Prelude – Alleluia! Behold the Saints!
Greeting and Welcome
Lighting of the Candles
Hymn of Invocation – For All the Saints (LSB 677, verses 1-4 )
For all the saints who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might;
Thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true light.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Oh, may Thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Oh, blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
+ Preparation +
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
P: Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C: who made heaven and earth.
P: If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
C: But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.
P: Since we are gathered to hear God’s Word, call upon Him in prayer and praise, and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fellowship of this altar, let us first consider our unworthiness and confess before God and one another that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, and that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition. Together as His people let us take refuge in the infinite mercy of God, our heavenly Father, seeking His grace for the sake of Christ, and saying: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
C: Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen.
P: Almighty God, merciful Father, in Holy Baptism You declared us to be Your children and gathered us into Your one, holy Church, in which You daily and richly forgive us our sins and grant us new life through Your Spirit. Be in our midst, enliven our faith, and graciously receive our prayer and praise; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C: Amen.
+ Word +
Introit
P: These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
C: In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me.
P: For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me.
C: Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.
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: These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Kyrie
Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.
Gloria in Excelsis
To God on high be glory
And peace to all the earth;
Goodwill from God in heaven
Proclaimed at Jesus' birth!
We praise and bless You, Father;
Your holy name we sing—
Our thanks for Your great glory,
Lord God, our heav'nly King.
To You, O sole-begotten,
The Father's Son, we pray;
O Lamb of God, our Savior,
You take our sins away.
Have mercy on us, Jesus;
Receive our heartfelt cry,
Where You in pow'r are seated
At God's right hand on high—
For You alone are holy,
You only are the Lord.
Forever and forever,
Be worshiped and adored;
You with the Holy Spirit
Alone are Lord Most High,
In God the Father's glory.
"Amen!" our glad reply.
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, You knit together Your faithful people of all times and places into one holy communion, the mystical body of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Grant us so to follow Your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that, together with them, we may come to the unspeakable joys You have prepared for those who love You; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
First Reading – Revelation 7:9-17
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
“Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle – 1 Peter 2:1-12
So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.”
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Alleluia and Verse
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
These things are written that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Holy Gospel – Matthew 5:1-12
P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the fifth chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.
Seeing the crowds, [Jesus] went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried. And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church, I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life + of the world to come. Amen.
Children’s Hymn – We Are the Church (LSB 252)
Refrain: I am the church! You are the church!
We are the church together!
All who follow Jesus all around the world!
Yes, we’re the church together!
The church is not a building,
The church is not a steeple,
The church is not a resting place,
The church is a people. Refrain
Children’s Sermon – Pastor Scott
Hymn of the Day – Thine the Amen, Thine the Praise (LSB 680)
Thine the amen Thine the praise
Alleluias angels raise
Thine the everlasting head
Thine the breaking of the bread
Thine the glory Thine the story
Thine the harvest then the cup
Thine the vineyard then the cup is lifted up lifted up.
Thine the life eternally
Thine the promise let there be
Thine the vision Thine the tree
All the earth on bended knee
Gone the nailing gone the railing
Gone the pleading gone the cry
Gone the sighing gone the dying what was loss lifted high.
Thine the truly Thine the yes
Thine the table we the guest
Thine the mercy all from Thee
Thine the glory yet to be
Then the ringing and the singing
Then the end of all the war
Thine the living Thine the loving evermore evermore.
Thine the kingdom Thine the prize
Thine the wonder full surprise
Thine the banquet then the praise
Then the justice of Thy ways
Thine the glory Thine the story
Then the welcome to the least
Then the wonder all increasing at Thy feast at Thy feast.
Thine the glory in the night
No more dying only light
Thine the river Thine the tree
Then the Lamb eternally
Then the holy holy holy
Celebration jubilee
Thine the splendor Thine the brightness only Thee only Thee.
Sermon
Offertory – Behold A Host Arrayed in White
