| Prelude Greeting and Welcome Lighting of the Candles Hymn of Invocation – Lord of Glory, You Have Bought Us (LSB 851) Lord of glory, You have bought us With Your lifeblood as the price, Never grudging for the lost ones That tremendous sacrifice; And with that have freely given Blessings countless as the sand To the unthankful and the evil With Your own unsparing hand. Grant us hearts, dear Lord, to give You Gladly, freely of Your own. With the sunshine of Your goodness Melt our thankless hearts of stone Till our cold and selfish natures, Warmed by You, at length believe That more happy and more blessed ’Tis to give than to receive. Wondrous honor You have given To our humblest charity In Your own mysterious sentence, “You have done it all to Me.” Can it be, O gracious Master, That You deign for alms to sue, Saying by Your poor and needy, “Give as I have giv’n to you”?
Lord of glory, You have bought us With Your lifeblood as the price, Never grudging for the lost ones That tremendous sacrifice. Give us faith to trust You boldly, Hope, to stay our souls on You; But, oh, best of all Your graces, With Your love our love renew. + Preparation + P: In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen. 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: You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever! C: O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. P: O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. C: Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. P: For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. 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: You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever! 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. Lord Jesus, You are the Good Shepherd, without whom nothing is secure. Rescue and preserve us that we may not be lost forever but follow You, rejoicing in the way that leads to eternal life; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. C: Amen. First Reading – Ezekiel 34:11–24 “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.” “As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats. Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and to drink of clear water, that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet? And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet, and drink what you have muddied with your feet? “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 – James 3:1–18 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
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 – Luke 15:1-10 P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the fifteenth chapter. C: Glory to You, O Lord. Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear [Jesus]. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
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 – Rejoice in the Lord Always (AGPS 203)
Rejoice in the Lord always And again I say rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord always And again I say rejoice. Rejoice, rejoice, and again I say rejoice. Rejoice, rejoice, and again I say rejoice. (Repeat) Children’s Sermon – Tim Cosby Hymn of the Day – Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing (LSB 528)
Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing My great Redeemer’s praise, The glories of my God and King, The triumphs of His grace! My gracious Master and my God, Assist me to proclaim, To spread through all the earth abroad, The honors of Thy name. Jesus! The name that charms our fears, That bids our sorrows cease; ’Tis music in the sinner’s ears, ’Tis life and health and peace. He breaks the pow’r of canceled sin; He sets the pris’ner free. His blood can make the foulest clean; His blood avails for me. Sermon Offertory | 
