| Greeting and Welcome
Prelude – Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
Lighting of the Candles
Hymn of Invocation – Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus (LSB 338)
Come, Thou long-expected Jesus, Born to set Thy people free; From our fears and sins release us; Let us find our rest in Thee. Israel’s strength and consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art, Dear desire of ev’ry nation, Joy of ev’ry longing heart.
Born Thy people to deliver; Born a child and yet a king! Born to reign in us forever, Now Thy gracious kingdom bring. By Thine own eternal Spirit Rule in all our hearts alone; By Thine all-sufficient merit Raise us to Thy glorious throne.
+ Preparation +
Invocation P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen.
Confession and Absolution P: Our help is in the name of the Lord, C: who made heaven and earth. P: If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? C: But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared. P: Since we are gathered to hear God’s Word, call upon Him in prayer and praise, and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fellowship of this altar, let us first consider our unworthiness and confess before God and one another that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, and that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition. Together as His people let us take refuge in the infinite mercy of God, our heavenly Father, seeking His grace for the sake of Christ, and saying: God, be merciful to me, a sinner. C: Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen. P: Almighty God, merciful Father, in Holy Baptism You declared us to be Your children and gathered us into Your one, holy Church, in which You daily and richly forgive us our sins and grant us new life through Your Spirit. Be in our midst, enliven our faith, and graciously receive our prayer and praise; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. C: Amen.
+ Word +
Introit P: In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. C: O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! P: Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. C: And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. P: Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the scorn of the fool! C: Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers. 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: In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
Kyrie Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Gloria in Excelsis To God on high be glory And peace to all the earth; Goodwill from God in heaven Proclaimed at Jesus' birth! We praise and bless You, Father; Your holy name we sing— Our thanks for Your great glory, Lord God, our heav'nly King. To You, O sole-begotten, The Father's Son, we pray; O Lamb of God, our Savior, You take our sins away. Have mercy on us, Jesus; Receive our heartfelt cry, Where You in pow'r are seated At God's right hand on high— For You alone are holy, You only are the Lord. Forever and forever, Be worshiped and adored; You with the Holy Spirit Alone are Lord Most High, In God the Father's glory. "Amen!" our glad reply.
Salutation and Collect of the Day P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. P: Let us pray. Eternal God, merciful Father, You have appointed Your Son as judge of the living and the dead. Enable us to wait for the day of His return with our eyes fixed on the kingdom prepared for Your own from the foundation of the world; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: Amen.
First Reading – Ezekiel 34:11–16, 20–24 “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.” “Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: Behold, I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.
P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle – 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.
P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God.
Alleluia and Verse Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Holy Gospel – Matthew 25:31-46 P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-fifth chapter. C: Glory to You, O Lord.
[Jesus said:] “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord. C: Praise to You, O Christ.
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.
Children’s Hymn – Create in Me (LSB 956)
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.
Children’s Message – Tim Cosby
Hymn of the Day – Chief of Sinners Though I Be (LSB 611)
Chief of sinners though I be, Jesus shed His blood for me, Died that I might live on high, Lives that I might never die. As the branch is to the vine, I am His, and He is mine.
Oh, the height of Jesus’ love, Higher than the heav’ns above, Deeper than the depths of sea, Lasting as eternity! Love that found me—wondrous thought! Found me when I sought Him not.
Chief of sinners though I be, Christ is all in all to me; All my wants to Him are known, All my sorrows are His own. He sustains the hidden life Safe with Him from earthly strife.
O my Savior, help afford By Your Spirit and Your Word! When my wayward heart would stray, Keep me in the narrow way; Grace in time of need supply While I live and when I die.
Sermon
Offertory | 
