Second Sunday after Christmas January 2, 2022

Today’s Theme for Worship: What Child Is This? He Turns Slaves into Sons. Jesus takes those born in slavery and turns them into sons and daughters of God. He makes us heirs of a glorious, eternal inheritance.

Order of Service: Service of Word and Sacrament

Opening Hymn 42 Come, Your Hearts and Voices Raising

1 Come, your hearts and voices raising,

Christ the Lord with gladness praising;

Loudly sing his love amazing,

Worthy folk of Christendom.

2 See how God, for us providing,

Gave his Son and life abiding;

He our weary steps is guiding

From earth’s woe to heav’nly joy.

3 Christ, from heav’n to us descending

And in love our race befriending,

In our need his help extending,

Saved us from the wily foe.

4 Jacob’s Star in all its splendor

Beams with comfort sweet and tender,

Forcing Satan to surrender,

Breaking all the pow’rs of hell.

5 Gracious Child, we pray you, hear us;

From your lowly manger cheer us.

Gently lead us and be near us

Till we join th’ angelic choir.

Text: Paul Gerhardt, 1607-76, abr.; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis, 1941.

Order of Service: Service of Word and Sacrament

P: The grace of our Lord + Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.

C: And also with you.

Confession of Sins

P: God invites us to come into his presence and worship him with humble and penitent hearts. Therefore, let us acknowledge our sinfulness and ask him to forgive us.

C: Holy and merciful Father, I confess that I am by nature sinful, and that I have disobeyed you in my thoughts, words, and actions. I have done what is evil and failed to do what is good. For this I deserve your punishment both now and in eternity. But I am truly sorry for my sins, and trusting in my Savior Jesus Christ, I pray: Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.

P: God, our heavenly Father, has been merciful to us and has given his only Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Therefore, as a called servant of Christ and by his authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen.

Lord, Have Mercy

P: For all that we need in life and for the wisdom to use all your gifts with gratitude and joy, hear our prayer, O Lord.

C: ♬ Lord, have mer-cy.

P: For the steadfast assurance that nothing can separate us from your love and for the courage to stand firm against the assaults of Satan and every evil, hear our prayer, O Christ.

C: ♬ Christ, have mer-cy.

P: For the well-being of your holy Church in all the world and for those who offer here their worship and praise, hear our prayer, O Lord.

C: ♬ Lord, have mer-cy.

P: Merciful God, maker and preserver of life, uphold us by your power and keep us in your tender care:

C: ♬ A-men.

P: The works of the Lord are great and glorious; his name is worthy of praise.

♬ O Lord, Our Lord

O Lord, our Lord, how glo-rious is your name in all the earth.

Al-might-y God, mer-ci-ful Father,

you crown our life with your love.

You take a-way our sin; you com-fort our spir-it;

you make us pure and ho-ly in your sight.

You did not spare your on-ly Son, but gave him up for us all.

O Lord, our Lord, how glo-rious is your name in all the earth.

O Son of God, e-ter-nal Word of the Fa-ther,

you came to live with us;

you made your Fa-ther known;

you washed us from our sins in your own blood.

You are the King of glo-ry; you are the Lord!

O Lord, our Lord, how glo-rious is your name in all the earth.

Prayer of the Day

P: Let us Pray.

Almighty God, you have filled us with the new light of the Word who became flesh and lived among us. Let the light of our faith shine in all we do; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

First Lesson: Genesis 17:1-7

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. ²I will make my covenant between me and you, and I will make your descendants very numerous.”

³Abram fell on his face. God spoke with him. He said, ⁴"As for me, this is my covenant with you. You will be the father of many nations. ⁵Your name will not be Abram anymore, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a large group of nations. ⁶I will make you extremely fruitful, and I will produce nations from you. Kings will come out of you. ⁷I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you as an everlasting covenant throughout their generations. I will be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

Psalm of the Day Psalm 148

Refrain

Forever let us sing the goodness of the Lord.

Praise the LORD from the heavens,*

praise him in the heights above.

Praise him, all his angels,*

praise him, all his heavenly hosts.

Praise him, sun and moon,*

praise him, all you shining stars.

Refrain

Forever let us sing the goodness of the Lord.

Praise the LORD from the earth,*

lightning and hail, stormy winds that do his bidding,

you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,*

wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds,

kings of the earth and all rulers on earth,*

young men and maidens, old men and children.

Let them praise the name of the LORD,*

for his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son*

and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning,*

is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain

Forever let us sing the goodness of the Lord.

Second Lesson: Galatians 4:4-7

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son to be born of a woman, so that he would be born under the law, ⁵in order to redeem those under the law, so that we would be adopted as sons. ⁶And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts to shout, “Abba, Father!” ⁷So you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if you are a son, then you are also an heir of God through Christ.

Verse

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

These words are written that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel Lesson: Luke 1:68-75

⁶⁸Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,

because he has visited us and prepared redemption for his people.

⁶⁹He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,

⁷⁰just as he said long ago through the mouth of his holy prophets.

⁷¹He raised up salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,

⁷²in order to show mercy to our fathers by remembering his holy covenant,

⁷³the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,

⁷⁴to grant deliverance to us from the hand of our enemies,

so that we are able to serve him without fear,

⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

Hymn of the Day: 86 The Only Son from Heaven

1 The only Son from heaven, Foretold by ancient seers,

By God the Father given, In human form appears.

No sphere his light confining, No star so brightly shining

As he, our Morning Star.

2 Oh, time of God appointed, Oh, bright and holy morn!

He comes, the King anointed, The Christ, the virgin-born,

Grim death to conquer for us, To open heav’n before us

And bring us life again.

3 Awaken, Lord, our spirit To know and love you more,

In faith to stand unshaken, In spirit to adore,

That we, through this world moving, Each glimpse of heaven proving,

May reap its fullness there.

4 O Father, here before you With God the Holy Ghost

And Jesus, we adore you, O Pride of angel host.

Before you mortals lowly Cry “Holy, holy, holy,

O blessed Trinity!”

Text: Elizabeth Cruciger, c. 1500-35, abr., st.1-3; Lutheran Book of Worship, Minneapolis, 1978, st. 4; tr. Arthur T. Russell, 1806-74, st. 1-3, alt.

Sermon

Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father.

Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and became fully human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who in unity with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Offering Prayer

Offering

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Prayer of the Church

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.

The Sacrament

P: The Lord be with you.

C: ♬ And also with you.

P: Lift up your hearts.

C: ♬ We lift them up to the Lord.

P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

C: ♬ It is right to give him thanks and praise.

P: Praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In love he has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. When the time had fully come, he sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons..Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ. To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and thanks and honor and glory for ever and ever.

♬ Holy, Holy, Holy

Ho-ly, ho-ly, ho-ly is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of your glo-ry.

You are my God, and I will ex-alt you.

I will give you thanks, for you have be-come my sal-va-tion.

Ho-ly, ho-ly, ho-ly is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of your glo-ry.

Words of Institution

P: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, took bread; and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying “Take and eat; this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

P: The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C: ♬ A-men.

♬ O Christ, Lamb Of God

O Christ, Lamb of God,

you take a-way the sin of the world;

have mer-cy on us.

O Christ, Lamb of God,

you take a-way the sin of the world;

have mer-cy on us.

O Christ, Lamb of God,

you take a-way the sin of the world;

grant us your peace.

A-men.

Distribution Hymn: 315 Here, O My Lord, I See You Face to Face

1 Here, O my Lord, I see you face to face;

Here would I touch and handle things unseen,

Here grasp with firmer hand eternal grace,

And all my weariness upon you lean.

2 This is the hour of banquet and of song;

Here is the heav’nly table spread anew.

Here let me feast and, feasting, still prolong

The brief bright hour of fellowship with you.

3 I have no help but yours nor do I need

Another arm but yours to lean upon.

It is enough, O Lord, enough indeed;

My strength is in your might, your might alone.

4 Mine is the sin but yours the righteousness;

Mine is the guilt but yours the cleansing blood.

Here is my robe, my refuge, and my peace:

Your blood, your righteousness, O Lord, my God.

5 Too soon we rise; the vessels disappear.

The feast, though not the love, is past and gone.

The bread and wine remove, but you are here,

Nearer than ever, still my shield and sun.

6 Feast after feast thus comes and passes by,

Yet, passing, points to that glad feast above,

Giving sweet foretaste of the festal joy,

The Lamb’s great marriage feast of bliss and love.

Text: Horatius Bonar, 1808-89, abr., alt.

Thank the Lord

Thank the Lord and sing his praise.

Tell ev-'ry-one what he has done.

Let all who seek the Lord re-joice

And proud-ly bear his name.

He re-news his prom-is-es and leads his peo-ple forth

in joy with shouts of thanks-giv-ing.

Al-le-lu-ia! Al-le-lu-ia!

Prayer

P: Hear the prayer of your people, O Lord, that the lips which have praised you here may glorify you in the world, that the eyes which have seen the coming of your Son may long for his coming again, and that all who have received in his true body and blood the pledge of your forgiveness may be restored to live a new and holy life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: A-men.

Blessing

M: Brothers and sisters, go in peace. Live in harmony with one another. Serve the Lord with gladness.

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.

C: (sing) Amen. Amen. Amen.

Closing Hymn: 275 Blest Be the God of Israel

1 Blest be the God of Israel, Who comes to set us free;

He visits and redeems us; He grants us liberty.

The prophets spoke of mercy, Of freedom and release;

God shall fulfill his promise And bring his people peace.

2 He from the house of David A child of grace has giv’n;

A Savior comes among us To raise us up to heav’n.

Before him goes his herald, Forerunner in the way,

The prophet of salvation, The harbinger of day.

3 On prisoners of darkness The sun begins to rise,

The dawning of forgiveness Upon the sinner’s eyes.

He guides the feet of pilgrims Along the paths of peace.

Oh, bless our God and Savior With songs that never cease!