In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and local recommendations, we are continuing to post our digital services for the time being for those who feel more comfortable worshiping at home. Socially-distanced in-person worship is now resuming each Sunday at 12pm. Please click the audio bar below to listen to the service. Scroll down to follow along with the service text.
INVOCATION
P: We make our beginning in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
Hymn “Sing Praise to God, the Highest Good” LSB # 819
1 Sing praise to God, the highest good,
The author of creation.
The God of love who understood
Our need for His salvation.
With healing balm our souls He fills
And ev'ry faithless murmur stills:
To God all praise and glory!
2 What God’s almighty pow'r has made,
In mercy He is keeping.
By morning glow or evening shade
His eye is never sleeping.
Within the kingdom of His might
All things are just and good and right:
To God all praise and glory!
3 We sought the Lord in our distress;
O God, in mercy hear us.
Our Savior saw our helplessness
And came with peace to cheer us.
For this we thank and praise the Lord,
Who is by one and all adored:
To God all praise and glory!
4 He never shall forsake His flock,
His chosen generation;
He is their refuge and their rock,
Their peace and their salvation.
As with a mother's tender hand,
He leads His own, His chosen band:
To God all praise and glory!
5 All who confess Christ’s holy name,
Give God the praise and glory.
Let all who know His pow'r proclaim
Aloud the wondrous story.
Cast ev'ry idol from its throne,
For God is God, and He alone:
To God all praise and glory!
CONFESSION & ABSOLUTION
P: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
C: But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9)
We reflect on God’s Word and examine ourselves.
P: Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.
C: Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.
P: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of the Word, I announce the grace of God to you, and 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: Amen.
PSALM 96
1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!
C: 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.
COLLECT FOR THE DAY
P: Let us pray. O God, the protector of all who trust in You, have mercy on us that with You as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
Scripture Readings
Old Testament Reading (Isaiah 45:1-7)
1 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped,to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings,to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:2 “I will go before you and level the exalted places,I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron,3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places,that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.4 For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen,I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me.5 I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me,6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other.7 I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle Reading (1 Thessalonians 1:1-10)
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Gospel Reading (Matthew 22:15-22)
P: The holy Gospel according to St. Matthew the 20th chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Hymn of the Day “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name” LSB #940
1 Holy God, we praise Thy name;
Lord of all, we bow before Thee.
All on earth Thy scepter claim,
All in heav'n above adore Thee.
Infinite Thy vast domain,
Everlasting is Thy reign.
2 Hark! the glad celestial hymn
Angel choirs above are raising;
Cherubim and seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising,
Fill the heav'ns with sweet accord:
Holy, holy, holy Lord!
3 Lo, th'apostles' holy train
Join Thy sacred name to hallow;
Prophets swell the glad refrain,
And the white-robed martyrs follow,
And from morn to set of sun
Through the Church the song goes on.
4 Thou art King of glory, Christ;
Son of God, yet born of Mary.
For us sinners sacrificed,
As to death a Tributary,
First to break the bars of death,
Thou hast opened heav'n to faith.
5 Holy Father, holy Son,
Holy Spirit, three we name Thee;
Though in essence only one,
Undivided God we claim Thee
And, adoring, bend the knee
While we own the mystery.
Sermon: No Other LORD (Isaiah 45:1-7)
CONFESSION OF FAITH: THE 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 men 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 worshipped 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.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
P: Lord, in you mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
THE 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
Closing HYMN: “Rejoice, O Pilgrim Throng” LSB #813
1 Rejoice, O pilgrim throng!
Rejoice, give thanks, and sing;
Your festal banner wave on high,
The cross of Christ, your king.
Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Rejoice, give thanks, and sing!
2 With voice as full and strong
As ocean's surging praise,
Send forth the sturdy hymns of old,
The psalms of ancient days. [Refrain]
3 With all the angel choirs,
With all the saints on earth
Pour out the strains of joy and bliss,
True rapture, noblest mirth. [Refrain]
4 Yet on and onward still,
With hymn and chant and song,
Through gate and porch and columned aisle
The hallowed pathways throng. [Refrain]
5 Still lift your standard high,
Still march in firm array,
As pilgrims through the darkness wend
Till dawns the golden day. [Refrain]
6 At last the march shall end;
The wearied ones shall rest;
The pilgrims find their home at last,
Jerusalem the blest. [Refrain]
7 Praise Him who reigns on high,
The Lord whom we adore;
The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
One God forevermore. [Refrain]
BENEDICTION
P: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and + give you peace.
C: Amen.