Prelude – Rigaudon
Greeting and Welcome
Lighting of the Candles
Hymn of Invocation – All Glory Be to God on High (LSB 947)
All glory be to God on high
And thanks for all His favor;
No harm can touch or terrify
A child of God forever.
God shows His good and gracious will
And grants His peace, the world to fill—
All strife at last has ended.
We praise and laud and worship You;
We give You thanks forever,
O Father, for Your rule is true
And just and changes never.
With boundless pow’r, Your mighty reign
Fulfills whatever You ordain.
Lord, grant us ev’ry blessing.
+ Preparation +
Invocation
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
Confession and Absolution
P: Do good, O Lord, to those who hold fast to Your name
C: and to those upright in heart.
P: But those who turn aside to their crooked ways,
C: the Lord will lead away with evildoers.
Silence for self-examination
P: Let us confess our sins to God, our Father.
C: O Lord, have mercy upon us poor, miserable sinners. We have offended You in thought, word, and deed. We have sinned against our neighbor. Spare us, O God, who confess our sins to You and who hide not our faults from Your eyes. Restore the penitent and forgive us all our sins according to the promise of Your mercy revealed to us in Jesus Christ, our Lord. As He suffered and died to cover our sins, cover us with His righteousness, and grant us grace that today and every day we live upright, sober, and godly lives to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.
P: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. Through the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, our Savior, you have been made children of God in Baptism and live because of His mercy. As a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
+ Word +
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray. Mighty God, Your love once called a people and made them Your chosen instrument from which You would bring forth Your Son. Grant to us the same love and grace that we might be Your own and live under You in Your kingdom forevermore; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
First Reading – Acts 23:1-11
And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God's high priest?” And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”
Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks.
The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle – Romans 8:28-39
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Holy Gospel – Matthew 13:44–52
P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the thirteenth chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Children’s Song – I’ve Got the Joy (AGPS 140)
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,
Down in my heart, down in my heart!
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,
Down in my heart to stay!
And it’s the greatest, grandest feeling,
And it’s a feeling here to stay!
And it’s a joy that needs revealing,
So I just want to say:
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,
Down in my heart, down in my heart!
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,
Down in my heart to stay!
Children’s Message
Hymn of the Day – I Love to Tell the Story (AGPS 128)
I love to tell the story of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.
I love to tell the story, because I know it’s true;
It satisfies my longings as nothing else would do.
Refrain: I love to tell the story;
‘Twill be my theme in glory
To tell the old, old story
Of Jesus and His love.
Sermon – The Mark of Testimony
