Tag Archives: Jesus

Introduction to Good Friday 2022

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Good Friday Bare Chancel

We will gather together on Friday, April 15, at 7 p.m. to remember the events of Good Friday.  This is our annual remembrance of the dramatic sacrifice of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sin.

Introduction to Good Friday

We begin our liturgy as we ended the Maundy Thursday Liturgy: in silence. What was begun then continues this day as we journey with our Savior from the Last Supper, the stripping and humiliation, to the cross and tomb. Good Friday is the second day of the Triduum, the “Three Sacred Days” of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday with its Vigil of Easter.

The Good Friday Liturgy is marked with austerity, silence and reflection. The chancel itself is bare from the Maundy Thursday stripping. There is no organ music except to accompany the hymns. Everything focuses on our adoration of the crucified Christ, reigning from the throne of the cross.

The service of Tenebrae is an ancient Holy Week devotion which began in the 7th or 8th century, or possibly earlier.  The name “Tenebrae” means shadows.  The service takes its name from the ceremony of extinguishing in succession all the lights in the sanctuary, casting it into total darkness which is symbolic of the disciples’ desertion of our Lord, and of his death and burial.

The purpose of the Tenebrae Service is to aid us in realizing the total impact of the darkest day in the history of the world, the day Jesus died on the cross.

The opening portion of the liturgy includes no praise. It proceeds directly to the Invocation and Prayer of the Day. It is a simplified version of our Sunday Liturgy of the Word. The chief acts are the reading of the Passion of St. John and the Bidding Prayer for the needs of our world.

Following the final hymn is a meditation on the Seven Last Words of our Lord which he spoke from the cross.  After each word is read, there will be a prayer and silent meditation.  Lights and one candle will be extinguished after each meditation until the sanctuary is in darkness.

After the lights are all extinguished, the congregation will stand as the Paschal Candle is carried from the sanctuary reminding us of the burial of Jesus.  A loud noise, made by the closing of a Bible,will remind us of the closing of the tomb.  This announces the fulfilling of the Scriptures and the completion of our Lord’s work on the cross for us.

The Paschal Candle (called the Christ Candle during Advent/Christmas) will not return until the beginning of the Great Vigil of Easter on Saturday evening at 7 p.m.  On Good Friday we recognize that Jesus was fully dead and was placed in the borrowed tomb.

Note:  The return of the Paschal Candle moments after the loud noise is a form of the Good Friday service designed to be used in those congregations which do not have the Great Vigil of Easter.

All will leave in silence to return tomorrow as we wait in vigil and then celebrate our Lord’s Resurrection at the Great Vigil of Easter.  At the Vigil tomorrow evening we will have the first Holy Communion in celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Schedule for the rest of Holy Week:

Easter Vigil

– Saturday – 7:00 p.m. – in sanctuary

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Resurrection Sunday:

Resurrection Sunrise service at 6:45 a.m. at the Carmine Cemetery.

   (Bring your own chairs for seating at the cemetery)

Easter Reception in Parlor, near the sanctuary – 9:30-10:00 a.m.

Festival Resurrection Service at 10:00 a.m. in the sanctuary

Egg hunt and party for the children. ~11:15 a.m

jesus-christ-crucifixion-395

Ash Wednesday 2022

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Ash_Wednesday with ashes

Lent Begins March 2, 2022

Ash Wednesday services will be at both MLLC and Waldeck Evangelical Lutheran Church.  You are invited to choose which one best suits your situation.  Both services will offer Holy Communion and the Imposition of Ashes as we begin our Lenten Season.

See the end of this article for more about the ashes of Ash Wednesday.

The Ash Wednesday Service this year serves as the beginning of our Lenten Sermon Series on the Disciplines of Lent.  On Ash Wednesday we will hear about the Biblical, Christian discipline of Fasting.

Worship at MLLC at 7:30 p.m.

Worship at Waldeck Lutheran Church at 5:45 p.m.

Waldeck Evangelical Lutheran Church is in a shared ministry with MLLC.  The Church is located at 6915 Waldeck Church Lane, Ledbetter, TX 78946 – this is about 6.5 miles south of Ledbetter at the corner of FM 2145 and FM 1291.  Click here for a map for the church in Waldeck.

The Exhortation on Ash Wednesday invites us into the season of Lent.  Here is that Exhortation as presented in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW) – the book used at Martin Luther Lutheran Church:

Friends in Christ, today with the whole church we enter the time of remembering Jesus’ passover from death to life, and our life in Christ is renewed.

We begin this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance and for God’s mercy. We are created to experience joy in communion with God, to love one another, and to live in harmony with creation. But our sinful rebellion separates us from God, our neighbors, and creation, so that we do not enjoy the life our creator intended.

As disciples of Jesus, we are called to a discipline that contends against evil and resists whatever leads us away from love of God and neighbor. I invite you, therefore, to the discipline of Lent—

self-examination and repentance, prayer and fasting, sacrificial giving and works of love—strengthened by the gifts of word and sacrament.

Let us continue our journey through these forty days to the great Three Days of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

We are very blessed by the opportunity to work side by side with the people of Waldeck  Evangelical Lutheran Church.  Together we are glorifying God, loving our neighbors and loving one another.

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From the Introduction to our Ash Wednesday Services

What is Ash Wednesday?

On Ash Wednesday, the community of faith comes face to face with two realities.  First, we confront our own mortality.  None of us lives in this life forever. Secondly, all of us are sinners and need to confess our sin to God.  These two themes (death and sin) are brought together in light of God’s redeeming love in Jesus Christ.  As the Apostle John says in 1 John 1:9b, “…(God) who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  The confession of sin on Sundays reminds us, “In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins.”  The Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) confession also included, “To those who believe in Jesus Christ he gives the power to become the children of God and bestows on them the Holy Spirit.”

 

What are the ashes for?

The “ashes” of Ash Wednesday are rooted in the ancient worship of both the Jewish and Christian communities.  They are a sign of mortality and penance.  Even though we have used the imposition of ashes in our Ash Wednesday worship for many years, they still may seem new or uncomfortable to some of us.  What we should remember about the ashes is they are a visible sign of our cleansing and rebirth, both a recognition of our daily dependence on God for life and a promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

 

Should I receive the ashes?

The ashes are not compulsory by any means.  You may choose, if you wish, to remain in your seat during the imposition of ashes.  But remember that they are a powerful and visible way to participate in the call to repentance and reconciliation.  If you choose to participate, come forward at the appropriate time in the liturgy with others desiring the ashes.  The pastor will dip his thumb in the ashes and trace the sign of the cross on your forehead.  Afterwards, return to your seat and the liturgy will continue.

Ash Wednesday Questions adapted from the work of Pastor Thomas Weitzel.  He served at a neighboring church to Pastor David Tinker when they were both serving congregations in western Indiana.

Decorate the Christmas Tree – November 28

Posted by mllccarmine in Announcements and tagged with , , , ,

Join the Fun and Joy

We will gather after worship on Sunday, November 28, to decorate the MLLC Sanctuary for the Advent and Christmas Seasons.  This will take place about 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.  We need plenty of workers of all ages to help with this fun and joyful event.  Our old tree has been retired.  This year we will be using two, brand new Christmas Trees.  We will need plenty of volunteers to make sure the work gets done.

As always, we gather for worship at 10 a.m. on Sunday.  This is the beginning of Advent, and it is a special and meaningful time to gather with fellow Christians. Come for worship.  Then stay to decorate.

We also offer worship every Saturday at 6 p.m. (except when Christmas Day is on a Saturday, such as 2021).

One of the joys of our decorating is the use of Chrismons.  As part of our decorating we will hang the Chrismons for the tree.  These were made following patterns suggested and offered by the originators of Chrismons (click this link for more information from the official web site of Chrismons).

Here are some of the Chrismons which were carefully wrapped for storage since last year.

Christmas Tree 2014 set up Crismon detail

Here are some photos of our crew setting up the tree and preparing the lights in previous years.

Christmas Tree 2014 set up lights on tree

Christmas Tree 2014 set up tree top

Our Olive Wood Nativity Set will be ready for set up as well.

Christmas Tree 2014 set up olive wood box

Christmas Tree 2014 set up olive wood inside

Our pulpit will be moved to a back corner to make room for the tree and Nativity scene.

Christmas Tree 2014 set up pulpit

Advent 2019 Series

Posted by mllccarmine in Announcements and tagged with , , , , ,

Nativity Sacred Art NatShepherdMurillo

Celebrating Advent 2019

The Advent Wednesday Service Series this year is:  Advent and Christmas According to St. Luke.

This series will look through three major scenes in the Gospel Book of Luke to tell us more about what God is doing and how we can respond in faith.

The services are a joint event for the four churches of Crossroads Shared Lutheran Ministries:  Waldeck Evangelical – Ledbetter, Bethlehem – Round Top, St. Paul – Shelby, and MLLC.  Both Pastor John David Nedbalek and Pastor David Tinker will share leadership at the services.

The 3 Wednesday services will be on December 4, 11, and 18.  A fellowship meal will be at 6 p.m.; and worship at 7:00 p.m.  All events will take place in the fellowship hall at Martin Luther Lutheran Church.

Here are the themes of each week:

December 4:  Annunciation – the visit of the Angel Gabriel to Mary

December 11:  Birth – the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem

December 18:  Response – the shepherds praise the newborn Messiah

We look forward to seeing you at worship on this three weeks.

Lent Wednesdays 2016

Posted by Pastor David Tinker in Announcements, Uncategorized and tagged with , , , , ,

jesus-christ-crucifixion-395

You are invited to gather with God’s people for our Lenten Wednesday services.

Wednesdays in Lent

February 17, 24, March 2, 9 and 16
Fellowship Meal 6:00 p.m. each week
Evening Prayer 7:00 p.m. each week
Both the meal and worship will be in the Fellowship Hall.

Our Lenten Theme is “Reflections Around the Cross”. We are participating in a Pulpit Exchange with area Lutheran clergy. Each one will bring a message from a Biblical character who reflects on Jesus’ death on the cross. Each week we will also read a portion of Jesus’ Passion from the Gospel of Luke. We will use our usual service of Evening Prayer.

February 17 Pastor Candy O’Meara, portraying the Roman Centurion
February 24 Pastor Marcia Kifer, portraying Mary, the mother of our Lord
March 2 Pastor Willie Rotter, portraying Caiaphas, the High Priest
March 9 Pastor John David Nedbalek, portraying Satan
March 16 Pastor Glenn Hohlt, portraying Nicodemus

Later, on Good Friday, Pastor David Tinker will be portraying the Apostle John.

 

See this link for additional information:  https://mllccarmine.com/

 

Andy’s Toys and the People of Jesus

Posted by Pastor David Tinker in Pastor's Ponderings, Sermons and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Jan1214 Andy Foot Toy Story

by Pastor David Tinker

In my sermon on Sunday, January 12, 2014, I shared about the following from the movie, Toy Story.  I found an image of the foot of Woody with Andy’s name written on it.  Here is a written form of what I shared in the Sunday sermon regarding this image.

“The 1995 movie Toy Story shows Andy’s toys come to life.  When Andy is not around the toys talk, move, and have a sort of community life.  Andy is a little boy who cherishes his toys, but he especially cherishes his toy Cowboy “Woody”.  The story goes that on Andy’s birthday he receives a very exciting new toy:  Buzz Lightyear.  Buzz is a Space Ranger, complete with a laser beam, space helmet and a means to communicate between planets.  Buzz Lightyear becomes the new favorite toy of Andy.  He even makes sure his name is written on the bottom of Buzz Lightyear’s foot with permanent ink.

The Buzz Lightyear toy, while Andy is away, gets the impression that he himself is the real Buzz Lightyear, rather than a toy like the rest of the community.  After a series of mishaps he is brought to the reality that he is just a toy.  Buzz goes into a blue funk and no longer cares to even be a toy.

This is when the original leader of the toys, Woody, starts to show his stuff.  Woody truly cares about the toys and he also understands their purpose.  All the community of toys are “Andy’s Toys”.  They are there for Andy to play with.  Andy’s Toys are special, important and are loved by Andy.  Andy cares so much about his toys that he puts his name on each one.  Woody shows Buzz that both Woody and Buzz have the mark of Andy on their feet.  Woody shows Buzz that each toy is special not because of what they can do, but because they belong to Andy.  They are Andy’s Toys.”