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Sorry for the Inconvenience.  Due to technical differences, our Sunday service did not get posted to the website until shortly after eleven.  Sunday’s service is now available.

The Sunday sermon will be posted on our church website: www.rushfordlutheran.com by 11 AM on Sundays.

Homebound members with “home phone”, please turn on your phones at the regular time of 9 AM to hear the service. Below is the bulletin to follow the recorded service.

MODIFIED RECORDED SERVICE

RUSHFORD LUTHERAN CHURCH

SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER

APRIL 19, 2020

GREETINGS

OPENING HYMN: “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice and Sing!”

Reclaim 158, vs. 1 & 2

Good Chris-tian friends, re-joice and sing!

Now is the tri-umph of our King!

To all the world glad news we bring:

Al-le-lu-ia, al-le-lu-ia, al-le-lu-ia!

The Lord of life is ris’n this day;

Bring flow’rs of song to strew his way;

Let all the world re-joice and say:

Al-le-lu-ia, al-le-lu-ia, al-le-lu-ia!

INVOCATION

Pastor:  In the name of the Father, and of Son + and of the Holy Spirit.

People:  Amen.

Pastor:        Alleluia. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again;

People:  Death no longer has dominion over Him. Alleluia.

Pastor:        Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

People:  Alleluia, alleluia.

CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS

Pastor:        Lord, You were favorable to Your land;

People:  You restored the fortunes of Jacob.

Pastor:        You forgave the iniquity of Your people;

People:  You covered all their sin.

Pastor:        Show us Your steadfast love, O Lord,

People:  And grant us Your salvation.

(Silence for private confession)

Pastor:      God has promised His merciful forgiveness to those who repent of their sins and turn to Him in confession. He will revive them and speak peace to His people. In His stead and by His command, therefore, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People:  Amen.

A PSALM OF LAMENT                                   Psalm 6 (ESV)

Pastor:  O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.

People:  Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.

Pastor:  My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord—how long?

People:  Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.

Pastor:  For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise?

People: I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.

Pastor: My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes.

People: Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.

Pastor: The Lord has heard my plea; the Lord accepts my prayer.

People: All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

FIRST LESSON                                                  I Peter 1:1-25 (ESV)

Lector:  A reading from First Peter, the first chapter.

¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, ² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, ¹¹ inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

¹³ Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵ but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

¹⁷ And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, ¹⁸ knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. ²⁰ He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you ²¹ who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

²² Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, ²³ since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴ for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, ²⁵ but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

Lector:  This is the Word of the Lord.

People:  Thanks be to God.

HOLY GOSPEL                                                  John 20:19-31 (ESV)

Pastor:  The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the twentieth chapter.

People:  Glory to You, O Lord.

¹⁹ On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ²² And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

²⁴ Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

²⁶ Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” ³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Pastor:  This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People:  Praise to You, O Christ.

TODAY’S MESSAGE:  A Crash Course in Suffering: Trial by Fire

I Peter 1:1-25 (ESV)

PRAYERS OF GOD’S PEOPLE

Pastor:  Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus, and for all people according to their needs.

Each petition ends with:  Lord, in your mercy,

To which we respond:     Hear our prayer.

Pastor:  We pray for the whole Christian Church on earth, that the peace of God dwell upon it and that the Spirit of God work through it, even while we are unable to gather together. Lord, in Your mercy,

Pastor:      We pray for the nations of the world and for the men and women entrusted with their leadership, that true and lasting tranquility be known around the globe.  That the nations of the world join together in common cause against our common enemy.  And that this time of crisis help us better understand how connected and dependent we are on one another on this planet. Lord, in Your mercy,

Pastor:      We pray for this congregation, that all of its members dwell together in unity.  That our families use this time to draw nearer and dearer to one another.  That they find ways of dealing with annoyances and irritations by turning their hearts and homes to you.   Lord, in Your mercy,

Pastor:      We pray for those whose lives are in need of a special measure of peace and comfort: the sick and the hospitalized, [including . . .], and those who are experiencing changes and challenges, including the unemployed, and the elderly, as they face each new day separated from loved ones. Lord, in Your mercy,

Pastor:  Into your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your mercy; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

LORD’S PRAYER

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.

BENEDICTION (Isaiah 43:1, ESV)

Pastor: But now thus says the Lord,

He who created you, O Jacob,

He who formed you, O Israel:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.”

People: Amen.

DISMISSAL

Pastor:  Stay home in peace.  Serve the Lord!

People: Thanks be to God!

CLOSING HYMN: “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice and Sing!”

Reclaim 158, vs. 3 & 4

Praise we in songs of vic-to-ry

That love, that life which can-not die,

And sing with hearts up-lift-ed high:

Al-le-lu-ia, al-le-lu-ia, al-le-lu-ia!

Your name we bless, O ris-en Lord,

And sing today with one ac-cord,

The life laid down, the life re-stored:

Al-le-lu-ia, al-le-lu-ia, al-le-lu-ia!

All songs and hymns CCLI 11170614.  Parts of the liturgy © Creative Worship, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO, 1994 to today; or © Lutheran Book of Worship, Augsburg Fortress Publishers, Minneapolis, MN, 1978, or © Reclaim Resources, St. Paul, MN, 2013  Scripture references, unless otherwise noted, from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version,  © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

Prayer Concerns: If you have prayer concerns, please contact Pastor Steve by emailing [email protected] or calling 507.703.1221 or contact the church office at 864.7152 ([email protected]).

Hospitalized this week: .

In Our Prayers: Early Easter Sunday morning our Lord called to rest his servant Virgil Mehus.  Virgil was recently diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease.  Please keep Helen and Virgil’s family in your prayers.  A memorial service for Virgil will be held at a later date when his family and friends can safely gather.

Continued prayers of healing and comfort for: The family of Virgil Mehus, David Anderson, Ada Kjos, Laurie Marcoux, Judy Brand, Jeannette Colbenson, Cherryl Kjos, Brian Breer, Bill Jeffers, Mike Wick, Deborah Bybee-Newly; Renee Moran, Tony Hallum, Pastor Sylvia and Pastor Julio, and Michele Benson Thompson.

Special Prayer Request: Four couples of our faith community have weddings planned during May and June.  Please keep these couples in your prayers as they struggle with how to abide by the precautions of the Coronavirus Pandemic while at the same time celebrating their wedding vows.  The couples and dates of weddings are:  Jordan Honken and Riley Vitse (May 9), Penny Wunderlich and Nathan Klinski (May 16), Jade Pelzl and Clay Olstad (June 6), and Sara Lind and Cole Kingsley (June 13).   Please lift them up in prayer to our Heavenly Father.

No Internet?  No Wi-FI?  You Can Still Tune In. Our home phone system will be expanding so you don’t need one of the church’s special phones to dial in. Please contact Pastor Steve if you are interested. There are only 12 more lines available per licensing requirements held by the phone company. Please share this with our members who do not currently have access via the Web to our services.

E-mail Your E-mail   We know you are already getting this e-mail, but please think of a fellow member or a family member of RLC that are not yet receiving the news.  Please send their email to [email protected] (With their permission, of course).

ELECTRONIC GIVING: At Rushford Lutheran Church, we use Vanco Services for direct payments. Just go to our website www.rushfordlutheran.com and look for the Tab GIVING, click on that. There will appear a box. Click on Sign In/Sign Up at the top right corner of that box. It will walk you through the set up. OR visit www.vancopayments.com/OnlineGiving‎ to set up your giving account. You can also download the free app “Give+” on your smart phone, search for Rushford Lutheran Church and follow the set up. You may choose to give to the general fund, missions, building improvements, memorial giving, Easter or lent. You can set your offering or contribution to be a one time, weekly, biweekly, monthly, etc. With these challenging times of “social distancing”, this is a great option to submit your offerings and contribution to your church. It’s fast and easy.

OFFERINGS AND CONTRIBUTIONS AND MEMORIALS can always be mailed to Rushford Lutheran Church, PO Box 399, Rushford, MN 55971 if electronic giving is not an option for you.

Trinity Lutheran Church, St. Charles. Please keep in your prayers a brand new mission church started in nearby St. Charles.  This is a break-off group from the local ELCA congregation.  They currently number around 60 members and have already been chartered as an official congregation in the State of Minnesota.   Both Pastor Steffenson and Pastor Steve have been able to provide guidance.   We have also just donated one hundred of our old green hymnals for their use.   As they too are currently unable to meet for worship, some of their members are tuning into our church’s weekly posting

The Sunday morning Bible study is still meeting via Zoom video conference.  The study is at 1 pm on Sundays (after we’ve had a chance to watch the church service).  If anyone wants the link to join the group they can email Becky Stocker at [email protected].

GREEN INTERNET PASTURES. Part of a Pastor/Shepherd’s job is to lead the flock to green pastures and still waters.  One of the blessings of the World Wide Web is the number of great Christian green pastures available, most of the time for free, to the hungry Christian.   So, each week, for as long as we are in Stay at Home mode, Pastor Steve will be providing one of his favorite Green Internet Pastures for you to graze in.

Bulletin 4-16 – This week’s pasture is: https://lutherhouseofstudy.org

While the work of the Lutheran House of Study is primarily to prepare future Lutheran pastors, the videos they produce do a fantastic job teaching and explaining the Christian faith from our Lutheran perspective.  I would especially like to encourage parents to plug into their Small Catechism videos to help prepare your children for confirmation class one day.  The resource also offers Biblical study guides and podcasts for the “seriously Lutheran” among us!

At this time, given the current climate of protective measures enacted across our service area to mitigate the coronavirus, COVID19, the Mayo Clinic Hospice Programs Bereavement of Grief Support Groups and Healing Adventure Youth

Grief Camp and in person bereavement support are suspended.  At this time, the Healing Adventure Youth Grief Camp, scheduled for September 26^th and Adult Grief Support Groups scheduled to start on September 14, 2020 have not been suspended.  Changes and additions to Mayo Clinic Hospice program’s various bereavement supports will mailed or e-mailed for your convenience when known.  Please know that bereavement support remains available through telephone contacts.  This preventative aimed decision comes from Mayo Clinic’s dedication of you and your family’s health.  For bereavement support please contact us at: 1-800-679-9084 or 507-284-4002.  E-mail: [email protected].

Thank you for all the many greetings from my church family on my 100^th birthday.  Olive Peterson.

CALENDAR:

SUNDAY, APRIL 26

9:00 AM                Home Phones: Dial in for worship service

11:00 AM              Modified Sunday Worship available on website

Website: www.rushfordlutheran.com