Prelude
Greeting and Welcome
Lighting of the Candles
Hymn of Invocation – When Morning Gilds the Skies (LSB 807)
When morning gilds the skies,
My heart, awaking, cries,
“May Jesus Christ be praised!”
When evening shadows fall,
This rings my curfew call:
“May Jesus Christ be praised!”
When mirth for music longs,
This is my song of songs:
“May Jesus Christ be praised!”
God’s holy house of prayer
Hath none that can compare
With “Jesus Christ be praised!”
No lovelier antiphon
In all high heav’n is known
Than “Jesus Christ be praised!”
There to the eternal Word
The eternal psalm is heard:
“May Jesus Christ be praised!”
Ye nations of mankind,
In this your concord find:
“May Jesus Christ be praised!”
Let all the earth around
Ring joyous with the sound:
“May Jesus Christ be praised!”
Sing, suns and stars of space,
Sing, ye that see His face,
Sing, “Jesus Christ be praised!”
God’s whole creation o’er,
Both now and evermore
Shall Jesus Christ be praised!
+ Preparation +
Invocation
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit
C: Amen.
Confession and Absolution
P: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
C: But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Silence for reflection on God's Word and for self-examination.
P: Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.
C: Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.
P: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. 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.
+ Word +
Introit
P: Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
C: My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
P: But I call to God, and the Lord will save me.
C: Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.
P: He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me.
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: Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Kyrie
P: In peace let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.
P: For the peace from above and for our salvation let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.
P: For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.
P: For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship and praise let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.
P: Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
C: Amen.
This Is the Feast
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain,
whose blood set us free to be people of God.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Power, riches, wisdom and strength,
and honor, blessing, and glory are His.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Sing with all the people of God,
and join in the hymn of all creation.
Blessing, honor, glory, and might
be to God and the Lamb forever. Amen.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
For the Lamb who was slain has begun His reign. Alleluia.
This is the feast of victory for our God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Salutation and Collect of the Day
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray. O God, the Giver of all that is good, by Your holy inspiration grant that we may think those things that are right and by Your merciful guiding accomplish them; 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 – Acts 16:9–15
A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle – Revelation 4:1-11
After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Alleluia and Verse
Alleluia. Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Holy Gospel – John 16:23-33
P: The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the sixteenth chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.
In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
“I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Children’s Hymn – I’ve Got the Joy (AGPS 140)
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.
Down in my heart, down in my heart!
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,
Down in my heart to stay!
And it’s the greatest, grandest feeling,
And it’s a feeling here to stay!
And it’s a joy that needs revealing,
So I just want to say:
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.
Down in my heart, down in my heart!
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,
Down in my heart to stay!
Children’s Sermon – Pastor Scott
Hymn of the Day – Son of God, Eternal Savior (LSB 842)
Son of God, eternal Savior,
Source of life and truth and grace,
Word made flesh, whose birth among us
Hallows all our human race,
You our Head, who, throned in glory,
For Your own will ever plead:
Fill us with Your love and pity,
Heal our wrongs, and help our need.
As You, Lord, have lived for others,
So may we for others live.
Freely have Your gifts been granted;
Freely may Your servants give.
Yours the gold and Yours the silver,
Yours the wealth of land and sea;
We but stewards of Your bounty
Held in solemn trust will be.
Come, O Christ, and reign among us,
King of love and Prince of Peace;
Hush the storm of strife and passion,
Bid its cruel discords cease.
By Your patient years of toiling,
By Your silent hours of pain,
Quench our fevered thirst of pleasure,
Stem our selfish greed of gain.
Son of God, eternal Savior,
Source of life and truth and grace,
Word made flesh, whose birth among us
Hallows all our human race:
By Your praying, by Your willing
That Your people should be one,
Grant, O grant our hope’s fruition:
Here on earth Your will be done.
Sermon
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.
Prayer of the Church
+ Celebrating birthdays this week: 23 – Ann Jonas, Mollie Schultz
+ Wedding anniversaries: 22 – Rod & Gloria Nobis; 24 – Sue & Michael Shatzman; 25 – Daniel & Tiffani Grossenheider
Special Celebrations and Needs:
+ Church family members: Jean Peterson, celebrating the birth of a great-grandchild; Mary Aufderheide, upon the death of her husband, Fred; Gayle Sappington, recovering from a fall
+ Friends of our congregation: the family and congregation of Pastor John Schmidtke, pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, upon his sudden death last week; a 4 year old CCLS-Glendale student, recovering from surgery; Kim, daughter of Beverly Dixson, in the hospital healing from pneumonia; Brian, cousin of Tim Cosby, with Covid complications; the nephew of Tim & Jan Cosby, whose wife is pregnant with twins, one of whom has a serious heart defect; Kim, daughter of Greg & Karen Frimel, diagnosed with cancer
+ Those who are homebound or in nursing facilities: Twylah Atwood, Mary Aufderheide, Jules & Mary Bush, Carol Fisher, Mary Guion, Jerry & Jane Keathley, Gayle Sappington, Shirley Williams, Ruth Wussler
+ Our Refugee family, the Mohammeds
