Prelude – Be Thou My Vision
Greeting and Welcome
Lighting of the Candles
Hymn of Invocation – Thy Strong Word (LSB 578, verses 1-3)
Thy strong word did cleave the darkness;
At Thy speaking it was done.
For created light we thank Thee,
While Thine ordered seasons run.
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send!
Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end!
Lo, on those who dwelt in darkness,
Dark as night and deep as death,
Broke the light of Thy salvation,
Breathed Thine own life-breathing breath.
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send!
Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end!
Thy strong Word bespeaks us righteous;
Bright with Thine own holiness,
Glorious now, we press toward glory,
And our lives our hopes confess.
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to Thee who light dost send!
Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end!
+ Preparation +
Invocation
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
Opening Sentences – based on Psalm 146
P: Praise the Lord, O my soul!
C: I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
P: Blessed are those whose hope is in the Lord;
C: the Lord sets the prisoners free.
P: The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
C: The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down.
P: The Lord upholds the widow and the fatherless.
C: The Lord will reign forever!
Confession and Absolution
P: Yes, the Lord reigns over every nation, language, and people. Yet, we have not loved all people as Christ has loved us. The fruits of our faith are not always evident. But our Lord is gracious and merciful, and He offers His forgiveness to all.
Silence for reflection.
P: Heavenly Father,
C: we have failed to love others as You love them. We have failed to reflect Your grace to the world in service and sacrifice. We have failed in our actions and in our unwillingness to act. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may follow You in joy. Amen.
P: Almighty God in His mercy sent Jesus Christ into our world to serve and save all people, showing no partiality or favoritism. By His death, He forgives all our sins. By His resurrection, He destroys death forever and offers us eternal life. Therefore, as a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen. We are forgiven in Christ. We set free to love and serve our neighbors. Amen.
+ Word +
Introit
P: The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
C: To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.
P: Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
C: Blessèd be the Lord! for he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
P: The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
All: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen
P: The Lord is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
Salutation and Prayer of the Day
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray. O Lord, let Your merciful ears be open to the prayers of Your humble servants and grant that what they ask may be in accord with Your gracious will; 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 – Proverbs 10:1–8
The proverbs of Solomon.
A wise son makes a glad father,
but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
but righteousness delivers from death.
The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,
but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.
Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
The memory of the righteous is a blessing,
but the name of the wicked will rot.
The wise of heart will receive commandments,
but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle – James 2:1–10, 14–18
My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it…
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Holy Gospel – Mark 7:31-37
P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the seventh chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.
Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
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.
Children’s Hymn – How Majestic Is Your Name (AGPS 122)
O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth
O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth
O Lord, we praise Your name.
O Lord, we magnify Your name,
Prince of Peace, Mighty God,
O Lord God almighty.
Children’s Sermon – Janet Leet
Hymn of the Day – How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds (LSB 524)
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear!
It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds,
And drives away our fear.
It makes the wounded spirit whole
And calms the heart’s unrest;
’Tis manna to the hungry soul
And to the weary, rest.
Dear name! The rock on which I build,
My shield and hiding place;
My never-failing treasury filled
With boundless stores of grace.
Sermon
