Worship for 5/26/24

Sunday, May 26, 2024 – The Holy Trinity

The bulletin may be accessed by clicking “Read More” below and looking under "downloads" at the bottom of the page.

Our Amazing Life through Fearsome Death

Holy. Glory. These words in the first reading and psalm testify to awe at God’s transcendent sovereignty, fearsome majesty, and infinite mystery. No mortal can see God’s face or hear God’s voice and live. The fear expressed in these readings is personal—a living mortal in awe of the living God. In our age, awe at transcendent mystery tends toward the impersonal—at the invisibly small (in physics, quarks and strings) and the unimaginably large (space and time). Does anyone in our age still cultivate the fear of an unmanageable transcendent God, or is the notion too connected to images of a heavenly bully to be useful? Besides, Paul and Jesus each offer a picture of God’s immanence. Paul invites us to revel in God’s approachability, affirming that we can cry, “Abba! Father!” Jesus proclaims the most famous Bible verse of all, telling of God’s great love and desire to save.

But both Jesus and Paul testify that any presumption of easy friendship and comfortable intimacy with the triune God is as out of place now as ever. The immanent God is still the transcendent God! And it is still true: no mortal can see God’s face or hear God’s voice and live—even if the face and voice belong to Jesus through the Holy Spirit. The life God desires for us is accomplished through Jesus’ death—and through our own through baptism. Those deaths are as utterly terrifying as death always is, but with this grace: the death leads to our holy birth from above into a life where “we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom. 8:17).

Upcoming Reminders and Events:

How to watch via livestream or on demand:

Join us Sunday mornings at 10am as we broadcast live directly on our website: clcathens.org/live. (Note: If you don’t hear audio, make sure that it is not muted.) 
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If you miss the livestream or want to watch something again, you can find the video on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/clcathens and our Facebook page: facebook.com/clcathens.

Thank you for your partnership and your generosity.  Please know that your financial support for the ministry of Christ Lutheran is greatly appreciated. Consider giving in one of the following ways:

• Mail your Sunday offerings to: Christ Lutheran Church, Attn Wanda Weinberg, 69 Mill St., Athens, OH 45701
• Donate on our website, click on "Give" on the top right and follow the prompts.