Prelude
Greeting and Welcome
Lighting of the Candles
Hymn of Invocation – I Know That My Redeemer Lives (LSB 461)
I know that my Redeemer lives;
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, He lives, who once was dead;
He lives, my ever-living head.
He lives triumphant from the grave;
He lives eternally to save;
He lives all-glorious in the sky;
He lives exalted there on high.
He lives to bless me with His love;
He lives to plead for me above;
He lives my hungry soul to feed;
He lives to help in time of need.
He lives to grant me rich supply;
He lives to guide me with His eye;
He lives to comfort me when faint;
He lives to hear my soul’s complaint.
+ Preparation +
Invocation
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
Opening Sentences – Genesis 1:1–2; Psalm 29:3–4
P: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
C: And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
P: And God said, “Let there be light.”
C: The voice of the Lord is over the waters.
P: The voice of the Lord is powerful.
C: The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
P: The voice of the Lord reveals Jesus as His Son.
C: The voice of the Lord reveals we are His children too.
Confession and Absolution
P: In Holy Baptism, each of us was baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In Baptism, we were united with Christ. Yet, we have often lived as if we were entirely independent and autonomous. We have lived as if our identity were not in Jesus, but in our own selfish desires. Yet, our heavenly Father invites us to turn back to Him and ask for His forgiveness.
Silence for reflection.
P: Heavenly Father,
C: we confess that we are by nature sinful and have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed. On account of Jesus, forgive us, renew us, and unite us to Your name.
P: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die and rise for you. In Baptism, you were united to Christ in both His death and resurrection. You were buried with Him, but also raised to walk in newness of life. 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. We are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
+ Word +
First Reading – Genesis 1:1–5
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle – Romans 6:1–11
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Holy Gospel – Mark 3:1-12
P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the third chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.
Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Children’s Hymn – Father Welcomes (LSB 605)
Refrain: Father welcomes all His children
To His fam’ly through His Son.
Father giving His salvation,
Life forever has been won.
Little children, come to me,
For My kingdom is of these.
Life and love I have to give,
Mercy for your sin. Refrain
In the water, in the Word,
In His promise be assured:
Those who are baptized and believe,
Shall be born again. Refrain
Children’s Sermon
Hymn of the Day – As with Gladness Men of Old (LSB 397)
As with gladness men of old
Did the guiding star behold;
As with joy they hailed its light,
Leading onward, beaming bright;
So, most gracious Lord, may we
Evermore be led by Thee.
As with joyful steps they sped,
Savior, to Thy lowly bed,
There to bend the knee before
Thee, whom heav’n and earth adore;
So may we with willing feet
Ever seek Thy mercy seat.
As they offered gifts most rare
At Thy cradle, rude and bare,
So may we with holy joy,
Pure and free from sin’s alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring,
Christ, to Thee, our heav’nly King.
Sermon
Apostles' Creed
C: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life + everlasting. Amen.
Prayer of the Church
+ Celebrating birthdays this week: 10 – Norma Bentzinger, David Williams; 11 – Avery Schloeman; 12 – Dan Brugere; 13 – Arwyn Schumacher; 14 – Dennis Dowell, Terry Young; 15 – Jennifer Grossenheider, Cyndi Moore
Special Celebrations and Needs:
+ Church family members: family and friends of Jack Rutter upon his death; Ken Kight, in need of healing; Pat Steele, recovering from Covid; Jim & Judy Thielker upon the death of their son, David
+ Friends of our congregation: Jameson, son of CCLS-Glendale teacher Kelsey, who is being tested for hip issues and starting physical therapy; Gary Brugere, for healing from hip surgery; Donna, friend of the Brugere family, experiencing vascular health issues
+ Those who are homebound or in nursing facilities: Mary Guion, Corinne Gutzler, Anne Hammann, Bettie Welch, Joan Winkler, Ruth Wussler
Offertory
