Hymn “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed” LSB # 398
1 Hail to the Lord's anointed, Great David's greater Son!
Hail, in the time appointed, His reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression, To set the captive free,
To take away transgression And rule in equity.
2 He comes with rescue speedy To those who suffer wrong,
To help the poor and needy And bid the weak be strong;
To give them songs for sighing, Their darkness turn to light,
Whose souls, condemned and dying, Were precious in His sight.
3 He shall come down like showers Upon the fruitful earth;
Love, joy, and hope, like flowers, Spring in His path to birth.
Before Him on the mountains Shall peace, the herald, go;
And righteousness in fountains From hill to valley flow.
4 Kings shall fall down before Him And gold and incense bring;
All nations shall adore Him, His praise all people sing.
To Him shall prayer unceasing And daily vows ascend;
His kingdom still increasing, A kingdom without end.
5 O'er ev'ry foe victorious, He on His throne shall rest,
From age to age more glorious, All blessing and all-blest.
The tide of time shall never His covenant remove;
His name shall stand forever– That name to us is Love.
P: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
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: 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.
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.
Hymn: “O Savior of Our Fallen Race” LSB #403
1 O Savior of our fallen race, O Brightness of the Father’s face,
O Son who shared the Father’s might Before the world knew day or night Alleluia!
2 O Jesus, very Light of Light, Our constant star in sin’s deep night:
Now hear the prayers Your people pray Throughout the world this holy day. Alleluia!
3 Remember, Lord of life and grace, How once, to save our fallen race,
You put our human vesture on And come to us as Mary’s son. Alleluia!
4 Today, as year by year its light Bathes all the world in radiance bright,
One precious truth outshines the sun: Salvation comes from You alone. Alleluia!
5 For from the Father’s throne You came, His banished children to reclaim;
And earth and sea and sky revere The love of Him who sent You here. Alleluia!
6 And we are jubilant today, For You have washed our guilt away.
O hear the glad new song we sing On this, the birthday of our King! Alleluia!
7 O Christ, Redeemer virgin-born, Let songs of praise Your name adorn,
Whom with the Father we adore And Holy Spirit evermore. Alleluia!
(Sung)
Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.
To God on high be glory and peace to all the earth;
Good will 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.
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.
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.
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray.
Collect for the day:
O Lord, by Your bountiful goodness release us from the bonds of our sins, which by reason of our weakness we have brought upon ourselves, that we may stand firm until the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
Scripture Readings
Old Testament Reading (Isaiah 43:1-7)
1 But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.
5 Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
6 I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle Reading (Romans 6:1-11)
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
P: The holy Gospel according to St. Luke the 3rd chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.
(Luke 3:15-22)
15 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, 16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.
18 So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison.
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Confession of Faith -- Nicene Creed
C: 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 worshiped 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.
Hymn of the Day “To Jordan’s River Came Our Lord” LSB # 405
1 To Jordan's river came our Lord, The Christ, whom heav'nly hosts adored,
The God from God, the Light from Light, The Lord of glory, pow'r and might.
2 The Savior came to be baptized – The Son of God in flesh disguised –
To stand beneath the Father's will And all his promises fulfill.
3 As Jesus in the Jordan stood And John baptized the Lamb of God,
The Holy Spirit, heav'nly dove, Descended on him from above.
4 Then from God's throne with thund'rous sound Came God's own voice with words profound:
"This is my Son," was his decree, "The one I love, who pleases me."
5 The Father's word, the Spirit's flight Anointed Christ in glorious sight
As God's own choice, from Adam's fall To save the world and free us all.
6 Now rise, faint hearts: be resolute! This man is Christ, our substitute!
He was baptized in Jordan's stream, Proclaimed Redeemer, Lord supreme
Sermon
Prayer of the Church
P: Lord, in Your 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 “Songs of Thankfulness and Praise” LSB # 394
1 Songs of thankfulness and praise, Jesus, Lord, to thee we raise,
Manifested by the star To the sages from afar,
Branch of royal David's stem In Thy birth at Bethlehem:
Anthems be to Thee addressed, God in man made manifest.
2 Manifest at Jordan's stream, Prophet, Priest, and King supreme;
And at Cana wedding guest In Thy Godhead manifest;
Manifest in pow'r divine, Changing water into wine;
Anthems be to Thee addressed, God in man made manifest.
3 Manifest in making whole Palsied limbs and fainting soul;
Manifest in valiant fight, Quelling all the devil's might;
Manifest in gracious will, Ever bringing good from ill;
Anthems be to Thee addressed, God in man made manifest.
4 Sun and moon shall darkened be, Stars shall fall, the heav'ns shall flee;
Christ will then like lightning shine, All will see His glorious sign;
All will then the trumpet hear, All will see the Judge appear;
Thou by all wilt be confessed, God in man made manifest.
5 Grant us grace to see Thee, Lord, Present in Thy holy Word–
Grace to imitate Thee now And be pure, as pure art Thou;
That we might become like Thee At Thy great epiphany
And may praise Thee, ever blest, God in man made manifest.