HOLY TRINITY SUNDAY
May 31, 2026
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
OPENING HYMN: 507 “Holy, Holy, Holy” ... View MoreHOLY TRINITY SUNDAY
May 31, 2026
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
OPENING HYMN: 507 “Holy, Holy, Holy” Lutheran Service Book
The Invocation Page 184 Confession and Absolution Page 184-185
Introit (read by the Pastor) Psalm 16:8-11, antiphon: Liturgical Text
Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity. Let us give glory to him because he has shown mercy to us. I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity. Let us give glory to him because he has shown mercy to us.
Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy) Page 186
The Salutation Page 189
Collect Prayer: Almighty and everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of the true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; for You, O father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Our Bible Readings:
Old Testament Reading -- Genesis 1:1-13 & 24-31 Psalm 8 Epistle Reading -- Acts 2:14a; 22-36 Alleluia & Verse Page 190 Gospel Reading -- Matthew 28:16-20
THE ATHANASIAN CREED Page 319
HYMN OF THE DAY: 499 “Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest”
THE SERMON –
Holy Trinity Sunday is unlike every other Sunday in the Church Year.
Most Sundays focus on an event in the life of Christ or a particular teaching of our Lord.
But today, the Church pauses in wonder and adoration before the mystery of who God is.
Who He eternally is: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—one God in three Persons.
And so today we confess with the Church throughout the ages the words of the Athanasian Creed: “We worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance.”
This is not a doctrine invented by theologians.
It is not a philosophical puzzle created by the Church.
The Trinity is the way God has revealed Himself in Holy Scripture, the Bible.
And that revelation matters deeply, because the Holy Trinity is not an abstract doctrine removed from daily life.
The Trinity is the source of your creation, salvation, sanctification, and our eternal hope.
The Father creates you.
The Son redeems you.
The Holy Spirit sanctifies; He works faith within us and preserves us in the true faith.
And yet these are not three gods acting separately, but one God working in perfect unity.
Already in the opening verses of Genesis, we hear the mystery of the Trinity revealed:
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
The Father is acting.
Then we hear: “The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”
The Holy Spirit is acting.
And when God speaks creation into existence—“Let there be light”—the eternal Word is present.
Christ is acting.
As the Apostle John declares in His Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word… All things were made through Him.”
Martin Luther emphasized this in his lectures on Genesis.
He wrote: “The Father creates through the Son, whom Moses calls the Word, and over this creative work hovers the Holy Spirit.”
Luther recognized that even at creation, the Trinity is at work.
And notice something remarkable in Genesis.
God says:
“Let Us make man in Our image.”
Not “my,” but “Our.”
God uses plurals to describe Himself.
The Christian Church has long understood these words as a glimpse into the communion of the Holy Trinity.
Luther wrote on this passage: “Here Moses clearly and forcibly expresses the mystery of the faith, that within and in the one divine essence, there are three distinct Persons.”
The world did not create itself.
Creation is not an accident.
You are not the product of blind chance.
You were lovingly created by the Triune God.
Every breath you take is gift.
Every sunrise is mercy.
Every good thing comes from the hand of the Triune God.
But the tragedy of Genesis is that the creatures made in God’s image rebelled against Him.
Sin entered the world. Death followed.
And this is where the work of the Trinity in salvation shines forth.
The Father sends the Son.
The Son becomes flesh.
The Spirit testifies to Him and works faith in our hearts.
In today’s reading from Acts, St. Peter proclaims the risen and exalted Lord: “This Jesus God raised up.”
And again: “Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God… He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.”
Notice how the Trinity is present at Pentecost.
The Father raises the Son from death and exalts Him.
The Son pours out the Spirit.
The Spirit creates faith through Peter’s preaching of Christ. Christ crucified for our sins and raised for our justification.
Your very faith is the result of the work the Holy Spirit has done and continues to do in you.
Salvation is the work of the Triune God from beginning to end.
Martin Chemnitz wrote beautifully on this, saying: “The external works of the Trinity are undivided.”
That means the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit always work together in perfect unity.
Though Scripture may emphasize one Person in a particular work, all three Persons are involved because there is one divine essence and one divine will.
The Father did not stand apart from your salvation.
The Son did not act independently.
The Spirit is not disconnected from Christ.
Rather, the Triune God acted together for your redemption.
The Father loved the world.
The Son redeemed the world with His blood.
The Spirit delivers that redemption through God’s Word and Sacraments.
This is why Holy Baptism is so precious.
At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, our risen Lord commands:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Notice Jesus says “name,” singular.
Not names.
One Name.
One God.
Yet three distinct Persons.
And into that Name you were baptized.
The Triune God placed His Name upon you.
The Father adopted you.
The Son washed you clean in His blood.
The Spirit created faith and made you a temple of God.
This is not symbolic language. It’s reality.
Your Baptism joins you to the life of the Holy Trinity.
The Athanasian Creed says:
“This is the catholic faith; whoever does not believe it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved.”
Those words may sound severe to modern ears, but the Church speaks this way because salvation depends on knowing the true God.
A false god cannot save.
Only the true God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—can redeem sinners.
And the marvel of Christianity is this: the eternal communion of love within the Trinity overflows in mercy toward sinners.
The Father doesn’t merely tolerate you.
The Son doesn’t reluctantly forgive you.
The Spirit does not begrudgingly sanctify you.
The Triune God delights to save.
The famous theologian Johann Gerhard wrote in his Loci Theologici:
“The mystery of the Trinity is not revealed for idle speculation but that we may know the true God and rightly worship Him.”
And that is exactly right.
The doctrine of the Trinity is not meant to satisfy human curiosity.
It is given so that terrified sinners may know who God is toward them.
The Father who sends His Son for you.
The Son who dies and rises for you.
The Spirit who calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies you.
This means that as a Christian, the Trinity is part of your daily life.
When you pray, you pray to the Father through the Son.
The Holy Spirit intercedes for us when we don’t know how or what to pray
When you hear absolution, the Triune God forgives you.
When you receive the Lord’s Supper, the crucified and risen Son gives you His body and blood, and the Spirit strengthens your faith.
When you suffer, the Father still governs all things for your good.
When you are weary, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
When death approaches, the Son who conquered the grave remains with you.
And this matters, especially in our confused age.
Many today want a god made in their own image—a god without holiness, without judgment, without mystery.
But the true God cannot be remade according to human preferences.
He reveals Himself.
And He reveals Himself as Trinity.
One God.
Three Persons.
Coequal. Coeternal. Uncreated. Infinite. Majestic.
Yet also merciful.
Luther once said: “To try to deny the Trinity endangers your salvation; to try to comprehend the Trinity endangers your sanity.”
There is wisdom in that statement.
We cannot fully comprehend God.
If we could fit Him neatly into human logic, He would not be God.
Yet while we cannot fully understand the Trinity, we can truly confess Him because He has revealed Himself in Scripture.
And faith clings not to human understanding, but to divine revelation.
So today, the Church doesn’t attempt to explain away the mystery.
Rather, we kneel before it in worship.
With angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, we confess:
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.
Brothers and sisters, remember this above all: The Trinity is not just a doctrine to memorize.
The Trinity is your life.
You were created by the Father.
Redeemed by the Son.
Sanctified by the Spirit.
And the Triune God who began this good work in you, will bring it to completion on the day of Christ’s final return.
Then, in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting, you will behold in perfect joy the glory of the Trinity forever.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
THE PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194 Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) Page 195 The Lord’s Prayer Page 196 The Words of Our Lord Page 197 Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) Pages 198 (Our Communion Hymn is 636 “Soul Adorn Yourself With Gladness”) Nunc Dimitis (Song of Simeon) Page 199 Post-Communion Collect (Right-hand column) Page 201
CLOSING HYMN: 876 “O Blessed, Holy Trinity”
Brothers and sisters, my sermon and our service for the Day of Pentecost are posted to Facebook at: https://facebook.com/vicartom.steers
God’s blessings,
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Luthe... View MoreBrothers and sisters, my sermon and our service for the Day of Pentecost are posted to Facebook at: https://facebook.com/vicartom.steers
God’s blessings,
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
--A Confessional Lutheran Church
THE DAY OF PENTECOST Sunday, Ma... View MoreTHE DAY OF PENTECOST Sunday, May 24, 2026 Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
OPENING HYMN: 913 “O Holy Spirit, Enter In” The Invocation Page 184 Confession and Absolution Page 184-185
Introit Psalm 68:1, 4a, c, 11a, 33b, 35a; antiphon: Liturgical text, Psalm 68:3
The Spirit of the Lord fills the world. Alleluia. The righteous shall be glad. They shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy! Alleluia. God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those that hate him shall flee before him! Sing to God, sing praises to his name; exult before him! The Lord gives the word; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. Awesome is God from his sanctuary; the God of Israel – he is the one who gives power and strength to his people. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever, Amen. The Spirit of the Lord fills the world. Alleluia. The righteous shall be glad. They shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy! Alleluia.
Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy) Page 186
The Gloria in Excelsis Page 187
Salutation Page 189
Collect Prayer: O God, on this day You once taught the hearts of Your faithful people by sending them the light of Your Holy Spirit. Grant us in our day by the same Spirit to have a right understanding in all things and evermore to rejoice in His holy consolation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Our Bible Readings:
First Reading Genesis 11:1-9 Psalm 143 (antiphon: v. 11) Epistle Reading Acts 2:1-21 Alleluia & Verse Page 190 Our Gospel Reading John 14:23-31
THE APOSTLES’ CREED Page 192
HYMN OF THE DAY: 768 “To God the Holy Spirit Let Us Pray”
THE SERMON –
Fifty days.
That number is not accidental.
The Lord does not waste details.
Fifty days after the first Passover in Egypt, Israel arrived at Mount Sinai.
There the Lord descended in fire.
There, He gave His Law through Moses.
Now, fifty days after the true Passover Lamb, Jesus, had been sacrificed on the altar of the cross, the Lord once again descends.
Again, there’s fire.
There’s the sound of divine power.
And again, God calls and forms His people.
But this time, He doesn’t write His Law on tablets of stone.
Christ pours His Holy Spirit out upon His Church.
The first Pentecost after the Exodus foreshadowed this greater Pentecost after the ascension of Christ.
The old covenant pointed to the new.
The shadow anticipated the reality.
The Passover lamb in Egypt pointed to Christ, the true Pentecost Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
This is why the timing matters.
Jesus died at Passover on the cross, then rose from the dead.
Fifty days later, as promised, He poured out the Spirit upon His apostles and His Church.
In today’s Gospel, the Apostle John declares in today’s Gospel that Jesus said:
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.”
Then John explains:
“Now this He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive.”
The Spirit proceeds from Christ.
The Spirit is sent by Christ.
The Holy Spirit doesn’t draw attention to Himself.
The Third Person of the Trinity glorifies Jesus.
Pentecost is not ultimately about ecstatic experiences or emotional excitement.
This day was and is about Christ giving His saving gifts through His Word in His Church.
That becomes clear immediately in Acts Chapter 2.
“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind.”
Notice: the sound comes from heaven.
This is God’s work.
Not man’s achievement.
Not spiritual self-improvement.
Nor emotion leaping upward toward God.
The Spirit descends from above as a pure gift.
And then:
“Divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.”
The fire matters too.
Throughout the Bible, fire marks the holy presence of God.
The Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush.
The Lord descended on Sinai in fire.
The pillar of fire led Israel through the wilderness.
And now the fire rests upon the apostles.
But notice its form.
Tongues of fire.
Because the Spirit works through speech.
Through proclamation.
Through God’s Word properly taught and preached.
The Holy Spirit does not operate apart from the Word of God.
He works through the Word spoken by the apostles.
He still works that way today.
Where God’s Law and Gospel are preached faithfully, there the Spirit is operating.
Where sins are forgiven in Christ’s name, the Spirit is present.
Where Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are administered according to Christ’s command, there the Spirit gives life and salvation.
The Spirit binds Himself to these means of grace.
In our reading from Acts, we hear that,
“They began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
These were not meaningless sounds.
Not ecstatic babble.
Not emotional gibberish.
Acts makes this clear.
The crowds say:
“How is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?”
These were real human languages.
Parthians. Medes. Elamites.
Residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Egypt, and more.
People from all over the known world heard the mighty works of God proclaimed in their own dialects.
And this points us back to another event involving human speech.
The Tower of Babel.
At Babel, sinful man united in pride against God.
Humanity sought glory for itself.
“Let us make a name for ourselves,” they said.
And so, the Lord confused their languages and scattered the nations across the earth.
Language became a sign of division and judgment.
But now at Pentecost, the Lord begins undoing Babel.
Not by erasing different languages or creating one earthly culture.
But by uniting people through one Gospel.
One Christ.
One faith.
The Spirit sounds forth one saving message in many tongues.
The Gospel is for every nation.
Every people.
The Church of Jesus Christ transcends ethnicity, nationality, and earthly divisions.
For all are one in Christ Jesus, as St. Paul taught.
This is the beginning of the new Israel, gathered not by bloodline, but by faith.
Not through descent from Abraham according to the flesh, but through faith in Abraham’s promised Seed, Jesus Christ.
And notice what astonishes the crowd.
Not merely that languages are spoken.
But what is being proclaimed.
“We hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”
The miracle serves the message.
And the message is Christ.
His death.
His resurrection.
His salvation.
The greater miracle is not that tongues speak and ears hear different languages.
The greater miracle is that dead sinners are brought to faith.
That unbelieving hearts are converted.
That those dead in trespass and sin are made alive through the Gospel.
Only the Holy Spirit can do that.
As St. Paul says, “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit.”
And this brings us to the Old Testament reading from Numbers.
There, the Spirit rested upon the seventy elders, and they prophesied.
Joshua became concerned.
He wanted Moses to stop them.
But Moses replied:
“Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit on them!”
At Pentecost, Moses’ wish begins to be fulfilled.
The Spirit is poured out broadly upon Christ’s Church.
Not only on prophets and kings, or a select few.
But upon sons and daughters.
Young and old.
Male and female.
As Peter proclaims from the prophet Joel:
“In the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh.”
Notice that phrase carefully:
“The last days.”
Peter declares that the decisive stage of history has arrived.
The end times have begun.
Not because the world ended on Pentecost.
But because Christ has come.
He has died.
He has risen.
And now Christ reigns.
The Gospel goes forth to the nations before the final Day of the Lord arrives.
We are living in those last days now.
For two thousand years, the Church has stood in this Pentecost age.
A time of preaching, Baptism, and mission.
An age in which the Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, as Martin Luther wrote.
But Peter’s quotation from Joel also reminds us that history is moving toward a conclusion.
“The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the day of the Lord comes.”
Christ will return in His glorified body.
The final judgment will arrive.
This present age will end.
And therefore, now is the time of repentance.
Now is the time to hear the Gospel.
Now is the time of salvation.
St. Peter concludes with these precious words:
“And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Everyone.
Jew and Gentile.
Slave and free.
Rich and poor.
The Gospel is for all.
Salvation is by God’s grace alone.
Through faith alone.
In Christ alone.
It’s not earned, nor deserved.
But freely given.
This is the great gift of Pentecost.
The Spirit comes not merely to amaze people with miracles.
He comes to deliver Christ.
To create faith.
To forgive sins.
To gather the Church.
To prepare sinners for eternal life.
Dear Christians, the same Spirit poured out at Pentecost is still at work today.
Not through new revelations or chaotic displays.
But through the same apostolic Word.
Every time God’s Word is preached, the Spirit is speaking.
Every Baptism is a Pentecost miracle.
Every absolution is the Spirit forgiving sins through Christ’s Word.
Every Lord’s Supper is the Spirit strengthening faith through Christ’s true body and blood.
And all this should give us great comfort.
For our salvation does not depend upon the strength of our emotions.
Or theatrical spiritual experiences.
And it does not depend upon our own worthiness.
But upon God’s promises delivered through Word and Sacrament.
The Spirit is faithful, because Christ is faithful.
And so today the risen Christ still stands among us and cries out:
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.”
Are you burdened by guilt?
Come to Christ.
Are you weary from sin?
Are you fearful about the future?
Receive the Good News of Jesus Christ.
For from Him flows living water.
The Holy Spirit Himself.
And where the Spirit is given, there is forgiveness.
There is life.
There is salvation.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you always.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194 Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) Page 195 The Lord’s Prayer Page 196 The Word of Our Lord Page 197 Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) Pages 198 (Our Communion Hymn is 622 “Lord Jesus Christ, You Have Prepared”) Nunc Dimitis (Song of Simeon) Page 199 Post-Communion Collect (Left-hand column) Page 201
CLOSING HYMN: 659 “Lord of Our Life”
THE SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
May 17, 2026
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
-- A Confessional Lutheran Church
... View MoreTHE SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
May 17, 2026
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
-- A Confessional Lutheran Church
Divine Service III – Pages 184-202
Lutheran Service Book
OUR OPENING HYMN: 544 “O Love, How Deep”
The Invocation Page 184 Confession and Absolution Page 184-185
The Introit Psalm 100: 1-5, Antiphon Psalm 101: 1
101 1I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
to you, O LORD, I will make music. 1Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing! 3 Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name! 5For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. 101 1I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
to you, O LORD, I will make music.
The Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy) Page 186
Salutation Page 189
Collect Prayer: O King of glory, Lord of hosts, uplifted in triumph far above all heavens, leave us not without consolation but send us the Spirit of truth whom You promised from the Father; for You live and reign with Him and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Our Bible Readings:
First Reading Acts 1:12-26 Psalm 68: 1-10 In front of Hymnal – read responsively Epistle Reading 1st Peter 4: 12-19, 5: 6-11 Alleluia & Verse Page 190 Our Gospel Reading John 17: 1-11
THE APOSTLES’ CREED Page 192
HYMN OF THE DAY: 526 “You Are the Way; Through You Alone”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UwxModmaSw&list=RD0UwxModmaSw&start_radio=1
THE SERMON –
In today’s Gospel text, our Lord stands on the edge of His suffering.
Within hours, He will be betrayed by Judas, arrested, mocked, scourged, condemned, and nailed to the cross.
And what does Jesus do just before all of this begins?
He prays.
John Chapter 17 is called the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus.
Martin Luther described this chapter as a precious and holy treasure, saying that here we are permitted to look into the very heart of Christ Himself.
Luther wrote that this prayer is “truly the Lord’s Prayer, which He Himself prays,” and that it reveals “what sort of thoughts Christ has toward us.”
That is what makes today’s reading so important, so comforting.
Jesus is not only preparing to die to pay for our sins.
He is preparing to intercede.
He prays for His disciples.
He prays for His Church.
And today He prays for you.
“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.”
Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus repeatedly said that His “hour” had not yet come.
But now the hour arrives.
Not the hour of earthly triumph.
Nor the hour of worldly glory.
But the hour of the cross.
This is the strange glory of God.
The glory of Christ is not first seen in outward splendour, but in His sacrificial love for sinners.
The world sees weakness in the crucifixion.
Faith sees victory.
The world sees shame.
Faith sees redemption.
The world sees a condemned man dying outside Jerusalem.
Faith sees the eternal Son of God taking away the sin of the world.
Jesus says, “Glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.”
The Father glorifies the Son through the cross and resurrection.
And the Son glorifies the Father by perfectly completing the work of salvation.
This is why Jesus says in verse 4:
“I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.”
Notice the certainty of His words.
The suffering has not yet happened, but Jesus speaks as though the work is already complete.
Because the outcome is certain.
The Lamb of God will not fail.
The Good Shepherd will not abandon His sheep.
The Saviour will complete the work given to Him by the Father.
That means your salvation doesn’t rest on unfinished business.
Or upon our worthiness.
It doesn’t depend on our strength.
It rests entirely on Christ and His finished work.
This is the comfort of the Gospel.
And then Jesus speaks words that lift our eyes beyond time itself: “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”
These words are plain and unmistakable.
Jesus existed before the world did.
Before creation.
Before time.
Before Adam.
Before the stars were formed.
The Son was with the Father in eternal glory.
Martin Chemnitz frequently emphasized that passages like this clearly testify to the divine majesty of Christ and to His unity with the Father.
Unity within the Trinity.
Jesus is not merely a holy teacher.
Not just a prophet.
He is the eternal Son of God.
True God from true God, as we confess in the Nicene Creed.
Begotten of the Father from eternity.
This is why the Church has always rejected the false teachings of those who denied Christ’s divinity.
The Arian heretics in the early Church claimed that Jesus was a creature, rather than the eternal Son of God.
But Athanasius, whose Biblical theology we see in the Athanasian Creed, stood firmly upon Holy Scriptures.
And concerning today’s Gospel, Athanasius wrote: “By adding Himself to the Father, He has shown that He is of the Father’s divine nature.”
That confession remains the confession of the true Church today.
And in a few weeks, on Trinity Sunday, we will once again confess it clearly in the words of the Athanasian Creed.
We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity.
Not three gods.
Not one person wearing three masks.
But one divine essence in three distinct Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And Jesus here reveals that eternal divine glory.
Lutheran Theologian Johann Gerhard observed that Christ speaks here according to both His divine and human natures.
According to His divinity, the Son eternally possessed glory with the Father.
According to His humanity, He now goes to the cross and then enters into His exaltation.
Gerhard also wrote that true knowledge of God is inseparable from Christ Himself.
And that leads us to one of the most important verses in this chapter.
Jesus says: “this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
Notice that eternal life is not described merely as something in the future.
It’s not simply heaven later.
It begins now.
Eternal life is to know God through Christ.
This knowledge is not mere intellectual information.
The devil knows facts about God.
Unbelievers can memorize Bible verses.
But saving knowledge means faith.
To know Christ is to trust Him.
Cling to Him.
To receive Him as Saviour, daily, and on Sunday, in the life of the Church, where His Absolution, His Word, and His true Body and Blood are given.
We need to keep in sight two central themes here:
First, to know God is eternal life.
Second, knowledge of the true God cannot be separated from Christ, who alone gives access to the Father.
There is no saving knowledge of God, apart from Jesus.
No other path.
No alternate road.
No spirituality detached from Christ.
Jesus Himself says: “No one comes to the Father except through me.”
This is why the Church must never soften or compromise this confession.
In our world today, many people speak warmly about “God” while rejecting Christ.
But a god without Christ is not the true God.
Jesus says eternal life is found in knowing “the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
And so, we must hear a warning.
Whenever Christians neglect or avoid God’s Word, they cut themselves off from the very source through which Christ gives and sustains this saving knowledge.
Faith comes by hearing.
And hearing through the Word of Christ.
The Book of Hebrews tells us that.
To neglect the Scriptures is spiritually dangerous.
To despise preaching and the Sacraments is spiritually fatal.
For Christ comes to us through these means of grace.
He reveals Himself through His Word.
He strengthens faith through His gifts.
He preserves us in the truth.
This is especially important because the Church lives in a hostile world.
Our Epistle from 1st Peter reminds us:
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you.”
The disciples would soon face persecution.
The apostles would suffer imprisonment, beatings, exile, and martyrdom.
The Church throughout history has often lived beneath the shadow of the cross.
And so do Christians today.
Perhaps not always through violent persecution.
But through ridicule.
Isolation.
Temptation.
Pressure to compromise.
Pressure to remain silent.
Encouragement to abandon the truth.
Yet notice what Jesus does in John 17.
He prays for His disciples before they enter the storm, saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name.”
Jesus knows their weakness.
He knows Peter will deny Him.
That the disciples will scatter.
And still, He prays for them.
This is one of the great comforts of the Christian faith.
Your salvation does not depend merely upon your hold on Christ.
It rests upon Christ’s hold on you.
Even now, the risen Lord intercedes for His Church.
He prays for His people.
He preserves His flock.
Martin Luther once said that if we could hear Christ praying for us in the next room, we would not fear a million enemies.
But the truth is even better than that.
Christ is praying for us at the right hand of the Father.
And His prayer never fails.
We see this preservation also in today’s First Reading from Acts.
After Christ’s ascension, the apostles gathered together in prayer.
Judas had fallen away.
The apostolic office needed to be filled.
And Matthias is chosen.
Notice what this reveals.
The Church continues because Christ preserves it.
The betrayer falls.
The office remains.
The Gospel continues.
The risen Lord sustains His Church despite human weakness and failure.
Psalm 68 also proclaims this confidence:
“God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered.”
The enemies of Christ may rage.
The world may oppose the Church.
Yet Christ reigns.
The ascended Lord governs all things for the good of His people.
And because He lives, His Church lives also.
Dear friends, this Gospel invites us today to look directly into the heart of Jesus.
And what do we see there?
Not reluctance.
Nor uncertainty.
Not indifference.
We see love and mercy, the eternal Son willingly going to the cross for sinners.
We see the Saviour praying for His weak and struggling disciples.
We see Christ preserving His Church through His Word.
And we see the promise of eternal life given freely through faith in Him.
This world constantly offers counterfeit sources of life.
Success. Pleasure. Wealth. Politics. New-age occultism.
But none of these can conquer death.
None of these can forgive sins or give you peace before God.
Only Christ can.
Eternal life is to know the Father through the Son.
And you know Him because He has revealed Himself to you.
In your Baptism, He placed His name upon you.
In His Word, He speaks forgiveness to you.
In His Supper, He gives you His true body and blood for the forgiveness of sins.
And even now, Christ continues to pray for you.
That is why you needn’t fear.
Not death.
Not suffering.
Not the hostility of the world.
Nor even your own weakness.
For your Saviour has completed the work of redemption.
The eternal Son has gone to the cross to pay for our sins.
And has been raised by God the Father for our justification.
As believers, Christ’s victory over sin, death, and the devil becomes our own.
The risen Lord intercedes for His Church.
Where He is present now.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194 Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) Page 195 The Lord’s Prayer Page 196 The Word of Our Lord Page 197 Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) Pages 198 (Our Communion Hymn is 636 “Soul Adorn Yourself With Gladness”) Nunc Dimitis (Song of Simeon) Page 199 Post-Communion Collect (Right-hand column) Page 201
CLOSING HYMN: 525 “Crown Him with Many Crowns”
THE SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
May 10, 2026
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
-- A Confessional Lutheran Church
... View MoreTHE SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
May 10, 2026
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
-- A Confessional Lutheran Church
Divine Service III – Pages 184-202
Lutheran Service Book
OUR OPENING HYMN: 773 “Hear Us, Father, When We Pray”
The Invocation Page 184 Lutheran Service Book
Confession and Absolution Page 184-185
THE INTROIT Psalm 66:1.2a; 17, 19-20; antiphon: Isaiah 48:20b
With a voice of singing, declare this with a shout of joy to the end of the earth. Alleluia. The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob! Alleluia. Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name. I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on my tongue. But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me! Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. With a voice of singing, declare this with a shout of joy to the end of the earth. Alleluia. The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob! Alleluia.
The Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy) (from Mark 10:47)
Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.
The Salutation – Pastor: The Lord be with you. Congregation: And also with you.
OUR COLLECT PRAYER:
O God, the giver of all that is good, by Your holy inspiration grant that we may think those things that are right and by Your merciful guiding accomplish them;
through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord., who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
OUR BIBLE READINGS:
Old Testament – Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm 107:1-9
Epistle – 1st Timothy 2:1-6
The Verse – Liturgical Text: John 16:
Gospel Reading - John 16:23-33
THE APOSTLES’ CREED Page 192
HYMN OF THE DAY: 895 “Now Thank We All Our God”
THE SERMON
Grace, peace, and mercy to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
In today's Gospel reading, our Lord speaks words that are both comforting and bracing.
He invites us to pray.
He promises that the Father hears us.
He assures us our sorrows will turn to joy.
And yet, in the same breath, He tells us plainly: “In the world you will have tribulation.”
This is not the kind of promise the world would write in a greeting card. But it is the counselling words of Christ.
And a promise that’s filled, not with despair, but with deep and unshakable comfort.
For Jesus does not leave us in tribulation.
He says: “Take heart; I have overcome the world.”
That’s the key to everything in this text.
Not that we’ll escape trouble.
But Christ has overcome it for us.
So, in Him, we too overcome.
Our Lord begins by talking about prayer.
“Whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He will give it to you.”
These are astonishing words.
Jesus is opening the door of Heaven to His disciples.
He’s telling them that through Him, they have access to the Father.
Not as strangers.
Nor as beggars who have to settle for scraps.
But as beloved children who are heard.
This ties directly to what we hear in the Epistle reading from 1st Timothy.
St. Paul urges that “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.”
Why?
Because “there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
This is the heart of Christian prayer.
We don’t pray because we are worthy.
Or because we’ve earned a hearing.
We pray because we have a mediator who directs us to.
We pray in Jesus’ name.
That means as Christians, we come before the Father clothed in Christ.
His righteousness becomes our own.
His beloved status before the Father is now ours by grace.
This is why Jesus says, “The Father Himself loves you.”
Not because of anything in us.
But because we are in Christ.
Because we believe that Jesus came from God.
This is pure Gospel — free, undeserved, overflowing grace.
And yet, Jesus knows the hearts of His disciples.
He knows our hearts as well.
So, He goes on to speak honestly about what lies ahead.
“The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered.”
And then: “In the world you will have trouble.”
This is where our expectations often falter.
We hear of the promises of prayer, of joy, and the Father’s love.
So we might be tempted to think the Christian life should be smooth and easy.
That if we pray “correctly,” or believe strongly enough, we’ll be spared hardship.
But Jesus says otherwise.
He tells us the truth.
There will be tribulation and suffering in this world.
There will be moments when we feel scattered, alone, even abandoned.
This shouldn’t surprise us.
For it was true, first, of Christ Himself.
He was the one who was forsaken on the cross.
Bearing the sin of the world, our sin.
Enduring the wrath we deserved.
And yet, even there, He was not ultimately alone.
“The Father is with Me,” He says.
And through His suffering and death, He accomplished the victory over sin and death.
“I have overcome the world,” Jesus explains.
This is not only a hope for the future.
It’s a present reality.
The victory has been won.
Sin is atoned for.
Death defeated.
The devil overthrown.
Christ reigns.
And this victory is given to you.
This is where the Old Testament reading sheds light on our Gospel.
In Numbers Chapter 21, the people of Israel are in distress.
Fiery serpents are biting them, and they’re dying.
So God provides what might seem a strange remedy: a bronze serpent lifted up on a pole.
Whoever looks at it lives.
This solution does not come by human reason.
But it is God’s appointed means of salvation.
And Jesus Himself tells us in John 3:14-15 that this points directly to Him.
As the serpent was lifted up, so must the Son of Man be lifted up on the cross, Christ told Nicodemus.
There, the cure for sin is given.
There, life is won.
And now, whoever receives the Gospel, the Good News of Christ, lives.
In the desert, the Israelites bitten by snakes looked at the bronze serpent on a pole to be healed.
Likewise, humans bitten by the “poison” of sin look to the lifted-up Jesus for spiritual healing and eternal life.
This is how we overcome the world.
Not by our own strength.
Not by avoiding suffering.
But by looking to the One who was lifted up for us.
By trusting in His victory and receiving His gifts, His means of grace.
This is also why our Lord says, “You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.”
This isn’t the denial of sorrow.
Jesus doesn’t say that sorrow will vanish immediately.
He says it will be transformed.
Turned into joy.
Like a woman in labour, Jesus says elsewhere in this chapter, pain gives way to joy when a child is born.
So it is with the Christian life.
Our present sufferings are real, not imaginary.
And they’re often not insignificant.
But they’re also not the final word.
Christ’s victory is. And that victory reshapes everything.
Even now, in the midst of trouble, we have peace.
“Peace I leave with you,” Jesus says in the same farewell discourse.
“That in Me you may have peace.”
Notice where peace is found.
Not in the world.
Nor in circumstances.
But in Him.
This is why a Christian can have peace even when things are outwardly falling apart.
Because our peace is anchored in Christ’s finished work.
In His overcoming the world.
Martin Luther once wrote words that capture this truth: “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness.”
That’s exactly what Jesus is teaching here.
We don’t have to twist God’s arm.
We don’t have to convince Him to care.
The Father Himself loves us.
And so, we come to Him boldly.
Confidently.
Not because we are strong.
But because Christ is.
And so, brothers and sisters, what does this mean for us today?
First, that we should pray.
Not as a last resort.
But as a first response.
We’ve been invited.
Commanded, even.
To pray individually, and together in the Church, in worship, where the Third Commandment tells us we should be.
To bring our needs, our fears, our concerns before the Father.
For ourselves and one another.
For all people, as St. Paul says.
And we do so in the confidence that we are heard.
Secondly, it means that we should not be surprised by tribulation.
When suffering comes, it does not mean God has abandoned us.
And it doesn’t mean our prayers have failed.
It means that we are in a world that Christ Himself has already overcome.
And thirdly, it means we should take heart.
Not in ourselves, but in Christ.
His victory is sure.
His promises are certain.
And His joy will not be taken from you.
Even now, we have that joy, that peace.
You have access to the Father through Christ.
We have His gifts within the Church—His forgiveness in the Absolution, His Word, His very body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.
One day, the sorrows and troubles of this world will be gone.
And the joy will be complete.
Until that time, we live by faith.
We pray in Christ’s name.
We endure in His strength through His victory.
“Take heart; I have overcome the world,” Jesus says.
That is the promise, the comfort.
That is the Gospel.
Amen.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
THE SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194
THE LORD’S PRAYER
THE WORDS OF OUR SAVIOUR
INSTITUTING THE LORD’S SUPPER
The Agnus Dei (Lamb of God)
The Distribution
(Our hymn during distribution is 627 “Jesus Christ, Our Blessed Saviour”)
Post Communion Collect (Left-hand column) Page 201
Salutation and Benedicamus Page 201
The Benediction Page 202
OUR CLOSING HYMN: 918 “Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer”
THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
May 3, 2026
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
Divine Service III – Pages 184-202
... View MoreTHE FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
May 3, 2026
Pastor Tom Steers
Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto
Divine Service III – Pages 184-202
OUR OPENING HYMN: 537 “Beautiful Saviour”
The Invocation Page 184 Lutheran Service Book
Confession and Absolution Page 184-185
Introit Psalm 30: 1-5; antiphon Psalm 149, verse 1
Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the godly! I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3 O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. 4 Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
Glory Be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen. Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the godly!
The Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy) (from Mark 10:47)
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
The Salutation – Pastor: The Lord be with you. Congregation: And also with you.
Collect Prayer:
O God, You make the minds of Your faithful to be of one will. Grant that we may love what You have commanded and desire what You promise, that among the many changes of this world our hearts may be fixed where true joys are found; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Our Bible Readings:
First Reading – Acts 6:1-9; 7:2a, 51-60
The Gradual (adapted from Matthew 28:7; Hebrews 2:7; Psalm 8:6)
Christ has risen from the dead. God the Father has crowned Him with glory and honour, He has given Him dominion over the works of His hands; He has put all things under His feet.
Epistle Reading – 1st Peter 2:2-10
Gospel Reading – John 14:1-14
THE NICENE CREED Page 191
HYMN OF THE DAY: LSB 526 “You Are the Way; Through You Alone”
THE SERMON
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
“Let not your hearts be troubled.”
These are the words our Lord Jesus Christ spoke on the night he was betrayed.
They are not casual words.
They’re spoken into a moment of fear, confusion, and sorrow.
The disciples have just heard that Jesus is going away.
They don’t understand where He’s going.
They don’t understand why He must go.
And so, their hearts are troubled.
Into that anxiety, Jesus says: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me.”
Brothers and sisters in Christ, these words are not only for the disciples then.
They are for you, now.
Because our hearts are often troubled.
We know what it is to live with uncertainty.
To face grief, illness, conflict, and fear.
We know what it is to wonder what lies ahead.
And into all of that, Jesus speaks the same comforting words.
He doesn’t tell us to ignore our problems.
Or to pretend everything is fine.
Instead, Christ directs us to faith.
“Believe in God; believe also in Me.”
The comfort He gives is not found in our will or strength.
The peace He offers is found in Himself, the only Son of God, God in human flesh, our Saviour.
And so, He continues: “In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”
Here is the first great reassurance.
Jesus is going away—but not to abandon His disciples.
He will prepare a place, an eternal home, a new promised land for the Church.
He is going to the cross, to the grave, but He is also going to rise again.
He will ascend to the right hand of the Father, the position of power.
And in all of this, He is preparing a place for you, also.
This is not just a future promise.
It is a present reality, grounded in His saving work.
Because by His death and resurrection, He offers the Father’s kingdom to repentant sinners who receive the Good News of Him as Saviour.
By His blood, He creates salvation and a renewed life where there was none.
By His righteousness, He gives you a standing before the Father you did not earn.
Martin Luther once wrote on this passage: “Christ goes to prepare a place for us not by building with wood or stone, but by His suffering and death, by which He opens heaven and makes room for us.”
This is the heart of today’s Gospel text.
Our place with God is not prepared by our efforts.
It is prepared by Christ’s cross.
And because He has done this, Jesus gives you a promise: “I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.”
Notice how personal that is.
He doesn’t simply say, “You will go to heaven.”
He says, “I will take you to Myself.”
Your hope is not just a place.
Your hope is a Person, the Third Person of the Holy Trinity.
To be with Christ is eternal life.
To be with God is the end of all trouble.
And yet, even now, the disciples struggle to understand.
Thomas says to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?”
It’s an honest question.
It is also a question that echoes in every human heart.
How do we find the way to God?
How do we know that we are going in the right direction?
Can we be sure?
To these questions, Jesus answers with one of the most profound and exclusive statements in all of Holy Scripture: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
He doesn’t say, “I will show you the way.”
He says, “I am the way.”
The way to the Father is not a set of instructions.
It is not a mystical ladder you must climb.
The way is Jesus Himself.
To believe in Him is to be on the way.
To trust in Him is to already belong to the Father.
Lutheran Theologian Johann Gerhard, who lived from 1582 to1637, reflected on this beautifully when he wrote:
“Christ is the way according to His humanity, by which He leads us to the Father; He is the truth according to His divinity, revealing the Father; and He is the life as the one who gives eternal life to all who believe.”
This means that everything you need for salvation is found in Jesus.
He is the way — we do not need another path, there is no other.
He is the truth — we do not need another revelation.
He is the life—we do not need to find another source.
And so, Jesus continues: “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”
Philip, still confused, says, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
Jesus responds with a gentle rebuke: “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know Me, Philip? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father.”
Here is another great comfort.
God is not hidden from you.
He’s revealed in Christ.
If you want to know what God is like, look to Christ.
To His mercy toward sinners.
To His compassion for the suffering.
To His willingness to go to the cross.
There you see the Father’s heart.
There you see the fullness of God’s love for you.
And this matters, because troubled hearts often imagine God wrongly.
We can imagine Him as distant, as harsh.
Some see Him as a relentless avenger.
But Jesus shows us the truth.
God is love.
The Father gives His own Son for you.
Then Jesus speaks of the works that flow from faith.
“Whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”
These “greater works” are not greater in power than raising the dead.
They are greater in scope.
Because through the preaching of the Gospel, the risen and ascended Christ works through His Church to bring life to the world.
And here we see a connection to our First Reading from Acts.
The apostles appoint the first deacons to serve the needs of the Church.
Among them is Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.
Stephen proclaims Christ boldly, even in the face of opposition.
And though he is martyred, the Gospel continues to spread.
These are the “greater works ” – Christ working through His people to bring the message of salvation to the ends of the earth.
And you are part of this.
As those who believe in Christ, you are called to confess Him.
You are called to live in the faith He has given you.
You are called to serve the neighbour in love.
Not to earn your place in the Father’s house, but because your place has already been prepared.
And finally, Jesus gives this promise concerning prayer: “Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
To pray in Jesus’ name is not to use a magical formula.
It is to pray in faith.
It is to pray trusting in His Word, His will, and His promises.
It is to pray as those who belong to Him.
And He promises to hear and answer.
Not always in the way we expect.
Not always according to our timing.
But always for our good and for the glory of the Father.
Dear friends in Christ, your hearts will be troubled.
This life does not spare us from sorrow.
But we are not left without comfort.
Christ Himself is your blessed assurance.
He is the way to the Father.
He has revealed the Father’s love.
He works through you for the sake of His Kingdom.
And He hears our prayers.
Even more than that, He will come again, to take you to Himself.
And on that day, every troubled heart will be stilled.
Every tear wiped away.
And you will dwell in the Father’s house, forever.
Until that day, live by faith.
Trust in His promises.
Cling to His Word.
And “Let not your hearts be troubled.”
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
THE SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT
P: Blessed are You O Lord, our God, king of the universe, for you have had mercy on us and given Your only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
C: We give You thanks Father for the redemption You have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may faithfully take communion
and receive the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation that come from the body and blood of Christ.
P: Father, hear us as we pray as Jesus taught us.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
C: 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.
Preface
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Lift up your hearts.
C: We lift them to the Lord.
P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C: It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
P: It is truly meet, right, and salutary, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks to you, O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty and Everlasting God.
For in the mystery of the Word made flesh, You have given us a new revelation of Your glory; that seeing You in the Person of Your Son, we may be drawn to the love of those things which are not seen.
THE WORDS OF OUR SAVIOUR
INSTITUTING THE LORD’S SUPPER
Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said:
“Take, eat; this is My + body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying:
“Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My + blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
P: The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C: Amen.
Lamb of God (Agnus Dei)
P: Lamb of God You take away the sin of the world,
C: Have mercy on us.
P: Lamb of God You take away the sin of the world,
C: Have mercy on us.
P: Lamb of God You take away the sin of the world,
C: Grant us peace.
The Distribution
(Our hymn during distribution is 622 “Lord Jesus Christ, You Have Prepared”)
Post Communion Collect (Right-hand column) Page 201 of our Hymnal
Salutation and Benedicamus Page 201
The Benediction Page 202
OUR CLOSING HYMN: 733 “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”
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