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 “Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven” LSB # 793
1 Praise, my soul, the King of heaven; To His feet your tribute bring;
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, Evermore His praises sing:
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise the everlasting King.
2 Praise Him for His grace and favor To His people in distress;
Praise Him still the same as ever, Slow to chide and swift to bless:
Alleluia, alleluia! Glorious in His faithfulness.
3 Father-like He tends and spares us; Well our feeble frame He knows;
In His hand He gently bears us, Rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia, alleluia! Widely yet His mercy flows.
4 Angels, help us to adore Him; You behold Him face to face;
Sun and moon, bow down before Him, All who dwell in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise with us the God of grace.
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.
(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:
Almighty and eternal God, Your Son Jesus triumphed over the prince of demons and freed us from bondage to sin. Help us to stand firm against every assault of Satan, and enable us always to do Your will; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
Hymn “He Who Is”
When nothing was but He Who Is And darkness covered the abyss,
God made the universe exist Dependent on His Word of pow’r.
With human creatures work He shared For all created things to care.
No pain, no trouble anywhere, But peace for man and beast and flow’r.
Then Satan came the lord of lies, His evil purpose our demise.
“Ignore the Word and you will rise To match the power of your God.”
Deceived, we stumbled into sin And so corruption entered in.
Without the Word whence life was giv’n The road to death we blindly trod.
The fallen world by sin oppressed Could not its fatal course arrest.
Then God in love made manifest The Word incarnate, Jesus Christ.
He gathered all humanity Unto Himself upon the tree.
All share His death who would believe; In resurrection share His life.
Then to His heavenly throne He came O’er heaven and earth in power to reign,
Until the Father should ordain All sin and evil to destroy.
Then by the Word He will restore His creatures who their Lord adore.
With praise and thanks forevermore, We’ll live with Him in peace and joy.
Scripture Readings
Old Testament Reading (Genesis 3:8-15)
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle Reading (2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1)
13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
5 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
P: The holy Gospel according to St. Mark the 3rd chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.
(Mark 3:20-35)
11 Then [Jesus] went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.
28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
Hymn of the Day “Rise! To Arms! With Prayer Employ You” LSB # 668
1. Rise! To arms! With prayer employ you, O Christians lest the foe destroy you;
For Satan has designed your fall.
Wield God’s Word, the weapon glorious; Against all foes be thus victorious,
For God protects you from them all.
Fear not the hordes of hell, Here is Emmanuel, Hail the Savior!
The strong foes yield To Christ our shield, And, we the victors, hold the field.
2. Cast afar this world’s vain pleasure And boldly strive for heav’nly treasure.
Be steadfast in the Savior’s might.
Trust the Lord, who stands beside youm For Jesus from all harm will hide you,
By faith you conquer in the fight.
Take courage weary soul! Look forward to the goal! Joy awaits you.
The race well run, Your long war won, Your crown shines splendid as the sun.
3. Wisely fight, for time is fleeting; The hours of grace are fast retreating;
Short, short is this our earthly way.
When the Lord the dead will waken And sinners all by fear are shaken,
The saints with joy will greet that day,
Praise God, our triumph’s sure. We need not long endure Scorn and trial.
Our Savior King His own will bring To that great glory which we sing.
Sermon
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.
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 “Jerusalem the Golden” LSB # 672
1 Jerusalem the golden, With milk and honey blest--
The promise of salvation, The place of peace and rest--
We know not, oh, we know not What joys await us there;
The radiancy of glory, The bliss beyond compare!
2 Within those halls of Zion Sounds forth the joyful song,
As saints join with the angels and all the martyr throng.
The Prince is ever with them; The daylight is serene;
The city of the blessed Shines bright with glorious sheen.
3 Around the throne of David, The saints, from care released,
Raise loud their songs of triumph To celebrate the feast.
They sing to Christ their leader, Who conquered in the fight,
Who won for them forever Their gleaming robes of white.
4 O sweet and blessèd country, The home of God's elect!
O sweet and blessed country That faithful hearts expect!
In mercy, Jesus, bring us To that eternal rest
With You and God the Father And Spirit, ever blest.