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 today’s service. Scroll down to follow along with the service text.
Hymn “Jesus, Refuge of the Weary” LSB # 423
1 Jesus, refuge of the weary, Blest Redeemer, whom we love,
Fountain in life's desert dreary, Savior from the world above:
Often have Your eyes, offended, Gazed upon the sinner's fall;
Yet upon the cross extended, You have borne the pain of all.
2 Do we pass that cross unheeding, Breathing no repentant vow,
Though we see You wounded, bleeding, See Your thorn-encircled brow?
Yet Your sinless death has brought us Life eternal, peace, and rest;
Only what Your grace hath taught us Calms the sinner's deep distress.
3 Jesus, may our hearts be burning With more fervent love for You;
May our eyes be ever turning To behold Your cross anew
Till in glory, parted never From the blessed Savior's side,
Graven in our hearts forever, Dwell the cross, the Crucified.
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: In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for His sake God forgives us all our sins. To those who believe in Jesus Christ He gives the power to become the children of God and bestows on them the Holy spirit. May the Lord, who has begun this good work in us, bring it to completion in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
C: Amen.
COLLECT FOR THE DAY
P: Let us pray. Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; 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 (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle Reading (Hebrews 5:1-10)
1 “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,
“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”;
6 as he says also in another place,
“You are a priest forever,
after the order of Melchizedek.”
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Gospel Reading (Mark 10:35-45)
P: The holy Gospel according to St. Mark the 10th chapter.
C: (sung) Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Hymn of the Day “Christ Sits at God’s Right Hand” LSB # 564
1. Christ sits at God’s right hand, his saving work complete,
To reign till every foe will lie beneath his feet-
All that the father planned the Son sought to fulfill,
When first he said Lord here am I to do your will.
2. Christ was that priest God swore, uniquely first and last,
Who would in righteousness and love be unsurpassed:
A priest forevermore an oath God would not break
A priest within the order of Melchizedek.
3. Christ’s altar was the tree where on the world‘s behalf
He shed a blood unlike the blood of goat or calf
To seal God's guarantee of grace that cannot fail;
With blood he entered for our good behind the veil.
4. What costly sacrifice to cover human sin!
Who but Christ Jesus had the right to enter in?
His blood that sprinkled price so we might be assured
That our inheritance and light has been secured.
5. Then let us now draw near washed in that precious flood
And enter the Most Holy Place by Jesus’ blood.
From hearts that are sincere, let tongues our hope profess,
And trust anew God‘s faithful grace that we confess.
6. All praise to Christ we bring, our Lord who intercedes,
Our great High Priest enthroned above who knows our needs
And to the Father sing our songs of thankful praise,
Who with the Spirit reigns in love for endless days.
Sermon: Rev. Roger Wohletz
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.
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.
Closing Hymn “On What Has Now Been Sown” LSB # 921
1 On what has now been sown Thy blessing, Lord, bestow;
The pow'r is Thine alone To make it sprout and grow.
Do Thou in grace the harvest raise, And Thou alone shalt have the praise!
2 To Thee our wants are known, From Thee are all our pow'rs;
Accept what is Thine own And pardon what is ours.
Our praises, Lord, and prayers receive, And to Thy Word a blessing give.
3 O grant that each of us, Now met before Thee here,
May meet together thus When Thou and Thine appear
And follow Thee to heav'n, our home. E'en so, amen, Lord Jesus, come!