Prelude
Greeting and Welcome
Lighting of the Candles
Hymn of Invocation – Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee (LSB 803)
Joyful, joyful we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of love!
Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee,
Praising Thee, their sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness,
Drive the gloom of doubt away.
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day.
All Thy works with joy surround Thee,
Earth and heav’n reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee,
Center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Flow’ry meadow, flashing sea,
Chanting bird, and flowing fountain
Call us to rejoice in Thee.
Thou art giving and forgiving,
Ever blessing, ever blest,
Wellspring of the joy of living,
Ocean-depth of happy rest!
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Fountainhead of love divine:
Joyful, we Thy heav’n inherit!
Joyful, we by grace are Thine!
+ Preparation +
Invocation
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
Opening Sentences – Isaiah 30:15, 18, 29
P: For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,
C: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
P: Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you.
C: For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.
P: You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept,
C: and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.
Confession and Absolution
P: O God, our Father, we admit and confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean and that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed.
C: Have mercy on us, and forgive us, O Lord.
P: We confess that we have not always brought glory to You through our words and our deeds.
C: Have mercy on us, and forgive us, O Lord.
P: We repent of all that is sinful in our lives, both that which we know and those things unknown to us that are against Your righteous laws.
C: Have mercy on us, and forgive us, O Lord.
P: Upon this your confession and by the command of our Lord, I, a called and ordained servant of Christ, forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
P: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.
C: Amen.
+ Word +
First Reading – 2 Kings 2:1–12
Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he said, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”
Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”
Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground.
When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more.
Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle – 2 Corinthians 3:12–13; 4:1–6
Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end.
Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Holy Gospel – Mark 8:1-10
P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the eighth chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.
In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, [Jesus] called his disciples to him and said to them,
“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Children’s Hymn – This Is the Day (AGPS 241)
This is the day, this is the day
That the Lord hath made, that the Lord hath made,
I will rejoice, I will rejoice,
And be glad in it, and be glad in it.
This is the day that the Lord hath made,
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
This is the day, this is the day
That the Lord hath made.
Children’s Sermon
Hymn of the Day – O Living Bread from Heaven (LSB 642)
O living Bread from heaven,
How well You feed your guest!
The gifts that You have given
Have filled my heart with rest.
Oh, wondrous food of blessing,
Oh, cup that heals our woes!
My heart, this gift possessing,
With praises overflows.
My Lord, You here have led me
To this most holy place
And with Yourself have fed me
The treasures of Your grace;
For You have freely given
What earth could never buy,
The bread of life from heaven,
That now I shall not die.
You gave me all I wanted;
This food can death destroy.
And You have freely granted
The cup of endless joy.
My Lord, I do not merit
The favor You have shown,
And all my soul and spirit
Bow down before Your throne.
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: 14 – Max Sauer; 16 – Becci Lauber Sasser, Matt Ryan; 17 – Joanna Nelson, Sharon Willmann, Joan Winkler; 19 – Shirley Williams; 20 – Tim Cosby
Special Celebrations and Needs:
+ Church family members: Prayer of thanksgiving for Fiona Marie Wise, newborn granddaughter of Julie Atwood-Wise; prayer of thanksgiving for Charlotte Nichole Jacobson, newborn grandchild of Bob & Debbie Jacobson; Gwen Peiper, in the hospital recovering from a fall; Charlotte Moret, recovering from Covid
+ Friends of our congregation: Paul, friend of the Cosby family, recently diagnosed with diabetes; John, friend of the Don family, diagnosed with prostate cancer
+ Those who are homebound or in nursing facilities: Mary Guion, Corinne Gutzler, Anne Hammann, Bettie Welch, Joan Winkler, Ruth Wussler
Offertory
