Hymn “Now Sing We, Now Rejoice” LSB # 386
1 Now sing we, now rejoice, Now raise to heav'n our voice;
He from whom joy streameth Poor in a manger lies;
Not so brightly beameth The sun in yonder skies.
Thou my Savior art! Thou my Savior art!
2 Come from on high to me; I cannot rise to thee.
Cheer my wearied spirit, O pure and holy Child;
Through Thy grace and merit, Blest Jesus, Lord most mild,
Draw me unto Thee! Draw me unto Thee!
3 Now through His Son doth shine The Father's grace divine.
Death was reigning o'er us Through sin and vanity
Till He opened for us A bright eternity.
May we praise Him there! May we praise Him there!
4 Oh, where shall joy be found? Where but on heav'nly ground?
Where the angels singing With all His saints unite,
Sweetest praises bringing In heav'nly joy and light,
Oh, that we were there! Oh, that we were there!
P: In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
P: Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness. Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C: who made heaven and earth.
P: I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,
C: and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
(We reflect on God’s Word and examine ourselves)
P: O almighty God, merciful Father,
C: I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You, and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
P: Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of 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.
The Introit is read…
(Sung)
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.
The Antiphon is read…
(Sung)
Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.
(Glory be to God on high)
…and on earth peace, goodwill toward men. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, we glorify Thee, we give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory. O Lord God, heav’nly King, God the Father Almighty. O Lord, the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sin of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us. For Thou only art holy; Thou only art the Lord. Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray.
Collect of the Day:
P: O God, our Maker and Redeemer, You wonderfully created us and in the incarnation of Your Son yet more wondrously restored our human nature. Grant that we may ever be alive in Him who made Himself to be like us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
Hymn “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” LSB # 359
1 Lo, how a rose e'er blooming From tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse's lineage coming As prophets long have sung,
It came, a flow'ret bright, Amid the cold of winter,
When half-spent was the night.
2 Isaiah 'twas foretold it, The rose I have in mind;
With Mary we behold it, The virgin mother kind.
To show God's love aright, She bore to us a Savior,
When half-spent was the night.
3 This flow'r, whose fragrance tender With sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor The darkness ev'rywhere.
True man, yet very God, From sin and death he saves us
And lightens ev'ry load.
4 O Savior, child of Mary, Who felt our human woe;
O Savior, King of glory, Who dost our weakness know:
Bring us at length we pray To the bright courts of heaven,
And to the endless day.
Scripture Readings
Old Testament Reading (Exodus 13:1-3a, 11-15)
4 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.” 3 Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place… When the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your fathers, and shall give it to you, 12 you shall set apart to the LORD all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the LORD's. 13 Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 And when in time to come your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15 For when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD all the males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of my sons I redeem.’
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle Reading (Colossians 3:12-17)
12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
P: The holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the 9th chapter.
C: (sung) Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
(Luke 2:22-40)
22 When the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: (sung) Praise be to Thee, O Christ.
Confession of Faith -- Apostles’ Creed
C: 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.
Hymn of the Day “O Sing of Christ” LSB # 362
1. O sing of Christ, whose birth made known The kindness of the Lord,
Eternal Word made flesh and bone So we could be restored.
Upon our frail humanity God’s finger chose to trace
The fullness of His deity, The icon of His grace.
2. What Adam lost, none could reclaim, And Paradise was barred
Until the second Adam came To mend what sin had marred.
For when the time was full and right God sent His only Son;
He came to us as life and light And our redemption won.
3. He came to that which was His own, But He was not received;
Yet still through Him God’s glory shone, And some His name believed.
To these He gave the right to be The heirs of heav’n above,
Born not of human ancestry But born of God in love.
4. Lord Jesus Christ, you deigned to dwell Among us here on earth
As God with us, Emmanuel, To bring this holy birth.
Though rich, you willingly became One with our poverty,
That we might share your wealth and name For all eternity.
Sermon
Prayer of the Church
P: Lord, in your mercy,
C: Receive 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 “A Great and Mighty Wonder” LSB # 383
1 A great and mighty wonder, A full and holy cure:
The virgin bears the infant With virgin honor pure!
Proclaim the Savior's birth: "To God on high be glory And peace to all the earth!"
2 The Word becomes incarnate And yet remains on high,
And cherubim sing anthems To shepherds from the sky.
Proclaim the Savior's birth: "To God on high be glory And peace to all the earth!"
3 While thus they sing your Monarch, Those bright angelic bands,
Rejoice, O vales and mountains, And oceans, clap your hands.
Proclaim the Savior's birth: "To God on high be glory And peace to all the earth!"
4 Since all He comes to ransom, By all be He adored,
The infant born in Bethl'em, The Savior and the Lord.
Proclaim the Savior's birth: "To God on high be glory And peace to all the earth!"
5 All idols then shall perish And Satan's lying cease,
And Christ shall raise His scepter, Decreeing endless peace.
Proclaim the Savior's birth: "To God on high be glory And peace to all the earth!"