VIDEO: Sunday August 18, 2024 - Complete Service

View the bulletin for Sunday, August 18, 2024
Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of Bulletins

AUDIO: Announcements, Readings & Sermon for Sunday August 18, 2024

View the bulletin for Sunday, August 18, 2024
Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of Bulletins

Old Testament Reading -- Proverbs 9:1–10 
Wisdom has built her house;
she has hewn her seven pillars.
She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
She has sent out her young women to call
from the highest places in the town,
“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
To him who lacks sense she says, 
“Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Leave your simple ways, and live,
and walk in the way of insight.”
Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. 

Epistle Reading -- Ephesians 5:6–21 
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, 

“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.” 

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. 

The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the sixth chapter
[Jesus said:] “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” 

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. 

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” 

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 

2024 Power of the Purse, a fundraiser to benefit Youth Bereavement Care

Click image to link to event website

September 20, 2024 | 6:00 pm
Good Samaritan Hospice, a mission of Concordia Lutheran Ministries, will hold a Power of the Purse event on Friday, Sept. 20 at The Mansion, located at 141 Mansion Ln., Butler, PA 16002. All proceeds benefit Good Samaritan Hospice Youth Bereavement Care, which provides free support for youth who have been affected by the death of a loved one.

This purse bash event will begin at 6 p.m. and will feature many ways to win: each admission ticket includes a chance to win one of 10 designer handbags, and there will be additional drawings for baskets, wallets, high-value spotlight designer bags, a “win it all” wine table and more. Light appetizers and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided, and outside snacks and alcoholic drinks will be permitted.

In-person tickets are ON SALE NOW! Non-attending tickets are also AVAILABLE! Click here to order yours!

Registration ends Friday, 08/30/2024 11:59pm EDT

If you are interested in sponsoring this event, CLICK HERE.

Evangelism/Outreach Committee at Zion

Evangelism/Outreach Committee at Zion 
Join our team to share the Good News of our Savior with those in our community! 

WHO can Outreach??? 
Everyone in some form or another can Outreach and does without even knowing. We are all believers in His Love and if we share that Love we’re doing Outreach. 

WHAT is Outreach??? 
Building relationships with others who are not a member of a Church with the goal of sharing who Jesus is and what He has done for us. 

WHEN do I Outreach??? 
At all times, in all that we do, shine brightly Jesus Love for you and others will see His Love in you. Share the Good News in conversation, talk of His Forgiveness, Love, and Grace. 

WHERE do I Outreach??? 
Everywhere and anywhere at home with a neighbor, with a co-worker, a schoolmate or a teammate, in a parking lot or a sporting event, even in waiting rooms. God has promised to give you the words you need, when you need them. 

HOW do I Outreach??? 
As an individual in our vocations in life, AND as a congregation that develops specific programs and events designed to share the Good News of the Savior's love and forgiveness. After all, as a congregation, our mission is to "Equip, Educate, & Encourage believers in Christ, sending them into the World to share the Gospel." 

If you are interested in being a part of this new committee, please email Mike and Michele Wallace at mikeandmichelewallace@gmail.com by August 30th.
Our plan is to organize a kick-off meeting in September! 

Bulletin: Sunday August 18, 2024

View the bulletin for Sunday, August 18, 2024
Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of Bulletins

THIS WEEK AT ZION

Saturday August 17
No Event’s Scheduled

Sunday August 18
8:00 a.m. — Worship Service with Communion
9:15 a.m. — Adult/Teen Bible Study & Summer Sunday School
10:30 a.m. — Worship Service with Communion
6:30 p.m. - Youth Group Campfire Cookout (ADDITIONAL DETAILS)
(The 8:00 a.m. service streamed on our YouTube channel)

Monday August 19
No Event’s Scheduled

Tuesday August 20
No Event’s Scheduled

Wednesday August 21
2:00 p.m. - Mid-Week Worship Service with Communion
2:30 p.m. - 30 min. Bible Study - The Book of “Hebrews”
(Each Bible study session starts with a review of the previous Bible Study)
(The 2:00 p.m. service streamed on our YouTube channel)

Thursday August 22
No Event’s Scheduled

Friday August 23
No Event’s Scheduled

Saturday August 24
No Event’s Scheduled

Sunday August 25
8:00 a.m. — Worship Service with Communion
9:15 a.m. — Adult/Teen Bible Study & Summer Sunday School
10:30 a.m. — Worship Service with Communion
6:30 p.m. - Youth Group Campfire Cookout (ADDITIONAL DETAILS)
(The 8:00 a.m. service streamed on our YouTube channel)

Stay Connected with Zion

Zion members can sign up for our weekly eBlast and see up-to-date with other news and prayer requests at:
www.zlcb.org/eblast-sign-up

View our daily Facebook page at:
www.facebook.com/ZionLutheranBridgeville

What About … Holy Baptism

Suppose for a moment that there was a doctor who had such incredible talent that he could prevent people from dying, and bring those who had died back to life, never to die again. Just im-agine how people would do whatever they could to be treated by this doctor! Now consider that in Holy Baptism, God actually does give us the gift of eternal life! Let’s learn more about this marvelous blessing. 

What is Baptism? 
Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s Word.1

What’s so special about a handful of simple water? Nothing, until God connects His Word to it! In Baptism, that is exactly what God is doing. He combines His life-creating and life-giving Word with the waters of Holy Baptism, and thereby we are born again of water and the Spirit (John 3:5) 

What is that Word of God? 
Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Matthew: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). 

Our Lord commands Baptism. It is not optional, nor is it simply a nice “extra”. God’s Word takes on many forms, according to His good and gracious will. The Word is preached, taught, and pro-claimed. It is read, studied and meditated on. It is shared by Christians, with non-Christian and fellow believer, alike. And it is that Word of God, His promise, that makes Baptism what it is. God Himself is present as His name is joined to the water, with all His power and all His blessings of forgiveness, life and salvation. Christ consecrates the water of Baptism with His Word, so as we in Baptism stand with Christ in the water, the Father calls us His beloved children, the Holy Spirit is given to us, and heaven is opened to us. Those who received Baptism after they have been brought to faith by the preaching or teaching of the Word also receive all the blessings God has attached to Baptism. 

What benefits does Baptism give? 
It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare. Which are these words and promises of God? Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Mark: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16) 

In and through Baptism, God cleanses us from all of our sins, snatches us from the power of Satan, and gives us everlasting life. It is all God’s doing as He gives us His blessing. It is His promise. In Baptism, our Triune God imparts to each of us personally the gifts the Lord Jesus Christ won for the world through His life, suffering, death, and resurrection . Please see especially Gal.3:27; Col.1:13-14; 1 Peter 3:21; Titus 3:5-7 and 1 Cor.6:11 

How can water do such great things? 
Certainly not just water, but the word of God in and with the water does these things, along with the faith which trusts this word of God in the water. For without God’s Word the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God it is a Bap-tism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St.Paul says in Titus, chapter three: “He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal in the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trust-worthy saying” (Titus 3:5-8) 

Of course, simple water can’t do such great things, but the wa-ter of baptism is not simple water! Baptism is one very special way God delivers to us the blessings Christ won for us. Baptism is not something we do, but something God does. Therefore, it is far more than a symbol. It is a sacred act in which God Himself is at work forgiving sins, giving new life in Christ and bestowing on us the Holy Spirit with all of His gifts. Baptism gives us the faith through which we receive these gifts. God the Holy Spirit works faith in the promises attached to Baptism. 

What does such baptizing with water indicate? 
It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.

Where is this written?
St. Paul writes in Romans chapter six: “We were therefore buried with Him through Baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Rom. 6:4)

In Baptism we are buried with Christ, and in Baptism we are raised with Christ. His death and resurrection are made our own, and because of that fact, through our entire life, we are able to say, “I am baptized!” Having been buried with Christ into His death we do not have to be afraid of the tomb in which we will rot one day. Christ has already been there. In Holy Baptism we have passed through His grave into His resurrection. 

As Luther says in his Large Catechism, “If I am baptized, I have the promise that I shall be saved and have eternal life, both in soul and body. ...Baptism is a treasure which God gives and faith grasps, just as the Lord Christ upon the cross is not a human work, but a treasure comprehended and offered to us in the Word and received by faith.” 

What does Baptism have to do with our daily life? 
Everything! Our entire life is a life lived trusting in in the prom-ises of God, given to us in and through Holy Baptism. We are constantly returning to Baptism. In moments of temptation and suffering in our lives, when all seems to be crashing down on us, and in particular in those moments when our sin and the guilt of those sins haunt us, we are able, as Luther says, to “Pull out our Baptism and wave it under the devil’s nose and say, ‘I am baptized. … I have God’s bath. It is Christ’s own blood.’ It is a bath blessed and mixed with the blood of Christ.” We can’t return to the cross of Christ, nor should we attempt to imagine ourselves back there. No, we turn instead to the “here and now” reality of God’s work in our lives. We return to our Baptism. For it was there and then that God buried us with Christ and raised us with Him to a new life. 

In his Large Catechism, Luther says, “Every Christian has enough to study and to practice all his life. He always has enough to do to believe firmly what Baptism promises and brings—victory over death and the devil, forgiveness of sins, God’s grace, the entire Christ, and the Holy Spirit with His gifts.” And: “If you live in re-pentance, therefore, you are walking in Baptism, which not only announces this new life, but also produces, begins and promotes it. In Baptism we are given the grace, Spirit and power to suppress the old man, so that the new man may come forth and grow strong. Therefore, Baptism remains forever. ...Repentance, there-fore, is nothing else than a return and approach to Baptism. 

Why are infants and young children baptized? 
They are baptized for the same reason adults are baptized—because of the command and promise of God. 

What is promised in Baptism is given to all who receive it; there-fore, infants and young children also have the promise of God. They, too, are made children of God. They, too, are included in the words “all nations” (Matt.28:19). Jesus specifically invites little children to come to Him (Luke 18:15-17). But most important, as sinners, infants need what Baptism gives. 

By His word, God created all that is seen and unseen. By His word, our Lord Christ called a dead man from the tomb (John 11:43-44). The unborn child, John the Baptist, leaped in his moth-er’s womb when he heard the word of God (Luke 1:41-44). Why is there any doubt that in and through the Word and the promise of Baptism, God works a similar gift of faith in the infant? If we mis-understand Baptism to be our work, then we will always cast doubt on it. When we recognize that it is not our work, but God’s gracious promise and work, we realize that infants are to be bap-tized and receive the treasures offered in and through Baptism. Sadly, there are individuals and church bodies that deny Bap-tism to young children and infants. They do not believe that these little ones need what Holy Baptism gives. They do not believe what the Bible teaches so clearly, namely, that God saves us thought Baptism. As a result of these false teachings, they deny both to themselves and to others the power, blessing and comfort of Holy Baptism. That is tragic, for it is a most serious offense against God to deny what HE plainly declares in His Word: “The promise is for you and your children” (Acts 2:39) and “Baptism now saves you.” (1 Peter 3:21) 

Conclusion
“We see what a great and excellent things Baptism is, which snatches us from the jaws of the devil and makes God our own, overcomes and takes away sin and daily strengthens the new man. It always remains until we pass form this present misery to eternal glory” (Large Catechism). 

The meaning, power and promise of Holy Baptism rest entirely on the One who lived perfectly in our place and who suffered and died as the sacrificial ransom for the sins of the world. HE rose victorious over death and the grave. In Holy Baptism, we receive all the blessings of Christ’s atoning sacrifice. Thank God for His gift of Holy Baptism! 

Dr. A. L. Barry
Past President (1992-2001)
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

1. The words in italics are from Luther’s Small Catechism