Seventh Sunday after Epiphany 2/23/2025
SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
FEBRUARY 23, 2025
IN THE NAME OF JESUS, WELCOME TO ST. PAUL’S!
8:00 & 10:30 a.m.
✠ ✠ ✠
THE ENTRANCE RITE
PRELUDE Awake, O Sleeper, Rise from Death Setting: Brian Henkelmann
WELCOME
ENTRANCE HYMN Awake, O Sleeper, Rise from Death LSB 697
1 Awake, O sleeper, rise from death,
And Christ shall give you light;
So learn His love, its length and breadth,
Its fullness, depth, and height.
2 To us on earth He came to bring
From sin and fear release,
To give the Spirit’s unity,
The very bond of peace.
3 Then walk in love as Christ has loved,
Who died that He might save;
With kind and gentle hearts forgive
As God in Christ forgave.
4 For us Christ lived, for us He died,
And conquered in the strife;
Awake, arise, go forth in faith,
And Christ shall give you life.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION LSB 203
n 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 God, the strength of all who put their trust in You,
mercifully grant that by Your power we may be defended against all adversity;
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) Genesis 45:3-15
Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.
So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’ And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
8:00 PSALM 103:1-13 (Sung responsively)
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
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.
10:30 ANTHEM Jubilation Choir Bless the Lord, O My Soul (Psalm 103) Setting: Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov
Bless the Lord, O my soul; Blessed are you, O Lord.
Bless the Lord, O my soul: And all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul; And forget not all his praises,
Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies.
Bless the Lord, O my soul: And all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Blessed are you, O Lord.
SECOND LESSON 1 Corinthians 15:21-26, 30-42
For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. . . .
But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.
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 6:27-38
The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the 6th chapter.
Glory to You, O Lord.
[Jesus said:] “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.
“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
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:
About a year and a half ago I was at my local neighborhood gas station paying for my car’s oil change when I heard two men arguing loudly outside in front of the garage. Apparently, both men were trying to get their car inspected, and the one who arrived there first didn’t park his car in the designated place, while the one who arrived second did. When the mechanic called out for the next car, both men felt strongly that it was their turn. And by the intensity of their language and the posture of their stances, it seemed that they were also ready to fight for this. Voices were raised. Threats were made. Hands were balled into fists. The rest of us stood there in shock as these two well-dressed young men with nice cars, who each looked like they probably had wives and young kids at home, screamed at each other and squared off to fight over who was next in line to get a five-minute car inspection.
Eventually, one of the men turned away and stormed off in a huff – slamming his car door and squealing his tires as he drove away. The other guy then came into the waiting area and said to those of us who were there: “can you believe that guy?” To which all of us just turned away and said nothing – with no one wanting to interact with this angry and violent person.
“Love your enemies” says Jesus in today’s reading. Obviously those two guys didn’t get the message.
But what about us here today? Do we get Jesus’ message? And do we understand what he is saying?
This message from Jesus is not just meant to keep us from fighting. It’s meant to guide our hearts in all of life’s difficult interactions and relationships. And as we know, such difficulties arise quite frequently.
I didn’t know either of those two men at the gas station that day. Nor was I forced to interact with them further. But if I did know them or did need to interact, would I have considered them my enemies? I’m thinking I would. Because an enemy is one who is a threat to you, and both men were threatening to me in that they showed they would rather fight than compromise.
It would be nice if we had no enemies in this world. And certainly we shouldn’t label people as enemies too quickly or too permanently. Sometimes the threats we perceive aren’t as real as we think, and sometimes our enemies can become our friends. Maybe those two guys at the gas station that day were both decent people at heart who were just having a bad day. Or maybe they’ve changed since then.
When Jesus gives his command to love our enemies, he also gets us to think about who our enemies are. He does this when he says: “do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you.” According to this follow-on statement of his, Jesus suggests that our enemies are those who hate us, curse us and abuse us.
Let’s look at that list a little closer. All three of these named aggressions are bad. And none of them should be taken lightly. Still, they are also each different in their own way and should be understood as such.
Hate is a strong negative attitude or feeling against someone. And it is something that the Bible says can be sinful. 1 John 3:15 says very directly: “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
At the same time, the Bible also tells of a hate that is acceptable. This is the hating of wickedness and falsehood (Psalm 26:5, Proverbs 13:5). Against these, strong feelings are okay.
The distinction between hating rightly and wrongly is perhaps best summed up in the well-known phrase: “hate the sin but love the sinner.” And this is generally good advice, but also has its limitations, since sin is always committed by sinners.
And then there’s the fact that hate can easily be misjudged. Because hate is an attitude and feeling, we can’t always tell if it’s really there, since we can’t look into people’s minds and hearts. This is the reason people sometimes think others hate them when actually they don’t.
As you probably know, the word “hate” gets thrown around these days with great frequency. People are quick to label others as “haters” any time opposition occurs. I suppose this happens because accusing someone of hate is such an easy thing to do and because it garners such sympathy.
As Christians we need to be very careful about accusing someone of being hateful. Not everyone who disagrees with us is an enemy. And false labeling is as hurtful as the hate itself.
But even if hate is present, we do best to meet it with love. “Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you,” says Jesus. Love is always the better way.
Loving haters is not easy. We may have to swallow a measure of pride in order to love someone as Christ commands. I’m thinking here about the difficulty of backing down and not having the last word.
But let’s face it, some of our pride may need to be swallowed anyway. And even when that’s not the case, being merciful is always a good choice.
After mentioning hate, Jesus then addresses those who curse us. And here he speaks to an aggression that is clearly perceptible. Curses aren’t just made in hearts and minds, they’re said out loud for others to hear, or written down for others to see.
These curses can be deeply wounding. And that’s especially the case when the one giving them is then celebrated for being clever or bold or creative, as they often are.
Christians are not to curse others. In Matthew’s version of this sermon, Jesus says: “whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘you fool’ will be liable to the hell of fire” (Mt. 5:22). Those are strong words.
Even though most curses are clearly perceived, Christians should still be slow to condemn others of this sin. And that’s because people’s words and intentions can be misunderstood. There are times when we might think we’ve been insulted or slighted but we really haven’t. Parents who have given what they thought was helpful advice to their child only for the advice to be perceived as a criticism and condemnation, know exactly what I mean.
The question of whether a statement is actually inflammatory or not can be a difficult one. And this is especially so because our world teaches us that unless we say things with some spice or harshness we probably won’t be heard. Let’s face it, calm and well-reasoned arguments don’t get printed and forwarded nearly as frequently as entertaining screeds. And I’m not suggesting that this isn’t sad or that we should stoop to low and hurtful levels of communication ourselves. But I do think we need to understand that sometimes passion for a cause, and a desire to be heard, will lead to speech that provokes, rightly or wrongly. We Lutherans might do well to remember that the speech and writings of our own Martin Luther were often delivered in this way.
Jesus tells us to bless those who curse you. Again, this is a hard, hard thing to do. And we wonder where it will get us. But this is where we also need to remember the promise of God. This promise was voiced very clearly by Jesus in words which we heard just last Sunday. There he said: “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.”
In these words, Jesus reminds us that good choices are always rewarded. They are rewarded in the heavenly life to come for sure, but also in the kingdom of heaven here on earth as God uses our good choices to bring blessings to all.
Finally, Jesus also said: “pray for those who abuse you.” And here we could once again point out that abuse can be somewhat subjective and that people’s true intentions can sometimes be missed. But I think instead that it’s best for us to say unequivocally that abuse is not to be tolerated. The word “abuse” implies something even stronger than hating and cursing. And as such, we should simply state outright that no one deserves to be abused. Abusers should be punished.
Here I like to remind people that Jesus says, “pray for those who abuse you;” he doesn’t say “stay with those who abuse you.” There is no need to stay with someone who abuses. The way we love abusers is by removing their opportunities to abuse and by getting them help, even if that help is given in prison.
In summary, Jesus’ message about loving our enemies is radical in many ways. And it is not an easy teaching to live out.
When we consider his message, we do well to remember that it comes in the midst of one of his great sermons and that this sermon has an overall theme which we must understand in order to grasp its particulars. Last Sunday, as we heard the introductory words of this sermon, we noted that much of its teaching points to something we call a “great reversal.” According to the great reversal understanding, Jesus reverses the normal order of this world through his teaching and ministry and brings about good in ways that we don’t normally expect.
Today’s portion of the sermon is certainly an example of this. For Jesus’ command to love our enemies flies in the face of our natural inclination, which is to hate our enemies instead.
In Matthew’s recording of this command, Jesus prefaces the teaching by saying: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ This preface was added because hating your enemy was common and accepted wisdom, even though it wasn’t scriptural.
Millenia of Christian missions have brought about a change to this as many of us have learned to love our enemies instead. The idea of loving the unlovable is now an important thread woven into the fabric of our religious attire.
But the change is not a complete one. The harsh truth is that we Christians still have a hard time believing it. And we certainly have a hard time putting it into practice.
It’s hard to love our enemies. Today, one reason for this is that we don’t spend much time with them. We’ve separated ourselves from those we disagree with. As a result, we don’t see our enemies as real people. Rather, we see them as caricatures – mere representations of things we believe to be bad. We see red state people or blue state people, liberals or conservatives, big government fans or little government fans, tax-happy socialists or heartless libertarians.
Related to this is the fact that so much of what we read and hear today is meant to harden us in our positions. As some have said: we’re drinking haterade every day!
Still, the main reason it’s so hard to love our enemies is because we don’t trust them. We think that if we love them in any way, shape or form, they’ll see us as weak and take advantage of our love.
Jesus’ teaching, however, is anything but weak. In fact, it reflects the way of almighty God. Jesus tells us: “be merciful, even as your heavenly Father is merciful.” And when we think about it, showing mercy is one of the strongest things a person can do.
Our Old Testament reading today reflects the power and triumph of this love in a moving and beautiful way. In the reading we hear words from Joseph, the son of Jacob and Rachel – dreamer, dream-interpreter and man of great faith.
Today’s text shows Joseph reunited with his brothers after many years. His brothers had despised Joseph and his dreams and sold him into slavery as a youth. But now the tables have turned. Joseph is the powerful one. He can have his revenge or mete out a little justice – whichever he prefers.
But instead, Joseph forgives his brothers. Although they had become his enemy, Joseph decides to love them. And while one reason for this may have been because they were family, the driving force in his decision was certainly his belief that God’s way is the way of love.
Joseph even goes out of his way to comfort his former enemies, saying: “And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.” Joseph found the good in what had been done. And he looked at his life with the eyes of faith.
What about you? Loving your enemies is hard. But you and I can do it because God has first loved us. As our Psalm today reminds us: “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.” Rather, his love is shown in his great choice to forgive us.
And that choice is made clear to us as we are told that he “gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God made this choice in love, remember? We know this because of the text’s great beginning: “For God so loved the world…”
When Jesus tells us to love our enemies, he gives us a hard teaching. But he also shows us the way to carry it out and tells us why this teaching is good.
If we need yet one more reason to love our enemies, we should then hear again the promise Jesus attaches to his command. After telling us a second time “Love your enemies” and giving an example of this by saying “do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return,” Jesus then says: “and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.”
We don’t know all the ways God will reward our acts of faith. God’s rewards are up to him, and he will give them according to what he knows to be best. But Jesus’ words here do give us a hint about this, for they point us to our status as God’s children. And being God’s children means we are heirs of all his greatest gifts, including his gift of salvation.
In the end, God’s reward is given simply because God is merciful. He’s so merciful that he gives even to the ungrateful and the evil. And this is a relief to know. Because sometimes those ungrateful and evil people are us.
“Be merciful, even as your father is merciful,” says Jesus to conclude this section. And knowing of his mercy to us, we can do this, no matter how difficult. We can show mercy to others, even our enemies, because God has first loved us.
May God be with us in this task. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
HYMN OF THE DAY (Stand) In Adam We Have All Been One LSB 569
1 In Adam we have all been one,
One huge rebellious man;
We all have fled that evening voice
That sought us as we ran.
2 We fled Thee, and in losing Thee
We lost our brother too;
Each singly sought and claimed his own;
Each man his brother slew.
3 But Thy strong love, it sought us still
And sent Thine only Son
That we might hear His Shepherd’s voice
And, hearing Him, be one.
4 O Thou who, when we loved Thee not,
Didst love and save us all,
Thou great Good Shepherd of mankind,
O hear us when we call.
5 Send us Thy Spirit, teach us truth;
Thou Son, O set us free
From fancied wisdom, self-sought ways,
To make us one in Thee.
6 Then shall our song united rise
To Thine eternal throne,
Where with the Father evermore
And Spirit Thou art one.
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.
O Lord God, heavenly Father, Your servant Joseph endured hardship and struggle but believed that it would all come to good. Give us such tested faith, and bring all things to completion according to Your purposes in Christ, the new Adam, who has brought hope to the world. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Preserve and unite Your Church, O Lord. Bring an end to her earthly divisions and give her unity of doctrine and faith based on Your Word. Bless and sustain our leaders in synod, district, circuit and congregation, that all might work together for the furthering of your kingdom and the glory of your name. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty God, Your Son, our Lord, commanded us to love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who persecute us. Through your gracious visitation, lead us in our efforts to follow this command, and bring to true repentance all those whose sin contributes to division and conflict. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful God, give us guidance amid the changes and chances of this mortal life. Deliver us from the pangs of doubt and from the paralysis of fear. Lead us, instead, to the joy of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection, that we may not surrender to anxiety or despair. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Righteous Lord, uphold our civil authority and those responsible for the welfare of our nation, state and community. Give wisdom to our leaders and provide for all who serve. Guide and help them to steadfastly pursue the cause of justice and to protect life from beginning to end. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, according to Your will grant healing to the sick and infirm, especially those on our prayer list and those we name in our hearts at this time… Grant them patience to endure their time of suffering and crown their days with Your mercy. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
We give thanks, O Lord, for the gift of the blessed Sacrament which we are about to receive. And we ask that you give us a right heart as we receive it, so that we would be equipped to love you above all and also love our neighbors as ourselves. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Into your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in your goodness and mercy, through Jesus Christe our Lord. 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 Only Son from Heaven LSB 402
1 The only Son from heaven,
Foretold by ancient seers,
By God the Father given,
In human form appears.
No sphere His light confining,
No star so brightly shining
As He, our Morning Star.
2 O time of God appointed,
O bright and holy morn!
He comes, the king anointed,
The Christ, the virgin-born,
Grim death to vanquish for us,
To open heav’n before us
And bring us life again.
3 O Lord, our hearts awaken
To know and love You more,
In faith to stand unshaken,
In spirit to adore,
That we, through this world moving,
Each glimpse of heaven proving,
May reap its fullness there.
4 O Father, here before You
With God the Holy Ghost
And Jesus, we adore You,
O pride of angel host:
Before You mortals lowly
Cry, “Holy, holy, holy,
O blessèd Trinity!”
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
Through all eternity.
PRAYER
BENEDICTION
SENDING HYMN I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light LSB 411
1 I want to walk as a child of the light.
I want to follow Jesus.
God set the stars to give light to the world.
The star of my life is Jesus. Refrain
Refrain
In Him there is no darkness at all.
The night and the day are both alike.
The Lamb is the light of the city of God.
Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.
2 I want to see the brightness of God.
I want to look at Jesus.
Clear Sun of Righteousness, shine on my path,
And show me the way to the Father. Refrain
3 I’m looking for the coming of Christ.
I want to be with Jesus.
When we have run with patience the race,
We shall know the joy of Jesus. Refrain
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light Setting: Robert J Powell
FLOWERS: In honor of Dick Holzheimer. By the Holzheimer Family
FELLOWSHIP: Board of Fellowship
Those serving:
8:00 a.m.
Greeter: Bob Juenger
Comm. assist: Judy Koucky
Reader: Anne Kauzlarich
10:30 a.m.
Greeter: Jason Starck
Comm. assist: Jill Hecht
Reader: Janice Sebring
Acolyte: Joshua Wang
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
697 Awake, O Sleeper, Rise from Death Text: F. Bland Tucker, 1895–1984
Tune: Carl G. Gläser, 1784–1829 Text: © 1980 Augsburg Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326 Tune: Public domain
569 In Adam We Have All Been One Text: Martin H. Franzmann, 1907–76 Tune: Southern Harmony, 1835, New Haven Text: © 1969 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326 Tune: Public domain
402 The Only Son from Heaven Text (sts. 1–3): Elisabeth Cruciger, c. 1500–1535; (sts. 1–3): tr. Arthur T. Russell, 1806–74, alt.; (st. 4): Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978 Tune: Eyn Enchiridion oder Handbüchlein, 1524, Erfurt Text and tune: Public domain
411 I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light Text and tune: Kathleen Thomerson, 1934 Text and tune: © 1970, 1975 Celebration. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326
