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 “As with Gladness Men of Old” LSB # 397
1 As with gladness men of old Did the guiding star behold;
As with joy they hailed its light, Leading onward, beaming bright;
So, most gracious Lord, may we Evermore be led by Thee.
2 As with joyful steps they sped, Savior, to Thy lowly bed,
There to bend the knee before Thee, whom heav'n and earth adore;
So may we with willing feet Ever seek Thy mercy seat.
3 As they offered gifts most rare At Thy cradle, rude and bare,
So may we with holy joy, Pure and free from sin's alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring, Christ, to Thee, our heav'nly King.
4 Holy Jesus, ev'ry day Keep us in the narrow way;
And when earthly things are past, Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide, Where no clouds Thy glory hide.
5 In the heav'nly country bright Need they no created light;
Thou its light, its joy, its crown, Thou its sun which goes not down;
There forever may we sing Alleluias to our King.
INVOCATION
P: In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
CONFESSION & ABSOLUTION
P: Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C: who made heaven and earth.
P: If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
C: But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.
P: Let us 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.
C: Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. 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 Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
COLLECT FOR THE DAY
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray. Almighty God, You have poured into our hearts the true Light of Your incarnate Word. Grant that this Light may shine forth in our lives; through the same 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 (Jonah 3:1-5, 10)
Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days' journey in breadth. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle Reading (1 Corinthians 7:29-31)
29 This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, 31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL READING (Mark 1:14-20)
C: (Sung) Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
P: The holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the 1st chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.
14 After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Hymn of the Day “O Christ, Who Called the Twelve” LSB #856
1 O Christ, who called the Twelve To rise and follow you,
Forsaking old, familiar ways For ventures bold and new:
Grant us to hear your call To risk security
And, bound in heart and will to you, Find perfect liberty.
2 O Christ, who taught the Twelve The truth for ages sealed,
Whose words and works awakened faith, The ways of God revealed:
Instruct us now, we pray, By your empow’ring Word.
True teacher, be for all who seek Their light, their life, their Lord.
3 O Christ, who sent the Twelve On roads they’d never trod
To serve, to suffer, teach, proclaim The nearer reign of God:
Send us on ways where faith Transcends timidity,
Where love informs and hope sustains Both life and ministry.
4 O Christ, th’apostles’ Lord, The martyrs’ strength and song,
The crucified and risen King To whom the saints belong:
Though generations pass, Our tribute still we bring,
Our hymns a sacrifice of praise, Our lives an offering.
Sermon: “Called to Follow” (Mark 1:14-20)
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: Let us pray to the Lord,
C: Lord have mercy.
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 “How Firm a Foundation” LSB #728
1 How firm a foundation, O saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He has said
Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?
2 "Fear not! I am with you, O be not dismayed,
For I am your God and will still give you aid;
I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.
3 "The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!
4 "When through fiery trials your pathway will lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, will be your supply.
The flames will not hurt you; I only design
Your dross to consume and your gold to refine.
5 "Throughout all their lifetime My people will prove
My sov'reign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And then, when gray hairs will their temples adorn,
Like lambs they will still in My bosom be borne."