Hymn “All Christians Who Have Been Baptized” LSB # 596
1 All Christians who have been baptized, Who know the God of heaven,
And in whose daily life is prized The name of Christ once given:
Consider now what God has done, The gifts He gives to ev’ryone
Baptized into Christ Jesus!
2 You were before your day of birth, Indeed, from your conception,
Condemned and lost with all the earth, None good, without exception.
For like your parents’ flesh and blood, Turned inward from the highest good,
You constantly denied Him.
3 But all of that was washed away-- Immersed and drowned forever.
The water of your Baptism day Restored again whatever
Old Adam and his sin destroyed And all our sinful selves employed
According to our nature.
4 In Baptism we now put on Christ-- Our shame is fully covered
With all that He once sacrificed And freely for us suffered.
For here the flood of His own blood Now makes us holy, right, and good
Before our heav’nly Father.
5 O Chrisian, firmly hold this gift and give God thanks forever!
It gives the power to uplift in all that you endeavor.
Shen nothing else revives your soul, your baptism stands and makes you whole
And then in death completes you.
6 So use it well! You are made new—in Christ a new creation!
As faithful Christians, live and do within your own vocation,
Until that day when you possess His glorious robe of righteousness
Bestowed on you forever!
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: Father in heaven, at the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan river, you proclaimed Your beloved Son and anointed Him with Your Holy Spirit. Make all who are baptized in His name faithful in their calling as Your children, and inheritors with Him in everlasting life; 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.
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.
Scripture Readings
Old Testament Reading (Genesis 1:1-5)
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle Reading (Romans 6:1-11)
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. Mark, the 1st chapter.
C: (sung) Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
(Mark 1:4-11)
John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 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: (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 “O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright” LSB # 395
O Morning Star, how fair and bright! You shine with God’s own truth and light,
Aglow with grace and mercy!
Of Jacob’s race, King David’s son, Our Lord and master, you have won
Our hearts to serve you only!
Lowly, holy! Great and glorious, All victorious, rich in blessing!
Rule and might, o’er all possessing!
Come, heav’nly Bridegroom, Light divine, And deep within our hearts now shine;
There light a flame undying!
In Your one body let us be As living branches of a tree, Your life our lives supplying.
Now, though daily Earth’s deep sadness May perplex us And distress us,
Yet with heav’nly joy you bless us.
Lord, when you look on us in love, at once there falls from God above
A ray of purest pleasure.
Your word and Spirit, flesh and blood, refresh our souls with heav’nly food.
You are our dearest treasure!
Let your mercy warm and cheer us! O draw near us! For you teach us
God’s own love through you has reached us.
Almighty Father, in Your Son You loved us when not yet begun
Was this old earth’s foundation!
Your Son has ransomed us in love to live in Him here and above:
This is your great salvation.
Alleluia! Christ the living, to us giving life forever,
Keeps us Yours and fails us never!
O let the harps break forth in sound! Our joy be all with music crowned,
Our voices gladly blending!
For Christ goes with us all the way today, tomorrow, ev’ry day!
His love is never ending!
Sing out! Ring out! Jubilation! Exultation! Tell the story!
Great is He, the King of glory!
What joy to know, when life is past, the Lord we love is first and last,
The end and the beginning!
He will one day, oh, glorious grace, transport us to that happy place
Beyond all tears and sinning!
Amen! Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! Crown of gladness!
We are yearning for the day of your returning!
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
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And with thy spirit.
P: Bless we the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
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 “O God, O Lord of Heaven and Earth” LSB # 834
1 O God, O Lord of heav’n and earth, thy living finger never wrote
That life should be an aimless mote, a deathward drift from futile birth.
Thy Word meant life triumphant hurled in splendor through thy broken world.
Since light awoke and life began, thou hast desired thy life for man.
2 Our fatal will to equal thee, our rebel will wrought death and night.
We seized and used in prideful spite thy wondrous gift of liberty.
We housed us in this house of doom where death had royal scope and room,
Until thy servant, Prince of Peace, breached all its walls for our release.
3 Thou camest to our hall of death, O Christ, to breathe our poisoned air,
To drink for us the dark despair that strangled our reluctant breath.
How beautiful the feet that trod the road that leads us back to God!
How beautiful the feet that ran to bring the great good news to man!
4 O Spirit, who didst once restore thy Church that it might be again
The bringer of good news to men, breathe on thy cloven Church once more,
That in these gray and latter days there may be those whose life is praise,
Each life a high doxology to Father, Son, and unto thee.