Hymn “The Lord, My God, be Praised” LSB # 794
1 The Lord, my God, be praised, My light, my life from heaven;
My maker, who to me Has soul and body given;
My Father, who will shield And keep me day by day
And make each moment yield New blessings on my way.
2 The Lord, my God, be praised, My trust, my life from heaven,
The Father's own dear Son, Whose life for me was given,
Who for my sin atoned With His most precious blood
And gives to me by faith The highest heav'nly good.
3 The Lord, my God, be praised, My hope, my life from heaven,
The Spirit, whom the Son In love to me has given.
His grace revives my heart And gives my spirit pow'r,
Help, comfort, and support In sorrow's gloomy hour.
4 The Lord, my God, be praised, My God, the ever-living,
To whom the heav'nly host Their laud and praise are giving.
The Lord, my God, be praised, In whose great name I boast,
God Father, God the Son, And God the Holy Ghost.
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.
Hymn “You Are the Way, through You Alone” LSB # 526
1 You are the way; through You alone Can we the Father find;
In You, O Christ, has God revealed His heart and will and mind.
2 You are the truth; Your Word alone True wisdom can impart;
You only can inform the mind And purify the heart.
3 You are the life; the empty tomb Proclaims Your conqu'ring arm,
And those who put their trust in You Not death nor hell shall harm.
4 You are the way, the truth, the life; Grant us that way to know,
That truth to keep, that life to win Whose joys eternal flow.
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: Let us pray. O Lord, keep Your Church in Your perpetual mercy; and because without You we cannot but fall, preserve us from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; 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 (Amos 8:4-7)
Hear this, you who trample on the needy
and bring the poor of the land to an end,
5 saying, “When will the new moon be over,
that we may sell grain?
And the Sabbath,
that we may offer wheat for sale,
that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great
and deal deceitfully with false balances,
6 that we may buy the poor for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals
and sell the chaff of the wheat?”
7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
“Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle Reading (1 Timothy 2:1-15)
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; 9 likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. 11 Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.
P: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
P: The holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the 16th chapter.
C: (sung) Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
(Luke 16:1-15)
[Jesus] also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5 So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: (sung) Praise be to Thee, O Christ.
Hymn of the Day “What Is the World to Me” LSB #730
1 What is the world to me With all its vaunted pleasure
When You, and You alone, Lord Jesus, are my Treasure!
You only, dearest Lord, My soul's delight shalt be;
You are my peace, my rest. What is the world to me!
2 The world seeks to be praised And honored by the mighty
Yet never once reflects That they are frail and flighty.
But what I truly prize Above all things is He,
My Jesus, He alone. What is the world to me!
3 The world seeks after wealth And all that mammon offers
Yet never is content Though gold should fill its coffers.
I have a higher good, Content with it I'll be:
My Jesus is my wealth. What is the world to me!
4 What is the world to me! My Jesus is my treasure,
My life, my health, my wealth, My friend, my love, my pleasure,
My joy, my crown, my all, My bliss eternally.
Once more, then, I declare: What is the world to me!
Sermon
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.
Offertory
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Thy presence,
And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation,
And uphold me with Thy free Spirit. Amen.
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 “Take My Life and Let It Be” LSB #783
1 Take my life and let it be Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days, Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
2 Take my hands and let them move At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be Swift and beautiful for Thee.
3 Take my voice and let me sing Always, only for my King;
Take my lips and let them be Filled with messages from Thee.
4 Take my silver and my gold, Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect and use Ev'ry pow'r as Thou shalt choose.
5 Take my will and make it Thine, It shall be no longer mine;
Take my heart, it is Thine own, It shall be Thy royal throne.
6 Take my love, my Lord, I pour At Thy feet its treasure store;
Take myself, and I will be Ever, only, all for Thee.