St. John’s Lutheran, Folcroft
Worship Service February 12, 2023
https://stjohnslutheranfolcroft.org
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
PRELUDE Dearest Jesus, at Your Word. (Walther)
* CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
Blessed be the holy Trinity, one God, who makes all things new,
whose mercy endures forever. Amen.
Trusting in God’s mercy, let us confess our sin.
Holy One, source of our renewal,
we confess that we are wrapped up in sin,
and cannot free ourselves.
We have not practiced your righteousness.
Our hearts have turned away from you.
For the sake of the world you so love,
forgive us, that we may be reconciled
to one another for the glory of your holy name.
Amen.
Thus says our God: “The former things have come to pass and new things I now declare.” God’s mercy makes us new. We are forgiven in the name of Christ our Savior. Amen.
* PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray.
O God, the strength of all who hope in you, because we are weak mortals we accomplish nothing good without you. Help us to see and understand the things we ought to do, and give us grace and power to do them, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
Amen.
* indicates please stand as you are able
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
*GATHERING SONG Holy Spirit, Ever Dwelling (ELW 582)
FIRST READING: Deuteronomy 30:15-20
[Moses said to the people:] 15See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. 16If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the LORD your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. 17But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, 18I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, 20loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the LORD swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
PSALM: Psalm 119:1-8
1Happy are they whose | way is blameless,
who follow the teaching | of the LORD!
2Happy are they who observe | your decrees
and seek you with | all their hearts,
3who never do | any wrong,
but always walk | in your ways.
4You laid down | your commandments,
that we should | fully keep them.
5Oh, that my ways were made | so direct
that I might | keep your statutes!
6Then I should not be | put to shame,
when I regard all | your commandments.
7I will thank you with | a true heart,
when I have learned your | righteous judgments.
8I will | keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
1Brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations 4For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human
5What then is Apollos What is Paul Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 6I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. 9For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.
* GOSPEL: [Jesus said to the disciples:] 21“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ 22But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. 23So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. 25Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
27“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.
31“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
33“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ 34But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.”
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
MEDITATION Rev. Wende Bleam
CHOIR ANTHEM Come, Share the Spirit. (Hobby)
* APOSTLES' CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.*
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
OFFERING
Offerings may be made on line through our website, https://stjohnslutheranfolcroft.org, or sent by mail to
St. John’s Lutheran church, 1500 Glen Avenue, Folcroft, PA 19032.
Those who are worshipping in person can place their offerings
in the plate at the door as they enter or leave.
* PRAYERS OF THE INTERCESSION:
Called together to follow Jesus, we pray for the church, the world, and all in need.
Inspire your church that it may be a sign of life throughout the world. From the exploration of faith with children and new believers to missionaries and bishops, shape lives of faithfulness, so that all find abundant life in your ways. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Nourish your creation. Accompany all who plant and water. Bless the work of farmers; provide for subsistence farmers facing drought and climate change. Guide the work of agricultural scientists toward sustainable ways to feed the world. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Give growth where there seems to be no hope for life. In nations and regions where reconciliation seems impossible, empower peacemakers with your Spirit. Where death holds sway through violence, disease, and hunger, equip relief workers to bring hope. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Lord, we pray for the Ukrainian people that they be surrounded by your love and protection against the attacks on their country. Lift them up and protect them, end this war against them and let your peace reign. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Nurture all in need. Bring healing to all who experience trauma caused by systems of injustice and destructive relationships. Give courage to those struggling to repent and those seeking reconciliation. We pray especially for the family of Dajauna, Kathy and Rich McLaughlin, Carol, Connor, Ana, Helen, Arlene, Jose, Hoon, Connie, Pat, Hazel, Deb, Joe, Ruth, Lisa, Bill, Rick, Dick, Alisia, Jacklyn, Lillian, Alexis, Jim and those we now raise before you in our hearts. We pray for those affected by the Covid virus in mind, body or spirit. Grant them healing and wholeness. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Encourage this congregation. Call us to a common purpose and keep us from quarrelling. Turn our hearts toward you and guide our leaders, so that our choices may be lifegiving for all. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Thanks be to you for the lives of all who have died in Christ. Teach us to follow them in your ways and gather us with them into the promise of eternal life with you. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
We bring to you our needs and hopes, O God, trusting your wisdom and power revealed in Christ crucified. Amen.
* LORD'S PRAYER
Gathered into one by the Holy Spirit, let us pray as Jesus taught us.
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.
* BLESSING:
God the eternal Word, who dwells with us in Jesus, and who holds us in the grace of the Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever. Amen.
* SENDING SONG Oh, That the Lord Would Guide My Ways (ELW 772)
* DISMISSAL - Go in peace. Follow the way of Jesus. Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE Canzon. (Pasquini)
We hope that this service was meaningful for you and brought God’s peace and comfort into your homes. Continue to wear a mask and wash your hands frequently and to love others as yourself. Pray, trust, believe and wait. See you next week.
You are welcome to watch the live service at 10:15 am at https://www.facebook.com/StJohnsLutheranFolcroft
Or you can watch live streaming on the St. John's website: https://stjohnslutheranfolcroft.org
If you are having trouble accessing, please let us know.
The ETERNAL CANDLE is sponsored for the month of February by the St. Johns current fund.
COMING UP:
FEBRUARY
12 – “Souper” Bowl Sunday – Instead of cooking soup to sell, we will ask folks to bring in canned soups to donate to Mt Zion.
22 - Lent begins - Ash Wednesday - Worship Service 7:30 pm
MARCH
Lenten Food Drive going to Mt. Zion
5 - Breakfast items – cereal, oatmeal, breakfast bars, muffin mixes
12 - Lunch items – soup, canned pasta, tuna, peanut butter/jelly, ramen noodles
19 - Dinner items – canned ham, spam, chili, canned vegetables, pasta and spaghetti sauce
26 - Healthy snacks – canned fruit, applesauce, pretzels, crackers, rice cakes, popcorn
YOU CAN HELP! You can be a good steward AND get your grocery shopping done. Did you know that if you purchase a grocery food gift card from St. John’s, our congregation will receive 5% of all sales of gift cards. Please see Ruth Weaver if you wish to purchase and gift cards. Thank you for helping us raise that 5% for helping to continue our ministry.
Each week, we collect food for our hungry neighbors in need in our SHARING GOD'S BOUNTY WAGON. Hunger doesn’t take a vacation. Please consider making a donation of a food item each week.
We are registered as Saint Johns Evangelical Lutheran Church for Amazon Smile. Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of eligible smile.amazon.com purchases to the charities selected by customers. To register your charity designation, you will need to go to Smile.amazon.com. Then you select our name as your charity. Again, the name is registered as Saint Johns Evangelical Lutheran Church. You will only have to register once. Next time you plan to shop online, go first to smile.amazon.com and you will be redirected to your own Amazon account. Your charity designation will be listed on the top left. So far, we have received over $206, just by doing your shopping through Smile.amazon.
The Amazon Smile program will be discontinued on February 20, 2023. If you have any large Amazon purchases, make them now!
Our Financial Response (January)
CURRENT
Budgeted costs per month $ 8,510.68
Offering last month $ 5,055.29
Budget required to date (1 month) $ 8,510.68
Total received to date $ 5,055.29
MISSION SUPPORT
Budget required to date (1 month) $ 4,800.00
Total received to date $ 415.11
Please continue to support St. John's. Our expenses continue each month even if we are not all worshipping together inside our building.
Your offering and tithes may be made on line through our website: stjohnslutheranfolcroft.org or sent by mail to
St. John’s Lutheran church, 1500 Glen Avenue, Folcroft, PA 19032.
Thank you to all the members who directed their Thrivent Choice d0ollars to St. Johns' this past month. We received $421 this past month from five members. Thanks to all!. You can direct your dollars at any time by logging into your Thrivent account.
