St Stephen Lutheran Church Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Holy Communion on Trinity Sunday, 9:30 a.m.

The Athanasian Creed, traditionally confessed on Trinity Sunday, is one of the three great Christological creeds of the ancient Church. Along with the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed, it is at the head of the Lutheran Confessions; these statements of faith identify Lutheranism as a confessing movement within and for the sake of the undivided catholic Church of the apostles and fathers. The twin themes of the creed are the inseparable unity of the distinct persons of the Holy Trinity and the union of divinity and humanity in Jesus Christ.

FIRST READING (Proverbs 8:1-4; 22-31): ‘Lady Wisdom’ is depicted as a co-worker with God in the creation of the cosmos. The Christian tradition reads this passage as a meditation on the creative synergy of the Father and the Son, remembering that in 1 Corinthians 1:24 Jesus is called ‘Wisdom of God.’

PSALM (8): This passage can be read as a reflection on Genesis 1 and 2, in that human beings have dominion over the creation; but Christian theological tradition (for example, Hebrews 1) sees the fulfilment of this prophecy in Jesus Christ. The Son of Man, who in becoming human was made lower than the angels, is crowned with glory and honor, reigning over all things in heaven and on earth.

SECOND READING (Romans 5:1-5): Paul’s Trinitarian theology shines forth in this excerpt from Romans. It is through Jesus the ‘Lord’ (a title only for God, thereby Jesus shares in Godhead) that we have peace with God (the Father.) As we heard last week from Romans, we will share in Jesus’ future glory, but we also share in his present sufferings. However, we are sustained in these sufferings for Jesus’ sake by the love of the Holy Spirit which is poured into us.

GOSPEL (John 16:12-15): The Spirit’s coming to the Church will not be a different revelation of God, but a confirmation of and an unraveling of the mystery of God’s only revelation Jesus Christ. The work of the Spirit in the Church never contradicts Jesus’ teaching, and it always attests to the community of the Father and the Son.

THE HOLY COMMUNION

OPENING MUSIC

All Glory Be to God on High- Paul Manz

Creator Spirit, By Whose Aid- Flor Peeters

Father, Most Holy- John Eggert

We include in the online order of worship all hymns which are in the public domain. Texts which are copyrighted may not be included in the online order of worship. If you need a copy of the hymnals for your home use, please contact us so that we may provide you with one. Thank you!

Stand

WHymn Father, Most Holy Green LBW 169

APOSTOLIC GREETING

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,

and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

And also with you.

(2 Corinthians 13:13)

WKYRIE ELEISON Kyrie, God Father Green LBW 168

WHYMN OF PRAISE

All Glory Be to God on High Green LBW 166

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Almighty God our Father, dwelling in majesty and mystery, renewing and fulfilling creation by your eternal Spirit, and revealing your glory through our Lord, Jesus Christ: Cleanse us from doubt and fear, and enable us to worship you, with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, living and reigning, now and forever.

Amen

CALL TO THE WORD

Wisdom! Let us attend. Traditional Eastern Orthodox

Let us hear the Word of the Lord.

Sit

First READING Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

¹Does not wisdom call,
and does not understanding raise her voice?
²On the heights, beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand;
³beside the gates in front of the town,
at the entrance of the portals she cries out:
⁴“To you, O people, I call,
and my cry is to all that live.

²²The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,
the first of his acts of long ago.
²³Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
²⁴When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
²⁵Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth—
²⁶when he had not yet made earth and fields,
or the world’s first bits of soil.
²⁷When he established the heavens, I was there,
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
²⁸when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep,
²⁹when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
³⁰then I was beside him, like a master worker;
and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing before him always,
³¹rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the human race.”

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

PSALM 8

¹ O | Lord our Lord,*

how exalted is your name in | all the world!

² Out of the mouths of in- | fants and children*

your majesty is praised a- | bove the heavens.

³ You have set up a stronghold against your | adversaries,*

to quell the enemy and | the avenger.

⁴ When I consider your heavens, the work | of your fingers,*

the moon and the stars you have set | in their courses,

⁵ what is man that you should be mind- | ful of him,*

the son of man that you should | seek him out?

⁶ You have made him but little lower | than the angels;*

you adorn him with glo- | ry and honor;

⁷ you give him mastery over the works | of your hands;*

you put all things un- | der his feet:

⁸ all | sheep and oxen,*

even the wild beasts | of the field,

⁹ the birds of the air, the fish | of the sea,*

and whatsoever walks in the paths | of the sea.

¹⁰ O | Lord our Lord,*

how exalted is your name in | all the world! R

SECOND READING Romans 5:1-5

¹Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Stand

VERSE

Isaiah 6:3 Setting by Walter L. Pelz

Alleluia. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. Alleluia.

Gospel John 16:12-15

The Holy Gospel according to St. John.

[Jesus said to the disciples,] ¹²“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Sit

Choir Anthem

Rejoice with Us in God - Text/ F. Pratt Green

Music/ Alec Wyton

Refrain: Rejoice with us in God the Trinity, the Three forever One, forever Three, Fountain of Love, Giver of Unity!

We would rejoice again and yet again, that God reveals His truth to us, and then unveils for all to see, in what He is, what we ourselves may be.

How long and earnestly the Father strove to frame in words a faith we cannot prove; but, O how dead our creeds unless they live in Christ-like aims and deeds!

So let us all, rejecting none, remove whatever thwarts a reconciling love, all ills that still divide the fold of Christ, and all the world beside.

Rejoice with us that we may yet achieve what God, our God, has dared us to believe: The many live as one, each loving each, as Father, Spirit, Son.

Sermon Pastor Frontz

Stand

WHYMN OF THE DAY

Creator Spirit, By Whose Aid Green LBW 164

1 Creator Spirit, by whose aid

the world’s foundations first were laid,

come, visit ev’ry humble mind;

come, pour thy joys on humankind;

from sin and sorrow set us free,

and make thy temples fit for thee.

2 O Source of uncreated light,

the Father’s promised Paraclete,

thrice holy fount, thrice holy fire,

our hearts with heav’nly love inspire;

come, and thy sacred unction bring

to sanctify us while we sing.

3 Plenteous of grace, descend from high,

rich in thy sev’nfold energy;

make us eternal truths receive

and practice all that we believe;

give us thyself, that we may see

the Father and the Son by thee.

4 Immortal honor, endless fame,

attend the almighty Father’s name;

the Savior Son be glorified,

who for lost man’s redemption died;

and equal adoration be,

eternal Paraclete, to thee.

Text: attr. Rhabanus Maurus, 778-856; tr. John Dryden, 1631-1700

CONFESSION OF FAITH Athanasian Creed

Whoever wants to be saved

should above all cling to the catholic faith.

Whoever does not guard it whole and inviolable

will doubtless perish eternally.

Now this is the catholic faith:

We worship one God in trinity

and the Trinity in unity,

neither confusing the persons

nor dividing the divine being.

For the Father is one person,

the Son is another,

and the Spirit is still another.

But the deity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

is one, equal in glory,

coeternal in majesty.

What the Father is,

the Son is,

and so is the Holy Spirit.

Uncreated is the Father;

uncreated is the Son;

uncreated is the Spirit.

The Father is infinite;

the Son is infinite;

the Holy Spirit is infinite.

Eternal is the Father;

eternal is the Son;

eternal is the Spirit:

And yet there are not three eternal beings,

but one who is eternal;

and there are not three uncreated and unlimited beings,

but one who is uncreated and unlimited.

Almighty is the Father;

almighty is the Son;

almighty is the Spirit:

And yet there are not three almighty beings,

but one who is almighty.

Thus the Father is God;

the Son is God;

the Holy Spirit is God:

And yet there are not three gods,

but one God.

Thus the Father is Lord;

the Son is Lord;

the Holy Spirit is Lord:

And yet there are not three lords, but one Lord.

As Christian truth compels us to acknowledge

each distinct person as God and Lord,

so catholic religion forbids us

to say that there are three gods or lords.

The Father was neither made

nor created nor begotten;

the Son was neither made nor created,

but was alone begotten of the Father;

the Spirit was neither made nor created,

but is proceeding from the Father and the Son.

Thus there is one Father, not three fathers;

one Son, not three sons;

one Holy Spirit, not three spirits.

And in this Trinity, no one is before or after,

greater or less than the other;

but all three persons are in themselves, coeternal and coequal;

and so we must worship the Trinity in unity

and the one God in three persons.

Whoever wants to be saved should think thus about the Trinity.

It is necessary for eternal salvation that one also faithfully believe

that our Lord Jesus became flesh.

For this is the true faith that we believe and confess:

That our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son,

is both God and man.

He is God, begotten before all worlds

from the being of the Father,

and he is man, born in the world

from the being of his mother—

existing fully as God,

and fully as man

with a rational soul and a human body;

equal to the Father in divinity,

subordinate to the Father in humanity.

Although he is God and man,

he is not divided,

but is one Christ.

He is united because God

has taken humanity into himself;

he does not transform deity into humanity.

He is completely one in the unity of his person,

without confusing his natures.

For as the rational soul and body are one person,

so the one Christ is God and man.

He suffered death for our salvation.

He descended into hell

and rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

At his coming all people shall rise bodily

to give an account of their own deeds.

Those who have done good will enter eternal life,

those who have done evil will enter eternal fire.

This is the catholic faith.

One cannot be saved without believing this firmly and faithfully.

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH

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

Silence is kept.

Keep your Church firm and steadfast in the confession of the Holy Trinity. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Pour your love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Let all pastors, missionaries, and teachers be filled with understanding and with the Spirit who glorifies Jesus. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Give the leaders of our nation and of the world the wisdom to do your will. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Fill the suffering Church with hope, and call us to the sufferings we must share with Christ. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Look with pity on all in need, and upon these we name before you:

The pastor reads the names of those on the prayer list.

The people offer spoken or silent intercessions and thanksgivings.

Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

With all the faithful of every time and place, bring us to heaven to gaze upon the mystery of your Triune godhead. Lord, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Grant us these prayers for your mercy’s sake, for you live and reign, Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever.

Amen

PEACE

Peace to you from God our heavenly Father.

Peace from his Son Jesus Christ, who is our peace.

Peace from the Holy Spirit, the life-giver.

The peace of the triune God be with you always.

And also with you.

The people exchange the sign of peace with the simple words, Peace be with you.

Sit

The Lord’s Table is prepared.

Stand

OFFERTORY

Revelation 15:3-4 Setting by Walter L. Pelz

Great and wonderful are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! O King of the Ages! Who shall not fear and glorify your name, O Lord? For you alone are holy. All nations come and worship you, for your judgments have been revealed.

PRAYER OF PREPARATION

Holy God,

holy and strong,

holy and immortal,

give us the bread of everlasting life,

and make us branches of the true vine.

Amen

GREAT THANKSGIVING

It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places offer thanks and praise to you, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and ever-living God. You have revealed your glory as the glory also of your Son and of the Holy Spirit: three persons, equal in majesty, undivided in splendor, yet one Lord, one God, ever to be adored in your everlasting glory. And so, with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

The pastor leads the people in praying the Eucharistic canon:

Holy God, mighty Lord, gracious Father:

Endless is your mercy and eternal your reign.

You have filled all creation with light and life;

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Through Abraham you promised to bless all nations.

You rescued Israel, your chosen people.

Through the prophets you renewed your promise;

and, at this end of all the ages, you sent your Son,

who in words and deeds proclaimed your kingdom

and was obedient to your will, even to giving his life.

In the night in which he was betrayed,

our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;

broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:

Take and eat; this is my body, given for you.

Do this for the remembrance of me.

Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks,

and gave it for all to drink, saying:

This cup is the new covenant in my blood,

shed for you and for all people

for the forgiveness of sin.

Do this for the remembrance of me.

For as often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup

we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.

Therefore, gracious Father, with this bread and cup

we remember the life our Lord offered for us.

And, believing the witness of his resurrection,

we await his coming in power

to share with us the great and promised feast.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Send now, we pray, your Holy Spirit,

the spirit of our Lord and of his resurrection,

that we who receive the Lord's body and blood

may live to the praise of your glory

and receive our inheritance with all your saints in light.

Amen. Come, Holy Spirit.

Join our prayers with those of your servants

of every time and every place,

and unite them with the ceaseless petitions

of our great high priest until he comes as victorious Lord of all.

In the presence of Christ, we pray to his Father using the words he gave us.

Christ is in our midst.

By the power of the Spirit,

we pray to his Father, saying:

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 Matthew 6:9-15

Holy things for the holy people.

One is holy, one is Lord:

Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father.

Traditional Eastern Orthodox

We adore Christ, present in bread and wine.

Sit

DISTRIBUTION

Admission to the Sacrament is by invitation of the Lord, presented through the Church to those who are baptized.

They may receive the Lord’s Body and Blood who are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, who commune in their home churches, and who believe that Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, is truly present in, with, and under the forms of bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation.

Please come forward, take a communion cup from the tray, and kneel at the altar rail on your ‘side’ of the worship space. Please make an effort to leave some distance between your family unit and the next family unit. When your side has finished communing, please place your empty cup in the tray provided.

WDISTRIBUTION HYMN

How Gentle God’s Commands - Text/ Philip Doddridge, 1755

Music/ J. M. Strobel

Sung by the Choir.

How gentle God’s commands, how kind his precepts are.

Come, cast your burdens on the Lord, and trust his constant care.

Beneath his watchful eye his saints securely dwell;

That hand that bears all nature up shall guide his children well.

Why should this anxious load press down your weary mind?

Haste to your heavenly Father’s throne, and sweet refreshment find.

His goodness stands approved, unchanged from day to day;

I’ll drop my burdens at his feet, and bear a song away.

When all have received, the congregation stands at the direction of the pastor.

The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen you and keep you in his grace.

Amen

POST-COMMUNION CANTICLE

POST-COMMUNION PRAYER

O Christ, Lamb of God pure and holy,

O Wisdom, Word, and Power of God,

Grant that we may more perfectly partake of you

in the days which know no ending in your kingdom. Amen

BENEDICTION

The holy and undivided Trinity, Father, X Son, and Holy Spirit,

guard you, save you, and bring you to that heavenly city

where he lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Amen

WCLOSING HYMN O Holy Spirit, Root of Life Blue WOV 688

DISMISSAL

Go in peace. Serve the Lord. Thanks be to God!

THIS WEEK FOR THE FAITH FAMILY

Sun/ June 12 WORSHIP 9:30 AM

Mon/ June 13 Morning Prayer (livestream) 8:30 AM

Wed/ June 15 Evening Prayer, 7:00 PM (livestream)

Fri/ June 17 Morning Prayer (livestream) 8:30 AM

Sat/ June 18 NA Meeting 11:00 AM

WORSHIP 6:30 PM

Sun/ June 19 WORSHIP 9:30 AM

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #20540.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Additional liturgical material from Common Worship: Times and Seasons,

Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org.

Sunday, June 12, 2022

The Holy Communion on Trinity Sunday, 9:30 a.m.