Prelude – The King Shall Come
Greeting and Welcome
Lighting of the Candles
Hymn of Invocation – Light One Candle (AGPS 163)
Light one candle for hope,
One bright candle for hope,
He brings hope to ev’ry heart,
He comes! He comes!
Light one candle for peace,
One bright candle for peace,
He brings peace to ev’ry heart,
He comes! He comes!
Light one candle for joy,
One bright candle for joy,
Ev’ry nation will find salvation
In Bethl’em’s baby boy.
Light one candle for love,
One bright candle for love,
He brings love to ev’ry heart,
He comes! He comes!
+ Preparation +
Invocation
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
Confession and Absolution – 1 John 1:8; John 3:16; Matthew 5:16
P: As we begin a new Church Year, let us put behind us everything in the past that would disqualify us from a new life, and remembering our Baptism, we boldly petition our Savior Jesus Christ, seeking for our entry into His presence and His plan and future for us, saying, stir up Your power, O Lord, and come,
C: that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance.
P: What are those threatening perils? I now ask you before God, who searches the heart, do you sincerely confess that you have sinned against God and deserved His wrath and punishment?
C: I do confess.
P: So you should confess as Holy Scripture says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Do you also repent of all your sins committed in thought, word, and deed?
C: I do repent.
P: So you should repent as did King David, who prayed for a contrite heart; Peter, who wept bitterly; the sinful woman; the prodigal son; and others. Do you sincerely believe that God, by grace, for Jesus’ sake, will forgive you all your sins?
C: I do believe.
P: So you should believe as Holy Scripture declares, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Do you promise that with the aid of the Holy Spirit you will amend your sinful life?
C: I do promise.
P: So you should promise for Christ the Lord says, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Finally, do you believe that through me, a called servant of God, you will receive the forgiveness of all your sins?
C: I do believe.
P: As you believe, even so may it be to you. Upon this, your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God to all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
P: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come,
C: that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance. Amen.
+ Word +
First Reading – Psalm 12:1-8
Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone;
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
“Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord;
“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
You, O Lord, will keep them;
you will guard us from this generation forever.
On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle – 1 Corinthians 1:3–9
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Holy Gospel – Mark 11:1-10
P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the eleventh chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Children’s Hymn – King of Kings (AGPS 151)
King of kings and Lord of lords, glory, hallelujah!
King of kings and Lord of lords, glory, hallelujah!
Jesus, Prince of Peace, glory, hallelujah!
Jesus, Prince of Peace, glory, hallelujah!
Children’s Sermon
Hymn of the Day – The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want (LSB 710)
The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want;
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; He leadeth me
The quiet waters by.
My soul He doth restore again
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness,
E’en for His own name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale,
Yet will I fear no ill;
For Thou art with me, and Thy rod
And staff me comfort still.
My table Thou hast furnishèd
In presence of my foes;
My head Thou dost with oil anoint,
And my cup overflows.
Sermon
