Grace Lutheran Church Oshawa

Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany          January 29, 2017

Welcome in the name of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. If you are visiting, we are glad that you are here and kindly ask that you sign our guest book at the sanctuary doors. If you would like to become a member please speak to the Pastor. In case of illness, the Pastor should be informed. He will always be glad to speak with those who are confronted with problems of a spiritual nature. The time before worship is a quiet time for prayer and meditation to prepare for worship. Please see the inside cover of the hymnal for prayers and page 329f to prepare for Holy Communion. Communicant members are asked to fill out a communion card found in the pew racks and place it in the offering plates.

 

God Manifests His Glory in the Humility and Weakness of Christ Crucified

The Lord tells His people, “I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery” (Micah 6:4). By the sacrifice of His beloved Son, He has redeemed us from our slavery of sin and death; He has forgiven our transgressions by the shedding of His blood. His great mercy and salvation lead us “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly” with our God (Micah 6:8). We boast only in the incarnate and crucified Lord Jesus. He is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24). He is our life and salvation, our “wisdom” and “righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30). Now He opens His mouth and teaches us His wisdom. By His cross and Passion, the kingdom of heaven is ours. We receive mercy and are satisfied; we see God and are called sons of God in Christ. “Blessed are you,” therefore, “when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely” on account of Christ (Matt. 5:11).

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Collect of the Day

Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we cannot stand upright.  Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

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ORDER OF SERVICE: Setting Three page 184.  The Introit on the insert is sung responsively by half verse.

 

Readings:  Micah 6: 1 - 8                        1 Corinthians  1: 18 – 31                     Matthew 5: 1 – 12

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HYMNS:   904,  842,  848 (offering hymn),  690,  851,  782

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Presiding Minister (P):  Rev. Jack Hetzel                                          Assisting minister (A) lay: Shane

Organist/Pianist: Paula                                                                      Acolyte: Christine

Sound System: Anna/Philip                                                              Webmaster:  Michael

Secretary: Ann  (Tue.) and Debby (Wed. 5-7 for January)             Parish Nurse: Jane                          

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PRAYER INTERCESSIONS: family & friends of Phyllis (Mark’s mother); Mihaly (nephew died suddenly);  Fred (whose brother died);  Ann (VBS Nicaragua); Monika; Vada; Edith; David; Ryan; Kim; Asser;  Gheorghe; Sharon; Autumn; Susan; Mary; Hans & Sonya; Sherran & Larry; Heather; Konrad & Herta; Gene & Margaret; Albina; Rob & Debbie;  Betty; Lucie; Claudette; Andre & Micheline; George & Waldtraut; Suzanne; Will; Brenda; Nirmala and Anuradha; Anjani; Baby Caleb; George

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FUNERAL SERVICE:  for Phyllis, mother of Mark, is on Sat. Feb. 4 at Oshawa Funeral Home, at 11:00am.  May she rest in peace in Christ Jesus until the day of Resurrection.

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JANUARY BIRTHDAY LUNCHEON:  follows the service today.  Come and celebrate God’s gifts of life, marriage and baptism with the January honourees.  Don’t forget to bring a food item for the food bank.

 

WELCOME EDLYA:  The Lutheran young adults from our East District are holding a retreat here at Grace this weekend.  We hope and pray that you may be blessed from hearing God’s Word and being with one another in Christ.  We look forward to getting to know you at the luncheon after service.  God’s blessings and may He grant you a safe journey home.

 

LADIES OF GRACE-DONATIONS NEEDED FOR 2017:  We continue to accept donations for layettes and school bags.  Thanks!

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PRAYER CHAIN:  Paula is our Evangelism Team Leader, she has restarted the prayer chain for anyone who is in need of help.  Once a request is either brought to her and/or from Pastor, she will call the  prayer chain members, who will only have knowledge of a person in need of support and prayers. All will be confidential, unless otherwise instructed by you. Please call, we’re here for you.

 

GREETERS:  A welcoming smile and a firm handshake is a warm invitation to our Grace family. Please sign up for either whole month or a few Sundays or if you notice no one is there at 10:15 am. Please step in an  Greet! See sign up form on bulletin board and table/or bulletin board in Narthex

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MISSION QUILTS: We start quilting again on Tuesday, January 31 at 9:00 AM. We'll see you then.  Minnie and Ann

 

THE LUTHERAN HOUR BROADCASTS: Hear inspirational messages every Sunday on Hamilton CHAM 820/am at 8:00 AM. See bulletin board for broadcast topics; Streaming audio and pod-casts at:  www.lutheranhour.ca.

 

GRACE LUTHERAN LIBRARY - BOOK OF THE MONTH - HISTORY OF OUR GRACE CHURCH:  Our library is going to feature a book of the month.  Please take a few moments and look at the book of the month which is just newly released, “Be True and Serve”. It’s an autobiography of our parishioner Monika Stimming’s mother.  A fascinating story of Monika’s family during Germany’s Third Reich, and WWII. It’s also about starting a new life with her family and “Little Monika” in Oshawa. You can find it on top of the white book case in the narthex.  Enjoy reading some history of how God’s grace has been working among us! Also, take some time to browse through our library for interesting Christian books.

 

CHURCH FUNDRAISER: Sometimes we need a card to say thank you, hope you’re doing okay,  or congratulations. Have a look at our rack of cards outside of the office. Take a card and put a donation in the container on the rack.  All funds are for our debt reduction fund. If you have a stack of cards at home that you want to donate, place them on the rack in the right category. Thank you.

 

90th ANNIVERSAY FOR GRACE L.C.:  Our 90th Anniversary is fast approaching, and we would like some of your expertise in the matter, please let Gina know if you are interested in joining the organizing committee.

 

FURNACE REPLACEMENTS:  We have had to replace two of our three furnaces due to heat exchanger failure. This has resulted in an unplanned expenditure in excess of $10,000.00.  Church council is reviewing how to cover these costs and will report back to our church members in the near future. All donations are welcome towards the cost of this expense. Thank you.

 

THANK YOU: The Sunday School would like to thank you for devotions to the Hygienic Kits; We were able to put together 25 of these kits for the BACK-DOOR MISSION ON SIMCO STREET.

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THANK YOU:  Ann for your secretarial help in the church office.  We are grateful that you have volunteered your time and expertise in the work of the office.  (Ann is currently with a team of LCC support workers in Nicaragua and will continue to teach Sunday School upon her return.)  God bless you Ann and thanks again for all your efforts.

 

DEFENDING LIFE FROM BEGINNING TO END…Issues, Etc. is a radio talk show hosted by LCMS Pastor Todd Wilken and produced by Lutheran Public Radio in Collinsville, IL.  This week’s topics include: The Inside Story of Roe v. Wade, Embryonic Autonomy, Physician-Assisted Suicide, Contraception, Embryonic Stem Cell Research and more.  You can listen to what you want when you want at www.issuesetc.org and on the Lutheran Public Radio mobile app.

 

EVANGELISM: Open invitation to an outreach conference at Christ our King Mississauga to share and discuss ideas for outreach to the lost . Feb 11th/17 (9-4)Paula and Carolyn leaving church parking lot at 730 am.. Please call if you need a Ride.

 

DEBT REDUCTION: We are running another Debt Reduction campaign with a matching grant from Faith Life of $300.00 which ends February 5th.  Reg

 

​​This Week under Grace

 

Today (g)                      9:30am                           Bible Study/Sunday School

                                    10:30am                           Divine Service (C) followed by the birthday luncheon

Wednesday                  9:00am                           Service (c) & Bible Study

Thursday                                                              PURIFICATION OF MARY & PRESENTATION OF OUR LORD

Saturday                      11:00am                          Funeral Service of Phyllis Humble, Oshawa Funeral Home

Sunday (g)                     9:30am                           Bible Study/Sunday School

                                     10:30am                           Divine Service(C)

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OFFERING COUNTERS: We are looking for volunteers to assist in counting weekly offerings on Sundays.  Currently counting is done by just a few members of the congregation.  It is a rather simple task carried out on a computer.  Please give this request consideration to lighten the load on our Financial Sec’y Wendy.

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BIRTHDAY LUNCH & FOOD BANK:  Don’t forget to bring non-perishable food items for the food bank to the birthday lunches. Thanks  See you on January 29th for the next Congregational Luncheon.

 

BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENTS:  There is a folder in the holder outside the office door for weekly inserts for the bulletin and monthly calendar.  Items for the Bulletin are due by Wednesday of each week by noon and 3rd Sunday of each month for calendar.  Or email your dates and events to office@gracelutheranoshawa.net; Start thinking about 2017 dates for meetings and events. Enter on calendar in narthex on table.  Thank you.