sustain her while she is away from her family
and church. We are thankful for their service to our nation!
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SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS NEEDED! As July draws to a close our attention begins to turn
to a new school year - and with that the continuing education of our little ones in the
Word. The blessed task of training children in the Word is the primary responsibility of
Christian parents. As a Christian congregation we want to do all we can to support and
help our parents to this end. One way which we seek to help them is through our
Sunday School program. This year’s schedule will be Old Testament lessons beginning
in Genesis and run through the life of Moses. We are looking for teachers to teach three
different levels: Level 1 is Pre-1 ; Level 2 is 3 Grade; and Level 3 is 5 -7 . rd th th
If the Lord has given you a heart to teach our young ones and would like to serve
Him, our parents, and our congregation in this way, please speak with Pastor or
Superintendent Scott. The Sunday School year is scheduled to begin on Sunday,
September 11 (Sunday after Labor Day).
PASTOR’S SCHEDULE While it may be difficult to think about such things, plans have to be
made for the move and installation of Pastor Pfeiffer at Trinity in Spokane. As calendars
are reviewed and dates are set, pastor is planning on his last Sunday at Prince of Peace
to be August 28. The moving truck would be loaded on Tuesday and Wednesday of that
week (30/31). If there are ministry needs at Prince of Peace which would require Pastor
Pfeiffer to stay past August 28, please let him know as soon as possible.
This week at Prince of Peace...
Today -
10:15 Bible Class (Bible Translations) and Sunday School Video
11:00 Harvest Festival Choir Practice
Monday
7:30 Softball in Aberdeen (vs New Life Fellowship; Field B; Last week: Loss by )
Sunday, July 31 - 6 Sunday a. Trinityth
9:00 Worship Service
10:15 Bible Class (Bible Translations) and Sunday School Video
Sunday, August 7 - Harvest Festival Sunday
NO morning worship service
4:00 Harvest Festival Service
5:30 Potluck Turkey Dinner
“The Bread of Life”Daily Bible readings for home devotions.
Mon -- 25
Tues -- 26
Wed -- 27
Thur - 28
Fri -- 29
Sat -- 30
Scripture:Genesis 9 Our world is a shadow of its former self.
Genesis 10 These are the forefathers of today’s races.
Matthew 5:43-48 God cares about the ungodly, too.
John 10:22-30 Jesus is still superior to world and Satan.
Acts 6:1-7 Love finds a way to deal with racial diversity.
1 John 1:8-10 God’s faithfulness is big enough to include us.
Hymn:
430
497
657
246
468
373
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