| Prelude Greeting and Welcome Lighting of the Candles Hymn of Invocation – Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates (LSB 341, verses 1-3) Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates! Behold, the King of glory waits. The King of kings is drawing near; The Savior of the world is here. Life and salvation He doth bring; Therefore rejoice and gladly sing. To God the Father raise Your joyful songs of praise. A righteous Helper comes to thee; His chariot is humility, His kingly crown is holiness, His scepter, pity in distress. The end of all our woe He brings; Therefore the earth is glad and sings. To Christ the Savior raise Your grateful hymns of praise. How blest the land, the city blest, Where Christ the ruler is confessed! O peaceful hearts and happy homes To whom this King in triumph comes! The cloudless sun of joy is He Who comes to set His people free. To God the Spirit raise Your happy shouts of praise.
+ Preparation + Invocation P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen. Confession and Absolution P: O God, our Father, You have set forth the way of life for us in Your beloved Son. We confess with shame our slowness to learn of Him, our failure to follow Him, and our reluctance to bear the cross. C: Have mercy on us, O God, according to Your steadfast love. We acknowledge our sinful nature and confess our sinful thoughts, words, and deed. Create in us clean hearts, O God, and put a new and right spirit within us. P: Upon this your confession and by the command of our Lord, I, a called and ordained servant of Christ, forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen. P: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it. Go in + peace. C: Amen. Hymn – Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates (LSB 341, verses 4-5) Fling wide the portals of your heart; Make it a temple set apart From earthly use for heav’n’s employ, Adorned with prayer and love and joy. So shall your Sov’reign enter in And new and nobler life begin. To God alone be praise For word and deed and grace! Redeemer, come and open wide My heart to Thee; here, Lord, abide! O enter with Thy grace divine; Thy face of mercy on me shine. Thy Holy Spirit guide us on Until our glorious goal is won. Eternal praise and fame We offer to Thy name. + Word + Introit P: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. C: I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more. P: My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge. 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. Salutation and Prayer of the Day P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. P: Let us pray. Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds; 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 35:1–10 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God. Hymn - Comfort, Comfort Ye My People (LSB 347, verse 1) “Comfort, comfort ye My people, Speak ye peace,” thus saith our God; “Comfort those who sit in darkness, Mourning ’neath their sorrows’ load. Speak ye to Jerusalem Of the peace that waits for them; Tell her that her sins I cover And her warfare now is over.” Holy Gospel – Matthew 11:2-15 P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the eleventh chapter. C: Glory to You, O Lord. Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. P: This is the Gospel of the Lord. C: Praise to You, O Christ. Hymn - Comfort, Comfort Ye My People (LSB 347, verse 3) Hark, the herald’s voice is crying In the desert far and near, Calling sinners to repentance, Since the Kingdom now is here. O that warning cry obey! Now prepare for God a way; Let the valleys rise to meet Him And the hills bow down to greet Him. Apostles' Creed C: 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 – God Loves Me Dearly (AGPS 109) God loves me dearly, grants me salvation God loves me dearly, loves even me. Refrain Refrain: Therefore I’ll say again, God loves me dearly, God loves me dearly, loves even me. He sent forth Jesus, my dear Redeemer, He sent forth Jesus and set me free. Refrain Children’s Message – Tim Cosby Hymn of the Day – Comfort, Comfort Ye My People (LSB 347, verse 4) Make ye straight what long was crooked; Make the rougher places plain. Let your hearts be true and humble, As befits His holy reign. For the glory of the Lord Now o’er earth is shed abroad, And all flesh shall see the token That His Word is never broken. Sermon – “Life in the Desert” (Isaiah 35:1-10) | 
