| Prelude Greeting and Welcome Lighting of the Candles Hymn of Invocation – Come to Calvary’s Holy Mountain (LSB 435) Come to Calv’ry’s holy mountain, Sinners, ruined by the fall; Here a pure and healing fountain Flows for you, for me, for all, In a full, perpetual tide, Opened when our Savior died. Come in poverty and meanness, Come defiled, without, within; From infection and uncleanness, From the leprosy of sin, Wash your robes and make them white; Ye shall walk with God in light. Come in sorrow and contrition, Wounded, impotent, and blind; Here the guilty, free remission, Here the troubled, peace may find. Health this fountain will restore; They that drink shall thirst no more. They that drink shall live forever; ’Tis a soul-renewing flood. God is faithful; God will never Break His covenant of blood, Signed when our Redeemer died, Sealed when He was glorified.
+ Preparation + Invocation P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen. Opening Sentences – Psalm 43:3–4, 5b; 61:1–2a P: Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; C: from the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint. P: Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me; C: let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your dwelling! P: Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, C: and I will praise You with the lyre, O God, my God. P: Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, C: my salvation and my God. Confession and Absolution P: Let us make confession of our sins to God, our heavenly Father. C: Merciful Father, our Lord and King, we are sinful people. We have inherited the legacy of original sin from our first parents, Adam and Eve, who disobeyed You in Eden. We are by nature sinful and unclean. In our daily lives we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed. We sincerely repent of our sins and humbly ask Your grace and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. By the renewing work of the Holy Spirit, lead us to change what is sinful in our lives that each day we may grow in righteousness and godly living to the glory of Your holy name. P: God is gracious and forgiving. He has shown His merciful power in ways that renew, restore, and heal. To those who come to Him with repentant and contrite hearts, our Lord says, “Fear not!” and promises pardon, life, and salvation. 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. As you believe, so may it be. C: Amen. + Word + Introit P: When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. C: With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation. P: Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge— C: no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. P: For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. C: On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. P: You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. 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: When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. C: With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation. Salutation and Prayer of the Day P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. P: Let us pray. Almighty and eternal God, Your kingdom is everlasting and Your house is forever. Grant us grace to live with unfailing confidence, knowing that You have delivered us from sin and the power of death and Satan and have promised us a future life to come when we shall rejoice in Your eternal presence. This we ask for the sake of Jesus, the almighty Conqueror and our gracious Savior. C: Amen. First Reading – Genesis 3:1–21 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle – Romans 5:12–19 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. If, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God. Holy Gospel – Matthew 14:22-33 P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the fourteenth chapter. C: Glory to You, O Lord.
Immediately [Jesus] made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
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 – Open Our Eyes (AGPS 195) Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus To reach out and touch Him and say that we love Him. Open our ears, Lord, help us to listen. Open our eyes, Lord, we want to see Jesus. (Repeat) Children’s Message – Stephanie Chapa Hymn of the Day – Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing (LSB 686) Come, Thou Fount of ev’ry blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace; Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise. While the hope of endless glory Fills my heart with joy and love, Teach me ever to adore Thee; May I still Thy goodness prove. Here I raise my Ebenezer, Hither by Thy help I’ve come; And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wand’ring from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood.
Oh, to grace how great a debtor Daily I’m constrained to be; Let that grace now like a fetter Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee: Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; Prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above. Oh, that day when freed from sinning, I shall see Thy lovely face; Clothed then in the blood-washed linen, How I’ll sing Thy wondrous grace! Come, my Lord, no longer tarry; Take my ransom’d soul away; Send Thine angels soon to carry Me to realms of endless day. Sermon | 
