| Prelude Greeting and Welcome Lighting of the Candles Hymn of Invocation – The People That in Darkness Sat (LSB 412, verses 1, 3, 4, 6) The people that in darkness sat A glorious light have seen; The light has shined on them who long In shades of death have been, In shades of death have been. To us a Child of hope is born, To us a Son is giv’n, And on His shoulder ever rests All pow’r in earth and heav’n, All pow’r in earth and heav’n. His name shall be the Prince of Peace, The Everlasting Lord, The Wonderful, the Counselor, The God by all adored, The God by all adored. Lord Jesus, reign in us, we pray, And make us Thine alone, Who with the Father ever art And Holy Spirit, one, And Holy Spirit, one.
+ Preparation + P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen.
P: Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness. P: Our help is in the name of the Lord, C: who made heaven and earth. P: I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, C: and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Silence for reflection on God's Word and for self-examination.
P: O almighty God, merciful Father, C: I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P: Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen. + Word + Gloria in Excelsis Glory be to God on High, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee. we glorify Thee, we give thanks to Thee, for Thy great glory. O Lord God, heav'nly King, God the Father Almighty. O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sin of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us. For Thou only art holy; Thou only art the Lord. Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Salutation and Collect of the Day P: The Lord be with you. C: And with thy spirit. P: Let us pray. O God, by the leading of a star You made known Your only-begotten Son to the Gentiles. Lead us, who know You by faith, to enjoy in heaven the fullness of Your divine presence; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: Amen. First Reading – Isaiah 60:1–6 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle – Ephesians 3:1–12 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God.
Alleluia and Verse Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. Holy Gospel – Matthew 2:13-23 P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the second chapter. C: Glory be to Thee, O Lord. When [the wise men] had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord. C: Praise be to Thee, 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 – What Child is This (LSB 370, verses 1, 3) What child is this, who, laid to rest, On Mary’s lap is sleeping? Whom angels greet with anthems sweet While shepherds watch are keeping? This, this is Christ the king, Whom shepherds guard and angels sing; Haste, haste to bring Him laud, The babe, the son of Mary! So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh; Come, peasant, king, to own Him. The King of kings salvation brings; Let loving hearts enthrone Him. Raise, raise the song on high, The virgin sings her lullaby; Joy, joy, for Christ is born, The babe, the son of Mary! Children’s Message – Tim Cosby Hymn of the Day – As with Gladness Men of Old (LSB 397) As with gladness men of old Did the guiding star behold; As with joy they hailed its light, Leading onward, beaming bright; So, most gracious Lord, may we Evermore be led by Thee. As with joyful steps they sped, Savior, to Thy lowly bed, There to bend the knee before Thee, whom heav’n and earth adore; So may we with willing feet Ever seek Thy mercy seat. As they offered gifts most rare At Thy cradle, rude and bare, So may we with holy joy, Pure and free from sin’s alloy, All our costliest treasures bring, Christ, to Thee, our heav’nly King. Holy Jesus, ev’ry day Keep us in the narrow way; And when earthly things are past, Bring our ransomed souls at last Where they need no star to guide, Where no clouds Thy glory hide. In the heav’nly country bright Need they no created light; Thou its light, its joy, its crown, Thou its sun which goes not down; There forever may we sing Alleluias to our King. Sermon – “Get Up” Offertory Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence, And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, And uphold me with Thy free spirit. Amen. | 
