Hymn “Today Your Mercy Calls Us” LSB #915
1 Today Your mercy calls us To wash away our sin.
However great our trespass, Whatever we have been,
However long from mercy Our hearts have turned away,
Your precious blood can wash us And make us clean today.
2 Today Your gate is open, And all who enter in
Shall find a Father's welcome And pardon for their sin.
The past shall be forgotten, A present joy be giv'n,
A future grace be promised, A glorious crown in heav'n.
3 Today our Father calls us; The Holy Spirit waits;
His blessed angels gather Around the heav'nly gates.
No question will be asked us How often we have come;
Although we oft have wandered, It is our Father's home.
4 O all-embracing Mercy, O ever-open Door,
What should we do without You When heart and eye run o'er?
When all things seem against us, To drive us to despair,
We know one gate is open, One ear will hear our prayer.
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 “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” #425
1 When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss And pour contempt on all my pride.
2 Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast Save in the death of Christ, my God;
All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.
3 See, from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
4 Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a tribute far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all!
(Sung)
Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray.
Collect for the day:
O God, You see that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the 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 Reading (Genesis 12:1-9)
The Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9 And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle Reading (Romans 4:1-8, 13-17)
What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”
13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
P: The holy Gospel according to St. John the 3rd chapter.
C: Glory to You, O Lord.
(John 3:1-17)
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
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 “God Loved the World So That He Gave” LSB #
1 God loved the world so that He gave His only Son the lost to save,
That all who would in Him believe Should everlasting life receive.
2 Christ Jesus is the ground of faith, Who was made flesh and suffered death;
All then who trust in Him alone Are built on this chief cornerstone.
3 God would not have the sinner die; His Son with saving grace is nigh;
His Spirit in the Word declares How we in Christ are heaven's heirs.
4 Be of good cheer, for God's own Son Forgives all sins which you have done;
And, justified by Jesus' blood, Your Baptism grants the highest good.
5 If you are sick, if death is near, This truth your troubled heart can cheer:
Christ Jesus saves your soul from death; That is the firmest ground of faith.
6 Glory to God the Father, Son, And Holy Spirit, Three in One!
To Thee, O blessed Trinity, Be praise now and eternally!
Sermon
Offering
Offertory
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 “Sing Praise to the God of Israel” LSB #936
1. Sing praise to the God of Israel! Sing praise for His visitation!
Redeeming His people from their sin, Accomplishing their salvation,
Upraising a mighty horn within The house of His servant David.
2. God spoke by the prophets long ago, His promise an oath recalling
To Abraham made in former years; Of vanquishing foes appalling,
That those He delivered from their fears Might gladly and truly serve Him.
3. You, child will go on before the Lord As prophet, His way preparing;
To speak on behalf of God Most High, His counsel of truth declaring;
Rich mercy and grace for all whereby Iniquity is forgiven.
4. O, bright, rising Sun, now shine on us In need of illumination;
Come scatter the shades of sin and death And shatter their domination.
Be guiding our footsteps on the path, of peace, in Your presence dawning!