No Condemnation 17:55

The Learn by heart passage for the week beginning March 26, 2023

What is the second petition?
Thy kingdom come.

What does this mean?
The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also.

How does God’s kingdom come?
God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.

Sermon Text: John 11:17-27,38-53

Sermon: 

April 2, 2023

Palm Sunday/Sunday of the Passion

READINGS

John 12:12–19
(Palm Sunday Procession) Isaiah 50:4–9a
“Who is My adversary?”

Psalm 118:19–29
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”

or Psalm 31:9–16
“My times are in Your hand.”

Philippians 2:5–11
He became obedient to death.

Matthew26:1–27:66

or Matthew 27:11–66 or John 12:20–43
The betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus Chris

Remember your Baptism Daily!

We urge each of you to remember your Baptism every day, and to go at every opportunity to a church where they teach that Jesus suffered, died, and rose in victory for all of your sins, we also encourage you to read your Bible daily, in this way God will feed your faith and keep you sure of going to heaven.

One of many OAFC Witnessing method.

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3rd Mid-Week Lenten Sermon

The Mission of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church:

Is to gather together to be built up in God’s word and to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Apostles’ Creed

C I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His 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 into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life + everlasting. Amen.

What about The Gospel?

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. This pamphlet has been prepared to show you how much we need the Gospel, why it is such good news, how we receive it and how we respond to it. Why do we need the Gospel? We cannot really understand how good the message of the Gospel is until we understand how bad our situation is without it. We are poor miserable sinners. We sin daily and deserve nothing but God’s wrath and punishment. Without Jesus Christ, our situation would be totally hopeless. The Scriptures describe human beings as dead in trespasses and sin. Without the mercy and cleansing of God through the blood of Jesus Christ, there awaits for us only everlasting punishment in hell. Thus, we need the Gospel— desperately! What is the Gospel? The word “gospel” is a translation of a Greek word that means, “an announcement of good news.” The Gospel is the good news that God the Holy Trinity decided not to abandon humanity when Adam and Eve ﬁrst fell into sin. God decided then and there that sin and death would not have the last word. He promised to send a Savior. When the time was right, God sent His Son into our world to be born of the Virgin Mary. Our Lord Jesus Christ lived a perfect life for us. On the cross, He received the penalty and punishment for the sins of the whole world, offering Himself as the perfect sacriﬁce for sin. Jesus rose from the dead, victorious over our ancient enemies: sin, death and the devil. Therefore, each Christian is able with great joy and conﬁdence to declare before the whole world: “My Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.” What glorious good news! The one, true eternal and all- powerful God came into our world to live, suffer, die and rise again for us. We, who are unholy and unrighteous, receive the forgiveness of all our sins and thus receive the perfect holiness and righteousness of Christ our Savior—as a free gift—purely because of His love for us. That is good news! That is the Gospel! How do we receive this great salvation in our lives today? How do we personally receive the forgiveness Christ won for the entire world? How does what happened on the cross nearly 2,000 years ago ﬂow into our lives today? Here too there is very good news. God, through His Gospel, offers us forgiveness and help against sin in more than one way. God is surpassingly rich in His grace. He gives His Gospel to us through His Word, through Baptism, through the Sacrament of the Altar, and through confession and absolution. These are the ways God enters our lives today to apply to us personally the great salvation Christ won for the world. The Holy Spirit works through the Word of the Gospel to create and sustain faith in our heart that Christ is the Savior of the world, and thus our Savior too. The Bible is the Word of God, written down for our learning and ediﬁcation. The Scriptures are ﬁlled with the good news of Jesus Christ and all that He has done for us. Through the almighty, Spirit-ﬁlled Word, God gathers us into His church, which is truly the mother that begets and bears every Christian through the Word of God. The Holy Spirit is present, effective and active through the Word when it is proclaimed, heard and meditated upon. The Sacrament of Holy Baptism is water included in God’s command and combined with God’s Word; or as St. Paul says in Holy Scripture, “The washing of water with the word.” Through Baptism, we are made partakers of Christ’s death and resurrection. Therefore, we know that Baptism works forgive- ness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal life to all who believe. Since Baptism is connected to the Word and promise of God, it is truly a life-giving water, rich in grace—a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit. Christ has provided a special application of the Gospel through confession and absolution. Confession is admitting our sins to God and receiving His forgiveness from our pastor, as from God Himself, not doubting, but ﬁrmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven. Thus, by divine ordinance, Christ Himself has entrusted absolution to his Christian church and commanded us to absolve one another from sins. The Lord’s Supper is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself, for us Christians to eat and to drink. In the Lord’s Supper, Christ’s body and blood are given to us as our treasure and gift which sustains our faith and life in Him. If you are heavy-laden and feel your weakness, go joyfully to the Sacrament and receive refreshment, comfort and strength. Those who want to be forgiven by God and who want to enjoy His presence in their lives, hunger and thirst for the Word and Sacraments. With the Psalmist we say, “My soul thirsts for God,for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” God has provided the means to receive Him. So, Christians hunger and thirst for God’s Word, absolution, the Sacrament, etc. We have the certainty that God meets us and gives us what we need in His means of grace. The forgiveness Christ won for the world on the cross is applied to us personally by God through His Word and Sacraments. What a joy for us to know that where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation. Thus, we believe that we cannot, by our own reason or strength, believe in Jesus Christ our Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit calls us by the Gospel, enlightens us with His gifts, sanctiﬁes and keeps us in the true faith. In the same way, He calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctiﬁes the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all of our sins, and the sins of all believers. How does God cause us to respond to His Gospel? We love God because He ﬁrst loved us. Our Lord is at work in us both to will and to do what is pleasing to Him. Christians look to the Ten Commandments to know what is pleasing to God and wish to serve Him in gratitude for the great salvation that is theirs in Christ. From the Word of God we learn that God wants us to put Him ﬁrst, above any other person or thing, to respect His name and not misuse it, to hear and obey His Word. Children are to honor and obey their parents and others in authority. We are to look out for the welfare of others, doing nothing to hurt or harm our neighbor. We are to live sexually pure and decent lives, with husbands and wives loving and honoring each another. In looking out for our neighbor’s welfare and helping him to improve and protect his property and business, we are also to take care not to lie about our neighbor, but to help, support and defend him in every need, and, ﬁnally, we are to be content with what we have been given, and not want what is not ours. What a joyful privilege we have to serve God and others! He gives us the opportunity to bear witness to our faith through both our words and our deeds. How is the Gospel obscured? The Gospel is obscured by well-intentioned people who want to encourage a life of good works, and end up making Christians think that it is by their works that they are saved. This is a great danger. Through His Word and Sacraments, Jesus is constantly working in our lives to forgive our sins and strengthen our relationship with God. God always receives the credit for our salvation. He is the one working in us. This is not something we can do. Our good works are the result of God’s love in our hearts and lives. Our good works in this life do not save us, only Christ saves us. Works serve our neighbor and show to the world that we are grateful for God’s mercy in our lives. Another way the Gospel can be obscured is when too much emphasis is put on an emotional response to the Gospel. Some Christians believe that unless they have some sort of ecstatic, charismatic experience, or feel some sort of “spiritual high,” they are not really Christians. It is truly sad that some people look into their own hearts for the security that they are children of God, instead of putting their hope and trust in the objective work of Christ for them, and in the means God uses to come to them—His Word and Sacraments. If we ﬁnd ourselves beginning to ask, “Am I doing enough?” or thinking, “It doesn’t matter what I do, for God will forgive me anyway,” then we are at risk of losing Christ and His forgiveness. We look always to Jesus and put our hope and trust in Him. He is our Savior. And, that’s good news! All blessing, honor, thanks and praise to Father, Son and Spirit, the God who saved us by His grace. All glory to His merit! O triune God in heaven above, you have revealed your saving love. Your blessed name we hallow. — Dr. A. L. Barry President The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church (LCMS)

Old Testament Reading....……………………………………...Ezekiel 37:1–14

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

Welcome to Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church!

We give thanks that gracious Lord Jesus Christ has gathered us together here for his Divine Service. Today again our Lord comes to serve us and lavish us with his gifts of life, forgiveness, and salvation. Rejoicing in those wonderful gifts, we sing with David in Psalm 84: “How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! A day in your courts is better than a thousand Elsewhere.”

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Collect of the Day

P Let us pray.

Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.

Ash Wednesday Sermon

Introit Psalm 116:1–4, 8; antiphon: v. 15

The Salt of the Earth9:40

1st Mid-Week Lenten Sermon

The Readings for this Sunday are printed below. If you would like to hear the Word of God, go "BibleGateway.com" and go to the Book and Chapter and Verse.

The Bread Of Life10:49

Offering

Water is Life9:43

Light Shining in the Darkness10:02

2nd Mid-Week Lenten Sermon

Epistle.................................................................................................Romans 8:1–11

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

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Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church Prayer List

If you wish to add names, or continue to leave names on the list, please call the office. (512-443-4947)

Holy Gospel……………………………………………………..........John 11:1–45

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him.

WELCOME to Sunday's

Readings, Sermon, and Prayers

This concludes the Readings, Prayers, and the Sermon for today.

It is our practice to proceed with the

SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT

We encourage everyone to attend a service to receive the Sacrament.

Pastor Bontke will accept calls to schedule communion for individuals who wish to receive

the Sacrament of Communion on Tuesday after 9:30 am. The Sacrament will be given on Wednesday after 10 am.

BEAUTIFUL SAVIOR LUTHERAN CHURCH
6830 S. Pleasant Valley Rd.
Austin, TX 78744
Office 512-443-4947

Thought for Today: March 26, 2023
Decaying skeletons are revived in hearing the prophecies of God. Graveyards are opened; the dead are raised—and the Lord does it all! Lifeless creatures respond to the breath of the Holy Spirit. Hostile flesh wars against God and dies, but those continually revived by the Spirit live in peace. Dead Lazarus is three days entombed in stench, and yet, when Jesus speaks, he rises, he lives! Lazarus sheds the shroud of death, and the Lord has done it all!

Ashes and Jesus9:40

Gradual Hebrews 12:2

[O come, let us fix our eyes on] | Jesus,*
the founder and perfecter | of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despis- | ing the shame,* and is seated at the right hand of the | throne of God.

Prayer of the Church—Responsive Form
Fifth Sunday in Lent
26 March 2023

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

Lord, You raised Your Son and sent Your Spirit. Sustain us while we await Christ’s attention to our present needs. Give strength to our prayers, heal our weaknesses and restore all our losses. Give us faith throughout our days in Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord of hosts, breathe Your life into Your Church, that she may stand by Your strength and live according to Your Word. Lay Your hand on men of every era to proclaim Your Word and to bring life to the downtrodden, the faithless, the fearful and the outcast. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father, You have visited Your creation in Your Son. Grant that our homes would always receive Him and that husbands and wives and brothers and sisters would rejoice to hear His promises, steadfastly believing them and ever living in their light. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Lord of all, You are the true source of life, which You give through the power of Your Spirit. Humble those who are given authority over the lives of our people, that they would discharge this duty honorably in accord with Your will. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

O Lord, the ones You love are ill and need Your holy care [especially _____________]. Make haste to help them. Spare their lives. On the Last Day, call them from their graves and unite them to You and all Your saints. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Holy Father, in Baptism You have given the new birth of water and the Spirit. Make Your children strong in Your Spirit, that they may shun the works of the flesh and live in this world expecting the resurrection and the life of the world to come. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

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.

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The Lord’s Supper

Our Belief and Practice

The Lord’s Supper is celebrated at this congregation in the confession and glad confidence that, as He says, our Lord gives into our mouths not only bread and wine, but His very body and blood to eat and to drink for the forgiveness of sins, and to strengthen our union with Him and with one another. Our Lord invites to His table those who trust His words, repent of all sin, and set aside any refusal to forgive and love as He forgives and loves us, that they may show forth His death until He comes. Because those who eat and drink our Lord’s body and blood unworthily do so to their great harm, and because Holy Communion is a confession of the faith which is confessed at this altar, any who are not yet instructed, in doubt, or who hold a confession differing from that of this congregation and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and yet desire to receive the sacrament, are asked first to speak with the pastor. Anyone who is not communing today but would like to come forward to receive a baptismal blessing is welcome. Please cross your arms against your chest to indicate you desire a blessing not communion.

“But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.” 1Corinthians11:28

To assist you in preparing to receive the Lord’s Supper Martin Luther in his Small Catechism teaches us to ask ourselves the following questions:

1. Am I sorry that I have sinned against God?
2. Do I believe that Jesus died for my sins and gives me His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper as Scripture says?
3. Do I plan, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to change my sinful life?

Those preparing to receive the Lord’s Supper should be able to honestly answer ‘yes’ to each of these questions. A more complete examination is found on pages 329-330 of the hymnal - Lutheran Service Book. Prayers for “Before communing” and “Thanksgiving after receiving the Sacrament”, are located on the inside front cover of the hymnal.

What about The Gospel?

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church (LCMS)​​​

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church (LCMS)