VIDEO: Maundy Thursday April 17, 2025 - Complete Service

View the Bulletin for Maundy Thursday, April 17, 2025
Worship Service: 2:00 p.m. with communion
Worship Service: 7:00 p.m. with communion
All are welcome, bring a friend, neighbor or relative

Visit our YouTube channel — Click the red “subscribe” box, and then click on the “bell” next to that box to receive Live Streaming notifications. You must be logged into YouTube to activate these features.

Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of BULLETINS

GOOD FRIDAY - March 18, 2025
Services at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Prelude Music begins at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

EASTER SUNDAY - March 20, 2025
Services at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
Buffet Breakfast Downstairs at 9:15 a.m.

AUDIO: Readings & Sermon for Maundy Thursday, April 17, 2025

View the Bulletin for Maundy Thursday, April 17, 2025
Worship Service: 2:00 p.m. with Communion
Worship Service: 7:00 p.m. with Communion
All are welcome, bring a friend, neighbor or relative

Visit our YouTube channel — Click the red “subscribe” box, and then click on the “bell” next to that box to receive Live Streaming notifications. You must be logged into YouTube to activate these features.

Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of BULLETINS

Old Testament Reading – Exodus 12:1-14 
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. 

“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. 

“This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. 

Epistle Reading – Hebrews 10:15-25 
And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 
“This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,” 

then he adds, 

“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” 

Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. 

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. 

The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the twenty-second chapter
Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. 

And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 

Bulletin: Maundy Thursday, April 17, 2025

View the Bulletin for Maundy Thursday, April 17, 2025
Worship Service: 2:00 p.m. with communion
Worship Service: 7:00 p.m. with communion
All are welcome, bring a friend, neighbor or relative

Visit our YouTube channel — Click the red “subscribe” box, and then click on the “bell” next to that box to receive Live Streaming notifications. You must be logged into YouTube to activate these features.

Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of BULLETINS

GOOD FRIDAY - March 18, 2025
Services at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Prelude Music begins at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

EASTER SUNDAY - March 20, 205
Services at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
Buffet Breakfast Downstairs at 9:15 a.m.

From Your Seminarian: How We Are “Chosen for More”

Zion’s own Charles “Chuck” Wallace — Seminarian at Concordia University

These thoughts are derived from a sermon I preached on Acts 9:1-25 titled "Chosen for More."

If you're anything like me – and by "like me," I mean human – then you've probably found yourself wondering: How is God using me? What do I have to offer my community? How can I better love my neighbor? They are hard questions to answer, yet they are very common. Our human nature leads us to constantly doubt the purpose we have in God's Kingdom.

In Acts 9, we read about a man named Saul, who was actively persecuting and killing Christians. Saul believed he was doing the right thing, but Jesus intervened, confronting him and calling him to follow Him. Struck blind, Saul had no choice but to obey the instructions Jesus gave him. In that moment of confusion, he must have been asking himself, What is the purpose of this?

The story continues with Saul traveling to Damascus, where he meets Ananias, regains his sight, and is baptized. After this transformation, Saul begins preaching that Jesus is the Son of God. The very man who once persecuted Christians is now baptized into the faith and proclaiming the Gospel to those he once sought to destroy.

Saul became Paul. A persecutor became a preacher. One apart from God was called to be with God. Though the world may not have counted Saul as an option to be a church leader – God has chosen him for more.

You, too, are chosen for more. Through the waters of your baptism, God has established you as His child, calling you to embody your faith by loving your neighbor. Whatever form your vocation may take, know that you have been chosen for greater purposes. That is, you have been chosen for God's mission.

Next Up: Vicarage!
On April 30th, I will receive my vicarage placement! Although this is a time of uncertainty for Katrina and me, as we do not yet know where we will be, we are nonetheless excited to see where God will place us to serve His Kingdom. Be on the lookout for my next newsletter in early May, where I will share our placement and the journey ahead!

Just in Time for Easter

Just in Time for Easter

Handmade Wooden Wall Crosses • Pocket New Testaments/Psalms • Bibles
All are available for on a table in the back of the Sanctuary.
They are free to anyone who would like to have them for home use, or to give as gifts!

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HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE

Thursday April 17 - Maundy Thursday
Services with communion at 2:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m.

Friday April 18 - Good Friday
Tenebrae services at 2:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m. (no communion)
Prelude music begins at 1:30 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.

Sunday April 20 - Easter Sunday
Services at 8:00 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. with Easter Breakfast at 9:15 a.m. - No Bible Study or Sunday School

Concordia Lutheran Ministries: Spring Fling Fundraiser

COMING UP ROSES
Concordia Lutheran Ministries 2025 Spring Fling Luncheon
Saturday, May 17, 2025 at the Butler Country Club
310 Country Club Lane, Butler, PA 16002 at 10:00 a.m.
$20 per person

Basket Auction, Mystery Bags, Shopping (cloths and accessories)

Lunch Menu
Chicken Romano, Sour Cream and Chive Whipped Potatoes, Glazed Baby Carrots, Triple Layer Lemon Shortcake

Entertainment
Freeport Area High School Music Performance

All proceeds benefit the Concordia Lutheran Ministries Good Samaritan Endowment Fund, providing charitable care to residents and patients in need.

Seating is limited … no tickets will be sold at the door.
RSVP to Tevia Grimenstein at grmnstns@live.com by April 23, 2025

Pay by cash or check … make checks payable to Zion Lutheran Church, with “SLM Spring Fling” in the memo line.

Pastor’s Corner (April 2025)

Go and Tell! 
“Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples . . .” Mark 16:6 

The Season of Lent will soon be over. Before we know it, we will be celebrating Holy Week later this month and finally the greatest celebration of all – Easter! During that first Easter, the angels told the women who came to the tomb, “go, tell his disciples.” Soon, within that very hour, the women would do that very thing. They would be speaking the words we ourselves are still speaking today, “Christ is risen!” 

The angels’ words, “go tell his disciples” are as appropriate for us now as they ever have been and ever will be. As a congregation we “go and tell” every time we gather together for worship. We hear the words of Christ’s resurrection in our sermons, our hymns, our readings and our liturgies. We literally see the resurrection of the living Jesus as He still comes to us physically with His living sacrifice in the Lord’s Supper. 

As a congregation, we also sponsor a preschool. We don’t host a preschool because we like to play with glue, or cut out animal shapes, or because we really love eating goldfish crackers. We sponsor a preschool because every single day we get to “go and tell” 165 children about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ all done for them! In a world that is growing increasingly opposed towards Christianity and Jesus, our preschool is a shining light showing these children that Jesus died and rose again for them, loves them, and is still coming to them. 

As a baptized Christian, you have been given Jesus’ death and His resurrection (Romans 6). Now, “go and tell” yourself this every single day of your life! Remind yourself every single day what it is Jesus Christ has done for you so that you may be comforted and also able to share that good news with people in your family, your friends, coworkers and neighbors. 

May we as a congregation always be a place, and a people, who “go and tell” the wonderful deeds of our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us to destroy our sin and rose from the dead to bring each of us everlasting life. Amen. 

— Pastor Grimenstein