Hope Lutheran Church 2930 W 9000 S, West Jordan, UT 84088

Rev. Paul Webber (801)569-1111 westjordanlutherans.org

The Presentation of the Augsburg Confession

June 28, 2020

✠ ✠ ✠ The Divine Service ✠ ✠ ✠

OPENING HYMN - 217, “Rise, Ye Children of Salvation,” verses 1-2

INVOCATION & CONFESSION

P: In the name of the Father and of the Son ✠ and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen. P: Bless the Lord who forgives all our sins; C: His mercy endures forever. P: Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid, cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You and worthily magnify Your holy name. C: Amen. P: Let us confess our sins: C: Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Maker of all things, Judge of the world: We confess that we have sinned against Your divine majesty by thought, word and deed, provoking Your wrath against us. We earnestly repent and are heartily sorry for our sins. We grieve to think of them. Their burden is intolerable. Have mercy upon us, gracious Father! Forgive us our sins for the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ. Grant that we may serve You in newness of life, to the honor and glory of Your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

P: Lift up your hearts. The Lord God, according to His promise, is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. By the command of Christ and the authority of my holy office I forgive your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son ✠ and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

INTROIT & GLORIA PATRI

P: I will speak of your testimonies ‘before kings / and shall not ‘be put to shame, C: God is our ‘refuge and strength / a very present ‘help in trouble. C: Glory be to the Father ‘and to the Son / and to ‘the Holy Ghost; As it was in the be‘ginning, is now / and ever shall be, forever‘more. Amen. SALUTATION & PRAYER FOR THE DAY

P: The Lord be with you.

P: Let us pray: Lord God, heavenly Father, You preserved the teaching of the apostolic Church through the confession of the true faith at Augsburg. Continue to cast the bright beams of Your light upon Your Church that we, being instructed by the doctrine of the blessed apostles, may walk in the light of Your truth and finally attain to the light of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

OLD TESTAMENT - Isaiah 55:6-11

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as

the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.(ESV)

EPISTLE - Romans 10:4-17

Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (ESV)

HOLY GOSPEL - Matthew 10:27-33

[Jesus said] What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.(ESV)

HYMN - 589, “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Thy Word,” verse 1

SERMON

CONFESSION OF FAITH: SELECTIONS FROM THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION Introduction (from Introduction to the Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration) Pastor: The primary requirement for basic and permanent concord within the church is a summary formula and pattern, unanimously approved, in which the summarized doctrine commonly confessed by the churches of the pure Christian religion is drawn together out of the Word of God…. 1. We pledge ourselves to the prophetic and apostolic writings of the Old and New Testaments as the pure and clear fountain of Israel, which is the only true norm according to which all teachers and teachings are to be judged and evaluated. 2. …we further pledge allegiance to the three general Creeds, the Apostles’; the Nicene, and the Athanasian, as the glorious confessions of the faith — succinct, Christian, and

based upon the Word of God — in which all those heresies which at that time had arisen within the Christian church are clearly and solidly refuted. 3. ... We…declare our adherence to the first, unaltered Augsburg Confession (in the form in which it was set down in writing in the year 1530 and submitted to Emperor Charles V at Augsburg by a number of Christian electors, princes, and estates of the Roman Empire as the common confession of the reformed churches) as our symbol in this epoch, not because this confession was prepared by our theologians but because it is taken from the Word of God and solidly and well grounded therein. Article 1 (God) All: We unanimously hold and teach, in accordance with the decree of the Council of Nicaea, 2 that there is one divine essence, which is called and which is truly God, and that there are three persons in this one divine essence, equal in power and alike eternal: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. 3 All three are one divine essence, eternal, without division, without end, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, one creator and preserver of all things visible and invisible. 4 The word “person” is to be understood as the Fathers employed the term in this connection, not as a part or a property of another but as that which exists of itself. Article 2 (Original Sin); Article 19 (The Cause of Sin) P: [II] It is also taught among us that since the fall of Adam all men who are born according to the course of nature are conceived and born in sin. That is, all men are full of evil lust and inclinations from their mothers’ wombs and are unable by nature to have true fear of God and true faith in God. Moreover, this inborn sickness and hereditary sin is truly sin and condemns to the eternal wrath of God all those who are not born again through Baptism and the Holy Spirit. Rejected in this connection are the Pelagians and others who deny that original sin is sin, for they hold that natural man is made righteous by his own powers, thus disparaging the sufferings and merit of Christ. [XIX] It is taught among us that although almighty God has created and still preserves nature, yet sin is caused in all wicked men and despisers of God by the perverted will. This is the will of the devil and of all ungodly men; as soon as God withdraws his support, the will turns away from God to evil. It is as Christ says in John 8:44, “When the devil lies, he speaks according to his own nature.”

HYMN - 227, “Salvation Unto Us is Come,” verse 4

Article 3 (The Son of God) All: It is also taught among us that God the Son became man, born of the virgin Mary, and that the two natures, divine and human, are so inseparably united in one person that there is one Christ, true God and true man, who was truly born, suffered, was crucified, died, and was buried in order to be a sacrifice not only for original sin but also for all other sins and to propitiate God’s wrath. The same Christ also descended into hell, truly rose from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God, that he may eternally rule and have

dominion over all creatures, that through the Holy Spirit he may sanctify, purify, strengthen, and comfort all who believe in him, that he may bestow on them life and every grace and blessing, and that he may protect and defend them against the devil and against sin. The same Lord Christ will return openly to judge the living and the dead, as stated in the Apostles’ Creed. Article 17 (Christ’s Return to Judgment) P: It is also taught among us that our Lord Jesus Christ will return on the last day for judgment and will raise up all the dead, to give eternal life and everlasting joy to believers and the elect but to condemn ungodly men and the devil to hell and eternal punishment…

HYMN - 227, “Salvation Unto Us is Come,” verse 5

5. Still all the law fulfilled must be, else we were lost forever, then God His Son sent down that He might us from doom deliver; He all the law for us fulfilled and thus His Father’s anger stilled which over us impended.

Article 4 (Justification) All: It is also taught among us that we cannot obtain forgiveness of sin and righteousness before God by our own merits, works, or satisfactions, but that we receive forgiveness of sin and become righteous before God by grace, for Christ’s sake, through faith, when we believe that Christ suffered for us and that for his sake our sin is forgiven and righteousness and eternal life are given to us. For God will regard and reckon this faith as righteousness, as Paul says in Romans 3:21-26 and 4:5. HYMN - 227, “Salvation Unto Us is Come,” verse 1

1. Salvation unto us is come By God’s free grace and favor, good works cannot avert our doom; they help and save us never. Faith looks to Jesus Christ alone, Who did for all the world atone; He is our one Redeemer.

Article 5 (The Ministry) All: To obtain such faith God instituted the office of the ministry, that is, provided the Gospel and the sacraments. Through these, as through means, he gives the Holy Spirit, who works faith, when and where he pleases, in those who hear the Gospel. And the Gospel teaches that we have a gracious God, not by our own merits but by the merit of Christ, when we believe this. Condemned are the Anabaptists and

others who teach that the Holy Spirit comes to us through our own preparations, thoughts, and works without the external word of the Gospel. Article 14 (Ecclesiastical Order) P: It is taught among us that nobody should publicly teach or preach or administer the sacraments in the church without a regular call. Article 6 (New Obedience) All: It is also taught among us that such faith should produce good fruits and good works and that we must do all such good works as God has commanded, but we should do them for God’s sake and not place our trust in them as if thereby to merit favor before God. For we receive forgiveness of sin and righteousness through faith in Christ, as Christ himself says, “So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants’” (Luke 17:10). The Fathers also teach thus, for Ambrose says, “It is ordained of God that whoever believes in Christ shall be saved, and he shall have forgiveness of sins, not through works but through faith alone, without merit.” HYMN - 227, “Salvation Unto Us is Come,” verse 10

10. Faith to the cross of Christ doth cling and rests in Him securely; And forth from it good works must spring as fruits and tokens surely; Still faith doth justify alone, works serve thy neighbor and make known The faith that lives within thee.

Articles 7 and 8 (The Church; What the Church Is) P: [VII] It is also taught among us that one holy Christian church will be and remain forever. This is the assembly of all believers among who the Gospel is preached in its purity and the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel. For it is sufficient for the true unity of the Christian church that the Gospel be preached in conformity with a pure understanding of it and that the sacraments be administered in accordance with the divine Word. It is not necessary for the true unity of the Christian church that ceremonies, instituted by men, should be observed uniformly in all places. It is as Paul says in Eph. 4:4, 5, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” [VIII] Again, although the Christian church, properly speaking, is nothing else than the assembly of all believers and saints, yet because in this life many false Christians, hypocrites, and even open sinners remain among the godly, the sacraments are efficacious even if the priests who administer them are wicked men, for as Christ himself indicated, “The Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat” (Matt. 23:2). Accordingly the Donatists and all others who hold contrary views are condemned.

Article 9 (Baptism) All: It is taught among us that Baptism is necessary and that grace is offered through it. Children, too, should be baptized, for in Baptism they are committed to God and become acceptable to him. On this account the Anabaptists who teach that infant Baptism is not right are rejected. HYMN - 211, “Built on the Rock,” verse 6

Article 10 (The Lord’s Supper) All: It is taught among us that the true body and blood of Christ are really present in the Supper of our Lord under the form of bread and wine and are there distributed and received. 2 The contrary doctrine is therefore rejected. Article 24 (The Mass; Selected Selections) P: We are unjustly accused of having abolished the Mass. Without boasting, it is manifest that the Mass is observed among us with greater devotion and more earnestness than among our opponents. Moreover, the people are instructed often and with great diligence concerning the holy sacrament, why it was instituted, and how it is to be used (namely, as a comfort for terrified consciences) in order that the people may be drawn to the Communion and Mass. The people are also given instruction about other false teachings concerning the sacrament. …

HYMN - 320, “Lord Jesus Christ, You Have Bestowed,” verse 6

Articles 11 and 12 (Confession and Repentance) P: [XI] It is taught among us that private absolution should be retained and not allowed to fall into disuse. However, in confession it is not necessary to enumerate all trespasses and sins, for this is impossible. Ps. 19:12, “Who can discern his errors?” [XII] It is taught among us that those who sin after Baptism receive forgiveness of sin whenever they come to repentance, and absolution should not be denied them by the church. Properly speaking, true repentance is nothing else than to have contrition and sorrow, or terror, on account of sin, and yet at the same time to believe the Gospel and absolution (namely, that sin has been forgiven and grace has been obtained through Christ), and this faith will comfort the heart and again set it at rest. Amendment of life and the forsaking of sin would then follow, for these must be the fruits of repentance, as John says, “Bear fruit that befits repentance” (Matt. 3:8). … Article 13 (The Use of the Sacraments) All: It is taught among us that the sacraments were instituted not only to be signs by which people might be identified outwardly as Christians, but that they are signs and testimonies of God’s will toward us for the purpose of awakening and strengthening our faith. For this reason they require faith, and they are rightly used when they are received in faith and for the purpose of strengthening faith. Article 15 (Ecclesiastical Rites) P: With regard to church usages that have been established by men, it is taught among us that those usages are to be observed which may be observed without sin and which

contribute to peace and good order in the church, among them being certain holy days, festivals, and the like. Yet we accompany these observances with instruction so that consciences may not be burdened by the notion that such things are necessary for salvation. Moreover it is taught that all ordinances and traditions instituted by men for the purpose of propitiating God and earning grace are contrary to the Gospel and the teaching about faith in Christ. Accordingly, monastic vows and other traditions concerning distinction of foods, days, etc., by which it is intended to earn grace and make satisfaction for sin, are useless and contrary to the Gospel.

HYMN - “Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord,” verse 2

Conclusion (Preface to the Book of Concord) P: In conclusion, we repeat once again that we are not minded to manufacture anything new by this work of agreement or to depart in any way at all, either in content or formulation, from the divine truth that our pious forebears and we have acknowledged and confessed in the past, for our agreement is based on the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures and is comprehended in the three Creeds as well as in the Augsburg Confession, submitted in the year 1530 to Emperor Charles V, of kindest memory, in the Apology that followed it, and in the Smalcald Articles and the Large and Small Catechism of that highly enlightened man, Dr. Luther. On the contrary, we are minded by the grace of the Holy Spirit to abide and remain unanimously in this confession of faith and to regulate all religious controversies and their explanations according to it….

HYMN - 221, “Thine Honor Save,” verses 1, 5 Sung to the tune of 589

1. Thine honor save, O Christ, our Lord! Hear Zionʼs cries and help afford; Destroy the wiles of mighty foes who now Thy Word and truth oppose.

5. Preserve Thy chosen flock in peace, nor let Thy boundless mercy cease; To all the world let it appear that Thy true Church indeed is here

LORD’S PRAYER

C: 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. WORDS OF INSTITUTION

DISTRIBUTION

The Lord's Supper is intended for those who have been instructed in the truths of God's Word, who can examine themselves spiritually, so that they can receive our Lord's body and blood for their spiritual benefit (1 Cor. 11:25-27). If you are not a member of our

congregation, please speak with Pastor Webber before communing. All may come forward to receive a blessing.

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

P: O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good.

P: Let us pray: We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through these salutary gifts, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through them in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever.

DISMISSAL

P: The Lord be with you.

P: Let us bless the Lord.

P: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give ✠ you peace.

CLOSING HYMN - 592, “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow”

~ Depart in Peace ~