Prelude
Greeting and Welcome
Lighting of the Candles
Hymn of Invocation – Hark the Glad Sound (LSB 349)
Hark the glad sound! The Savior comes,
The Savior promised long;
Let ev’ry heart prepare a throne
And ev’ry voice a song.
He comes the pris’ners to release,
In Satan’s bondage held.
The gates of brass before Him burst,
The iron fetters yield.
He comes the broken heart to bind,
The bleeding soul to cure,
And with the treasures of His grace
To enrich the humble poor.
Our glad hosannas, Prince of Peace,
Thy welcome shall proclaim,
And heav’n’s eternal arches ring
With Thy belovèd name.
+ Preparation +
Invocation
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
Confession and Absolution
P: Prepare the way of the Lord. Recalling our Baptism into Christ, we confess our sins to God in the full assurance of the gift of forgiveness by the mighty sacrifice of His Son.
C: O God, from the wilderness of lives disfigured and crushed by the devil, our own sin, and the sins of others, we cry out to You for the forgiveness of our sins, those that trouble us as well as those of which we are not aware. Restore our life and faith by Your own command for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
P: 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.
+ Word +
First Reading – Psalm 22:1-11
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises[a] of Israel.
In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried and were rescued;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
“He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.
On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother's womb you have been my God.
Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle – 2 Peter 3:8–14
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Holy Gospel – Mark 1:1-8
P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the first chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Children’s Hymn – Soon and Very Soon (AGPS 218)
Soon and very soon we are going to see the King!
Soon and very soon we are going to see the King!
Soon and very soon we are going to see the King!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! We’re going to see the King!
No more crying there, we are going to see the King!
No more crying there, we are going to see the King!
No more crying there, we are going to see the King!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! We’re going to see the King!
Children’s Sermon
Hymn of the Day – A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (LSB 656)
A mighty fortress is our God,
A trusty shield and weapon;
He helps us free from ev’ry need
That hath us now o’ertaken.
The old evil foe now means deadly woe;
Deep guile and great might are his dread arms in fight;
On earth is not his equal.
With might of ours can naught be done,
Soon were our loss effected;
But for us fights the valiant One,
Whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye, Who is this? Jesus Christ it is,
Of Sabaoth Lord, and there’s none other God;
He holds the field forever.
Though devils all the world should fill,
All eager to devour us,
We tremble not, we fear no ill;
They shall not overpow’r us.
This world’s prince may still scowl fierce as he will,
He can harm us none. He’s judged; the deed is done;
One little word can fell him.
The Word they still shall let remain
Nor any thanks have for it;
He’s by our side upon the plain
With His good gifts and Spirit.
And take they our life, goods, fame, child, and wife,
Though these all be gone, our vict’ry has been won;
The Kingdom ours remaineth.
Sermon
