| Prelude Greeting and Welcome Lighting of the Candles Hymn of Invocation – I Am Jesus’ Little Lamb (LSB 740) I am Jesus’ little lamb, Ever glad at heart I am; For my Shepherd gently guides me, Knows my need and well provides me, Loves me ev’ry day the same, Even calls me by my name. Day by day, at home, away, Jesus is my staff and stay. When I hunger, Jesus feeds me, Into pleasant pastures leads me; When I thirst, He bids me go Where the quiet waters flow. Who so happy as I am, Even now the Shepherd’s lamb? And when my short life is ended, By His angel host attended, He shall fold me to His breast, There within His arms to rest.
+ Preparation + Invocation P: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen.
Opening Sentences – Isaiah 6:3b, 1 John 4:13-14, Psalm 41:13 P: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; C: the whole earth is full of His glory! P: By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. C: And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. P: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, C: from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen. Confession and Absolution P: Beloved of God, let us confess together that we are by nature sinful and unclean and that daily we have sinned against our gracious God and deserve His punishment now and eternally. We have not fully nurtured and cared for the handiwork of God, the Creator. We have not given Jesus, our Savior, the full lordship of our lives. We have not fully followed the promptings and leading of the Holy Spirit. We have not always honored the strong name of the Trinity in thought, word, and deed. C: Almighty God, we repent of our sins and seek Your mercy. Be gracious to us and for the sake of Jesus, our Redeemer, grant us Your forgiveness so that, as Your redeemed people, we may find the joy of absolution and, with hearts renewed by the Spirit, serve You in time and in eternity. P: 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 + Introit P: Blessèd be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity. Let us give glory to him because he has shown his mercy to us. C: I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. P: Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. C: For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. P: You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 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: Blessèd be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity. Let us give glory to him because he has shown his mercy to us. 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 have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; for You, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever. C: Amen. First Reading – Proverbs 3:13-18 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed. P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God. Epistle – Acts 2:14a, 22-36 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, “‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence. “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God. Holy Gospel – Matthew 28:16-20 P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-eighth chapter. C: Glory to You, O Lord. Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” P: This is the Gospel of the Lord. C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Children’s Hymn – Father, I Adore You (AGPS 94) Father, I adore You, Lay my life before You. How I love You. Jesus, I adore You, Lay my life before You. How I love You. Spirit, I adore You, Lay my life before You. How I love You. Children’s Message – Pastor Scott Hymn of the Day – Holy, Holy, Holy (LSB 507) Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee; Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty! God in three persons, blessèd Trinity! Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee, Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea; Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee, Which wert and art and evermore shalt be. Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee, Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see, Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee, Perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty! God in three persons, blessèd Trinity! Sermon Athanasian Creed P: Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith. C: Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will without doubt perish eternally. P: And the catholic faith is this, C: that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance. P: For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Holy Spirit is another. C: But the Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. P: Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit: C: the Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Spirit uncreated; P: the Father infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite; C: the Father eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal. P: And yet there are not three Eternals, but one Eternal, C: just as there are not three Uncreated or three Infinites, but one Uncreated and one Infinite. P: In the same way, the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, the Holy Spirit almighty; C: and yet there are not three Almighties, but one Almighty. P: So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God; C: and yet there are not three Gods, but one God. P: So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord; C: and yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord. P: Just as we are compelled by the Christian truth to acknowledge each distinct person as God and Lord, so also are we prohibited by the catholic religion to say that there are three Gods or Lords. C: The Father is not made nor created nor begotten by anyone. P: The Son is neither made nor created, but begotten of the Father alone. C: The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeding. P: Thus, there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. C: And in this Trinity none is before or after another; none is greater or less than another; P: but the whole three persons are coeternal with each other and coequal, so that in all things, as has been stated above, the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped. C: Therefore, whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity. P: But it is also necessary for everlasting salvation that one faithfully believe the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. C: Therefore, it is the right faith that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is at the same time both God and man. P: He is God, begotten from the substance of the Father before all ages; and He is man, born from the substance of His mother in this age: C: perfect God and perfect man, composed of a rational soul and human flesh; P: equal to the Father with respect to His divinity, less than the Father with respect to His humanity. C: Although He is God and man, He is not two, but one Christ: P: one, however, not by the conversion of the divinity into flesh, but by the assumption of the humanity into God; C: one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person. P: For as the rational soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ, C: who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead, P: ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence He will come to judge the living and the dead. C: At His coming all people will rise again with their bodies and give an account concerning their own deeds. P: And those who have done good will enter into eternal life, and those who have done evil into eternal fire. C: This is the catholic faith; whoever does not believe it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved. Offertory | 
