Fifth Sunday after Epiphany 2/9/2025
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
FEBRUARY 9, 2025
IN THE NAME OF JESUS, WELCOME TO ST. PAUL’S!
8:00 & 10:30 a.m.
✠ ✠ ✠
THE ENTRANCE RITE
PRELUDE God Himself is Present Setting: Stephen Folkemer
WELCOME
ENTRANCE HYMN God Himself is Present LSB 907
1 God Himself is present:
Let us now adore Him
And with awe appear before Him.
God is in His temple;
All within keep silence;
Humbly kneel in deepest rev’rence.
He alone
On His throne
Is our God and Savior;
Praise His name forever!
2 God Himself is present:
Hear the harps resounding;
See the hosts the throne surrounding.
“Holy, holy, holy!”
Hear the hymn ascending,
Songs of saints and angels blending.
Bow Your ear
To us here:
Hear, O Christ, the praises
That Your Church now raises.
3 Fount of ev’ry blessing,
Purify my spirit,
Trusting only in Your merit.
Like the holy angels,
Worshiping before You,
May I ceaselessly adore You.
Let Your will
Ever still
Rule Your Church terrestrial
As the hosts celestial.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION LSB 203
In the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.
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.
Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen.
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.
Amen.
KYRIE LSB 204
Lord, have mercy;
Christ, have mercy;
Lord, have mercy.
HYMN OF PRAISE – “Gloria in Excelsis” LSB 204
1 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.
2 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—
3 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.
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray. O Lord,
keep Your family the Church continually in the true faith that, relying on the hope
of Your heavenly grace, we may ever be defended by Your mighty power; through
Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
✠ ✠ ✠
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
FIRST LESSON (Be seated) Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
PSALM 138 (Sung responsively)
I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise;
I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.
On the day I called, you answered me;
my strength of soul you increased.
All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth,
and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he knows from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and your right hand delivers me.
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.
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.
SECOND LESSON 1 Corinthians 14:12b-20
Since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.
Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.
Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
(10:30) CHILDREN’S SERMON
GOSPEL VERSE (Stand) (for music see LSB 205)
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL Luke 5:1-11
The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the 5th chapter.
Glory to You, O Lord.
On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on [Jesus] to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to You, O Christ.
SERMON (Be seated)
Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus. Amen. Dear friends in Christ:
Our Gospel readings during the season of Epiphany tell of Jesus’ early ministry. And our reading today tells of the time when Jesus called his first disciples.
As I always mention when we read an account of these callings, it’s important to remember that Jesus’ calls to these men were both a specific call for the purpose of leadership training and also a simple call to faith. Peter, James and John would receive training in order to become apostles – meaning those who were sent into the mission field to serve and to lead. This was the service Jesus pointed to when he explained that they would be fishing for men. But first they all needed to place their trust in Jesus and follow him as disciples. Jesus was teaching a whole new way of understanding faith and he wanted them to know the Good News.
It is because of the call to ministry in these texts that the church has decided to pair them with Old Testament readings such as the one we read today from Isaiah chapter six. In this text we hear of Isaiah’s call to ministry. God at that time was looking to raise up a prophet for his people and he chose Isaiah, who was already a believer, to take on the task. God appeared to him in a glorious vision and assured him of his forgiveness, at which point Isaiah then responded to God’s call by eagerly saying: “Here am I! Send me.”
Like Isaiah, Peter and his friends’ call was also accompanied by a vision of God’s glory. They all witnessed a great miracle – a large catch of fish that they couldn’t explain. And this vision certainly impacted their decision to take accept Jesus’ invitation. In fact, as the story reads, this seems to be the most powerful aspect of the call. We’re told that when Simon Peter and the others saw the catch, they were astonished. And Peter even fell down on his knees and expressed his unworthiness to be in Jesus’ presence.
People are generally moved by great acts of power. And this is especially true when these acts fall under the category of a miracle. I know that a number of us here have been moved by such things.
Likewise, people tend to be even more moved when that act of power provides something particularly helpful. Here in this story, Jesus’ miracle provided an abundance of fish. That great catch would certainly pay Peter and his friend’s bills for a number of months and enable them to comfortably take a little time off. And this perhaps served as a further encouragement for them to go ahead and see what Jesus’ calling was all about.
Here I think it would be good for us to stop and think a bit about how God’s great provision impacts us. In doing this, we might think that a comparable situation to today’s story would be for us to receive a great windfall – like perhaps unexpectedly inheriting a great sum of money or receiving a huge raise at work. If that happened, we would certainly be moved.
But isn’t it true that most of us are already very rich. God has provided for us abundantly. If we’re able to eat, be properly clothed, receive health care, sleep at night with a roof over our head, live without fear of attack from a war, and have a measure of time for leisure, then we are wealthier and better off than most people on this planet.
The question then becomes how we respond to this abundance. Do we put our trust in the one who has made our abundance possible and follow him as a disciple and worker? Or do we just go on with life as if God isn’t around or doesn’t care?
God has done big things for us. As Luther teaches us in the Catechism, “God has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears and all my members, my reasons and all my senses, and still preserves them.” And the list only gets bigger from there.
The biggest thing that God gives us is the forgiveness of our sins. God gives this forgiveness to us as a gift– one that we are neither deserving of nor can ever earn on our own. Isaiah’s vision makes all of this clear as God comes to him and touches him with a burning coal and clearly announces that his sin has been atoned for. Notice that Isaiah did not atone for his own sins. He couldn’t, it had to be done by someone else. We know that this someone was Jesus, God’s Son, who years later gave his life on the cross for the sins of the world.
When we know of God’s forgiveness, we are able to move beyond our guilt and despair, and to go forward in life with confidence. This is something for which we should all be grateful.
In our story today, Peter is the one who voices the concern that people naturally have over their sin. After the great catch of fish, Peter fell down on his knees and cried out: “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Peter knew that he wasn’t worthy to be in the presence of one who could do the things that only God can do, and this was now the second or maybe third miracle of Jesus that he had seen. Peter had seen his mother-in-law be healed of a fever. And he may have also been in that synagogue in Capernaum when Jesus cleansed a man from an unclean spirit. Peter may not have yet known that Jesus was God incarnate, but he knew that Jesus possessed God’s power and authority.
In the same way, when Isaiah received his vision of God’s glory, he too reacted by acknowledging his unworthiness to witness such a holy scene. “Woe to me! For I am lost,” he said. And then he explained his lostness by telling of the sins which made him unclean.
Peter and Isaiah’s responses serve as a reminder that our sin is an issue that must be dealt with if we are to follow God in faith. And this is especially true if we are to also serve as a leader. Sin is something that hinders our good efforts. And without God’s intervention it only multiples.
Likewise, these stories are also a reminder that without a knowledge of our forgiveness we will despair of our inability to do good. This is a point made by C.F.W. Walther in his book The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel. I looked into this book because we are studying it in our Sunday morning Bible Classes right now and I figured there might be a reference to our Gospel reading in the book. Sure enough there is. Walther points out that on that day Peter fell on his knees in despair because he did not yet understand the Gospel. He only understood the Law.
Jesus’ miracles were clear signs of the good news of the Gospel. But Peter did not yet realize this. It took listening to Jesus’ teachings in order for Peter to understand that God forgives our sins. And Peter only fully understood this after realizing that Jesus died for our sins and that he rose again as a sign of victory over them.
Peter would learn this lesson over time by listening to Christ’s words. But interestingly, there is a hint already in today’s story that Peter was well on his way.
Before Peter fell on his knees in awe and shame, Peter first took Jesus out on the boat at Jesus’ request. And as we heard, Peter at that time hesitated a bit by saying: “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!” As a fisherman, Peter certainly figured he knew more about catching fish than this teacher.
But notice that Peter didn’t hesitate much. For he then quickly added: “But at your word I will let down the nets.” And this he did.
Peter’s action in taking Jesus out on the boat was a clear step of faith. And here we should notice that Peter took this step in response to the words Jesus had spoken, giving his assent by saying: “At your word.”
This is now our third reading in a row where a specific reference is made to Christ’s words. Two Sundays ago we heard the people listening to Jesus marvel at his “gracious words.” And last Sunday the people responded to his miracle of healing by saying: “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”
The point of all these references is that Jesus’ words have power. When Peter says, “At your word I will let down the nets,” he is not just referring to a point in time when Jesus will offer his command. Nor is he simply stating his obedience. Other translations will have him say: “Because you said so I will let down the nets,” (NIV) and that works too. But what we’re really meant to catch here is the powerful effect Jesus’ words were having upon Peter. Peter had just been listening to Jesus teach while the two of them were there in that boat. He would have clearly heard the words Jesus was saying. And we know Jesus’ words move people’s hearts.
Peter, as the text makes clear, took his first step of faith in response to Jesus’ words. And by taking this step, he saw a great miracle and found a new call.
The same is true for us. When we listen to Jesus we will be moved. And the more we listen, the more we will be moved.
Likewise, the more we act in faith, the more we will see. A small push-out in a boat can lead to a great catch of fish.
Jesus speaks to us, calls us to faith, and works in our hearts and lives. Today’s readings call us to consider whether we ought to be listening a little more closely, or whether we ought to be taking new steps of faith in obedience to him.
Perhaps Jesus is calling you to push out in the boat with him a little more. Or perhaps he is calling you to work in his kingdom a little more. Both are steps of faith. And both are prompted by Christ’s call through his word.
About that kingdom work, let’s use our remaining time in the sermon to do a little more thinking about what Jesus means with his phrase “catching men.” Certainly Jesus means by this that his followers are to work toward the goal of bringing others into his kingdom, for living in the kingdom is not only the best way to live but also the path of salvation. Disciples of Jesus will want this for others– all others. And they will work toward this just like fishermen will work to bring fish into a boat.
But of course this metaphor of Jesus has its limitations too. Fishermen forcibly take fish out of the water using nets or lure them out of the water using bait. Disciples of Jesus, however, are not to force or lure people into the kingdom. Rather we invite, encourage, teach and pray. Perhaps we should remember that Jesus used the metaphor because he was addressing fishermen.
Yes, the church should definitely be about the task of evangelism. Evangelism is spreading the Gospel – that’s what the word means. And the church can strive to make itself attractive to others too – but only by highlighting what is Godly and by presenting itself in ways that are genuine.
Our New Testament reading today, although not specifically chosen to correspond with today’s Gospel, also sheds some light on this topic. First Corinthians 14 reading speaks to the choices we Christians make in our worship, and as it does this, it mentions a goal that we are to have – that of building people up. The teaching is that we should choose expressions of worship that build people up – all people, and not just some.
In the same way, it seems to me that the task of fishing for men could also be thought of as an effort to build people up. We went people to be better, not just a part of the group. As such, the church will put great effort into teaching, proclaiming, encouraging and serving, and far less into determining who’s in or out of the boat.
As we all know, there are many, many things in this life which break people down. We live in a dangerous and grief-filled world. How important it is that the church be about building people up. We have the message and the Spirit to build faith, wisdom, character and community – all the things that people need the most.
Jesus called Peter and his friends so that they would be built up in these same ways… and so that they could learn to build up others too. He called them to follow him – which they would do by first listening to him and by then carrying out the work he taught and equipped them to do.
In the same way, Jesus has called each of us. Whether we are pastor or parishioner, minister or member, we have all received the same call to discipleship. And as such, we are all to follow him by listening to his words and by stepping out with him in service, including fishing for men.
God will bless us through our discipleship. And God will use us to bring blessings to others as well.
Thanks be to God for this calling! May God lead us and guide us in it always. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
HYMN OF THE DAY (Stand) Hail to the Lord’s Anointed LSB 398
1 Hail to the Lord’s anointed,
Great David’s greater Son!
Hail, in the time appointed,
His reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression,
To set the captive free,
To take away transgression
And rule in equity.
2 He comes with rescue speedy
To those who suffer wrong,
To help the poor and needy
And bid the weak be strong;
To give them songs for sighing,
Their darkness turn to light,
Whose souls, condemned and dying,
Were precious in His sight.
3 He shall come down like showers
Upon the fruitful earth;
Love, joy, and hope, like flowers,
Spring in His path to birth.
Before Him on the mountains
Shall peace, the herald, go;
And righteousness in fountains
From hill to valley flow.
4 Kings shall fall down before Him
And gold and incense bring;
All nations shall adore Him,
His praise all people sing.
To Him shall prayer unceasing
And daily vows ascend;
His kingdom still increasing,
A kingdom without end.
5 O’er ev’ry foe victorious,
He on His throne shall rest,
From age to age more glorious,
All blessing and all-blest.
The tide of time shall never
His covenant remove;
His name shall stand forever—
That name to us is Love.
APOSTLES’ CREED Hymnal, back cover
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.
OFFERING
Offerings support the church’s mission work – both here and through our many partners. Offerings may be placed in the box at the sanctuary entrance or sent to the church through our website or the mail. Fellowship Cards help us welcome new people and track participation. Please fill one out and place it in the offering box following the service.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Father of all joy, You have taught us Your acts of righteousness so that we might call upon you in faith and be saved. Teach us to proclaim Your might to the next generation, that they, too, may rejoice in Your salvation. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Lord God of hosts, sustain our pastors and ministers of the church in their calling to be fishers of men. Grant that they would not be discouraged when they toil all night and take nothing, but that they would continue to persevere in their task. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, give each of us faith to let down the nets of Your Word in our daily vocations. And give us faith to trust Your Son to do His gracious work even through poor sinners like us. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful God, build up Your Church and manifest Your Spirit among us with wisdom and knowledge. Let our words be measured and intelligible both to our fellow Christians and to those outside Your Church so that all may utter “Amens” confidently in Christ. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O God, be not far from us. As You have worked deeds of salvation in Christ Jesus, so make haste to help us now in every trouble. Give healing to the sick, strength to the weak and comfort to the afflicted, especially Geraine, Sophia, Mary Ann, Norma, Brooks, June, Peter, Wend, James, Russell, Yi, Eunice, Jeannie, Val, and Berniece, as well as those we name in our hearts at this time… Extend your healing and care according to your goodness and do not forsake us nor the generations to come. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Send from Your altar, O Lord, once again, the body and blood of Christ. Cleanse us and our lips by this blessed Sacrament and deliver to us the atonement Christ has won for us, that we may be worthy to stand before You now and at the Last Day. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
O Lord, though we are unworthy of You and Your bounty, You are pleased to receive our meager thanks and reluctant obedience for the sake of Christ’s perfect obedience. Let Your Word rule us and Your Spirit revive us to leave behind pride and anxiety alike, that we may follow You in all we do; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the same Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
OFFERTORY VERSE Let the Vineyards Be Fruitful (for music see LSB 955)
Let the vineyards be fruitful, Lord,
And fill to the brim our cup of blessing.
Gather a harvest from the seeds that were sown,
That we may be fed with the bread of life.
Gather the hopes and the dreams of all;
Unite them with the prayers we offer now.
Grace our table with Your presence, and give us
A foretaste of the feast to come.
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SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT
PREFACE (Stand) LSB 208-210
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
It is truly good, right, and salutary … Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
SANCTUS LSB 208
Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth adored;
Heav’n and earth with full acclaim shout the glory of Your name.
Sing hosanna in the highest, sing hosanna to the Lord;
Truly blest is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven;
give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
THE WORDS OF OUR LORD
PAX DOMINI
The peace of the Lord be with you always.
Amen.
AGNUS DEI LSB 210
1 O Jesus Christ, true Lamb of God,
You take the sin of the world away;
O Jesus Christ, true Lamb of God,
Have mercy on us, Lord, we pray.
2 O Jesus Christ, true Lamb of God,
You take the sin of the world away;
Have mercy on us, Jesus Christ,
And grant us peace, O Lord, we pray.
DISTRIBUTION (Be seated)
Those wishing to commune at the foot of the steps should come forward first. Those wishing to commune at the altar rail should come forward after these, front rows first, from both sides of the aisle. After receiving, all should return to their seats. A common dismissal will be given at the end.
COMMUNION HYMN The Infant Priest Was Holy Born LSB 624
1 The infant Priest was holy born
For us unholy and forlorn;
From fleshly temple forth came He,
Anointed from eternity.
2 This great High Priest in human flesh
Was icon of God’s righteousness.
His hallowed touch brought sanctity;
His hand removed impurity.
3 The holy Lamb undaunted came
To God’s own altar lit with flame;
While weeping angels hid their eyes,
This Priest became a sacrifice.
4 But death would not the victor be
Of Him who hung upon the tree.
He leads us to the Holy Place
Within the veil, before God’s face.
5 The veil is torn, our Priest we see,
As at the rail on bended knee
Our hungry mouths from Him receive
The bread of immortality.
6 The body of God’s Lamb we eat,
A priestly food and priestly meat;
On sin-parched lips the chalice pours
His quenching blood that life restores.
7 With cherubim and seraphim
Our voices join the endless hymn,
And “Holy, holy, holy” sing
To Christ, God’s Lamb, our Priest and King.
BLESSING
NUNC DIMITTIS (Stand) LSB 211
1 O Lord, now let Your servant
Depart in heav’nly peace,
For I have seen the glory
Of Your redeeming grace:
A light to lead the Gentiles
Unto Your holy hill,
The glory of Your people,
Your chosen Israel.
2 All glory to the Father,
All glory to the Son,
All glory to the Spirit,
Forever Three in One;
For as in the beginning,
Is now, shall ever be,
God’s triune name resounding.
PRAYER
BENEDICTION
SENDING HYMN Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven LSB 793
1 Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
To His feet your tribute bring;
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Evermore His praises sing:
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King.
2 Praise Him for His grace and favor
To His people in distress;
Praise Him still the same as ever,
Slow to chide and swift to bless:
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glorious in His faithfulness.
3 Fatherlike He tends and spares us;
Well our feeble frame He knows;
In His hand He gently bears us,
Rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Widely yet His mercy flows.
4 Angels, help us to adore Him;
You behold Him face to face;
Sun and moon, bow down before Him,
All who dwell in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace.
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven Setting: Robert Farlee
FLOWERS: In honor of Dick Holzheimer. By the Holzheimer Family
FELLOWSHIP: Board of Youth
Those serving:
8:00 a.m.
Greeter: Jim Easterly
Comm. assist: Judy Koucky
Reader: Melissa Hecht
10:30 a.m.
Greeter: SP Youth
Comm. assist: SP Youth/Holly Siebrass
Reader: SP Youth
Acolyte: Noah Starck
AV Assistants: Hannes Buuck, Andreas Buuck
Acknowledgments
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2025 Concordia Publishing House.
955 Let the Vineyards Be Fruitful Text: John W. Arthur, 1922–80 Tune: Richard W. Hillert, 1923–2010 Text and tune: ©1978 Lutheran Book of Worship. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326
907 God Himself Is Present Text: Gerhard Tersteegen, 1697–1769, abr.; tr. Frederick W. Foster, 1760–1835, alt.; tr. John Miller, 1756–90, alt. Tune: Joachim Neander, 1650–80 Text and tune: Public domain
398 Hail to the Lord’s Anointed Text: James Montgomery, 1771–1854, alt. Tune: Leonhart Schröter, c. 1532–c. 1601 Text and tune: Public domain
624 The Infant Priest Was Holy Born Text: Chad L. Bird, 1970
Tune: Second Supplement to Psalmody in Miniature, 1778, London; adapt. Edward Miller, 1731–1807 Text: © 1997, 2003 Chad L. Bird. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326 Tune: Public domain
793 Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven Text: Henry F. Lyte, 1793–1847 Tune: John Goss, 1800–80 Text and tune: Public domain
