| Prelude
Greeting and Welcome
Lighting of the Candles
Hymn of Invocation – Rejoice, O Pilgrim Throng (LSB 813, verses 1-4)
Rejoice, O pilgrim throng! Rejoice, give thanks, and sing; Your festal banner wave on high, The cross of Christ your king. Refrain
Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice, give thanks, and sing!
With voice as full and strong As ocean’s surging praise, Send forth the sturdy hymns of old, The psalms of ancient days. Refrain
With all the angel choirs, With all the saints on earth Pour out the strains of joy and bliss, True rapture, noblest mirth. Refrain
Yet on and onward still, With hymn and chant and song, Through gate and porch and columned aisle The hallowed pathways throng. Refrain
+ Preparation +
Invocation P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen.
Opening Sentences – Psalm 65:1-4 P: Praise is due to You, O God, in Zion, C: and to You shall vows be performed. P: O You who hears prayer, to You shall all flesh come. C: When iniquities prevail against me, You atone for our transgressions. P: Blessed is the one You choose and bring near, to dwell in Your courts! C: We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, the holiness of Your temple!
Confession and Absolution – To Thee, Omniscient Lord of All (LSB 613) P: Beloved in the Lord, let us make confession to our merciful God, acknowledging that we are sinful from birth and need His gracious forgiveness. C: To Thee, omniscient Lord of all, In grief and shame I humbly call; I see my sins against Thee, Lord, The sins of thought and deed and word. They press me sore; I cry to Thee: O God, be merciful to me! P: Confessing that our thoughts and words and deeds are sinful and hurtful, let us turn to God, confident in the love that He has shown to us through His Son, Jesus our Lord, who died to pay the price of all our sins. C: O Lord, my God, to Thee I pray: O cast me not in wrath away! Let Thy good Spirit ne’er depart, But let Him draw to Thee my heart That truly penitent I be: O God, be merciful to me! P: God has promised forgiveness of sins to those who repent and turn to Him. 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: O Jesus, let Thy precious blood Be to my soul a cleansing flood. Turn not, O Lord, Thy guest away, But grant that justified I may Go to my house at peace with Thee: O God, be merciful to me! P: Be of good cheer and assured, for God has promised that your sins are indeed forgiven. May the Holy Spirit abide with you as you live at peace. C: Amen.
+ Word +
Salutation and Prayer of the Day P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you. P: Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, You guide us and prepare us to be Your witnesses in the world to share Your love for us in Jesus Christ. C: Grant us hearts made right by the working of the Holy Spirit within us that we may joyfully offer to You our service in whatever way You design for our lives. This we ask through Jesus, our Lord and our Redeemer. Amen.
First Reading – Ezekiel 33:7–9 “So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.
P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle – 2 Timothy 3:1-10 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men. You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness,….
P: This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God.
Confirmation Blessing – Hunter Lane, Emma DeBord
Holy Gospel – Matthew 18:1-20 P: The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the eighteenth chapter. C: Glory to You, O Lord.
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord. C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Catechism – The First Article P: Frequently in His ministry, Jesus spoke of His Father in heaven. In today’s Gospel, we heard Him referring to “the face of My Father who is in heaven” and sharing with the disciples what He knew to be “the will of My Father.” In the words of the First Article of the Apostles’ Creed and its meaning, we focus our confession of faith in the loving work of God the Father for us. He has created us, and in His grace He preserves us day by day and season by season. C: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. P: What does this mean? C: I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true.
Children’s Hymn – Jesus in the Morning (AGPS 143)
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus in the morning, Jesus at the noontime, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus when the sun goes down.
Love Him, love Him, love Him in the morning, love Him at the noontime Love Him, love Him, love Him when the sun goes down.
Children’s Message – Ryan Philpot
Hymn of the Day – O Word of God Incarnate (LSB 523)
O Word of God incarnate, O Wisdom from on high, O Truth unchanged, unchanging, O Light of our dark sky: We praise You for the radiance That from the hallowed page, A lantern to our footsteps, Shines on from age to age.
The Church from You, dear Master, Received the gift divine; And still that light is lifted O’er all the earth to shine. It is the chart and compass That, all life’s voyage through, Mid mists and rocks and quicksands Still guides, O Christ, to You.
O make Your Church, dear Savior, A lamp of burnished gold To bear before the nations Your true light as of old! O teach Your wand’ring pilgrims By this their path to trace Till, clouds and darkness ended, They see You face to face!
Sermon
Offertory | 
