| Prelude Greeting and Welcome Lighting of the Candles Call to Worship Hymn of Invocation – From Heaven Above to Earth I Come (LSB 358, verses 1, 3, 15) “From heav’n above to earth I come To bear good news to ev’ry home; Glad tidings of great joy I bring, Whereof I now will say and sing: “This is the Christ, our God Most High, Who hears your sad and bitter cry; He will Himself your Savior be From all your sins to set you free. Glory to God in highest heav’n, Who unto us His Son has giv’n! While angels sing with pious mirth A glad new year to all the earth. + Preparation + Invocation P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen. Confession and Absolution - John 8:34; Galatians 3:23; 5:1 P: As we begin a new year in God’s grace, we acknowledge and repent of our sinfulness and failure to keep His Law. C: Lord, we confess to You our sins, those of which we know, and those of which we are unaware. 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 Law and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. 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. Hymn – O God, Our Help in Ages Past (LSB 733, verses 1-2) O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home: Under the shadow of Thy throne Thy saints have dwelt secure; Sufficient is Thine arm alone, And our defense is sure. + Word + Introit – Psalm 90:1-2, 4 P: Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. C: Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. P: For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. 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 Hymn – O God, Our Help in Ages Past (LSB 733, verses 3-4) Before the hills in order stood Or earth received her frame, From everlasting Thou art God, To endless years the same. A thousand ages in Thy sight Are like an evening gone, Short as the watch that ends the night Before the rising sun. Salutation and Prayer of the Day P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. P: Let us pray. O God, our Maker and Redeemer, You wonderfully created us and in the incarnation of Your Son yet more wondrously restored our human nature. Grant that we may ever be alive in Him who made Himself to be like us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: Amen. First Reading – Numbers 6:22–27 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God. Epistle – Galatians 4:4-7 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God. Holy Gospel – John 1:1–5, 14, 16–17 P: The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the first chapter. C: Glory to You, O Lord. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…. And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. P: This is the Gospel of the Lord. C: Praise to You, O Christ. Apostles' Creed 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 – God Loves Me Dearly (LSB 392, verses 1, 3) God loves me dearly, Grants me salvation, God loves me dearly, Loves even me. Refrain
Refrain: Therefore I’ll say again: God loves me dearly, God loves me dearly, Loves even me. He sent forth Jesus, My dear Redeemer, He sent forth Jesus And set me free. Refrain Children’s Message – Janet Leet Hymn of the Day – Of the Father’s Love Begotten (LSB 384, verses 1, 4) Of the Father’s love begotten Ere the worlds began to be, He is Alpha and Omega, He the source, the ending He, Of the things that are, that have been, And that future years shall see Evermore and evermore. O ye heights of heav’n, adore Him; Angel hosts, His praises sing. Pow’rs, dominions, bow before Him And extol our God and King. Let no tongue on earth be silent, Ev’ry voice in concert ring Evermore and evermore. Message – “He, the Source, the Ending, He” | 
