Third Sunday after the Epiphany January 23, 2022

Today's Theme for Worship: Reception Uncovered: Rejection is not the exception but the rule. Jesus’ words will always offend. However, we will see that God can use even the rejection of his Word for good.

Opening Hymn: 517 Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness

1 Praise the one who breaks the darkness with a liberating light;
praise the one who frees the pris’ners, turning blindness into sight.
Praise the one who preached the gospel, healing ev’ry dread disease,
calming storms and feeding thousands with the Father’s word of peace.

2 Praise the one who blessed the children with a strong, yet gentle, word;
praise the one who drove out demons with the piercing, two-edged sword.
Praise the one who brings cool water to the desert’s burning sand;
from this well comes living water, quenching thirst in ev’ry land.

3 Let us praise the Word incarnate, Christ, who suffered in our place;
Jesus died and rose victorious that we may know God by grace.
Let us sing for joy and gladness, seeing what our God has done;
let us praise the true Redeemer, praise the one who makes us one.

Order of Service: Service Setting One

Prayer of the Day

Let us pray.

Almighty God, you sent your Son to proclaim your kingdom and teach with authority. Anoint us with the power of your Spirit that we too may bring good news to the afflicted, bind up the brokenhearted, and proclaim liberty to the captive; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

First Reading Isaiah 61:1–6

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to preach good news to the afflicted.

He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release for those who are bound,

²to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

and the day of vengeance for our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

³to provide for those who mourn in Zion,

to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,

the oil of joy instead of mourning,

a cloak of praise instead of a faint spirit,

so that they will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the Lord to display his beauty.

⁴Then they will rebuild ancient ruins.

They will raise up what was formerly devastated,

and they will renew ruined cities,

which have been devastated for generations.

⁵Strangers will stand and shepherd your flock,

and foreigners will be your farmers and vinedressers.

⁶You will be called the Lord’s priests.

You will be named ministers of our God.

You will eat the wealth of nations,

and you will boast about their riches.

P: The Word of the Lord.

C: Thanks be to God.

Psalm of the Day 146B As Long as I Live

Refrain: Praise the LORD, my heart! My whole life, give praise.
Let me sing to God as long as I live.

1 Put not your trust in princes, mortal men, who cannot save.
Blessed is he whose hope is in the LORD, the God of Jacob.

Refrain: Praise the LORD, my heart! My whole life, give praise.
Let me sing to God as long as I live.

2 The LORD gives food to the hungry, the LORD sets prisoners free.
He gives sight to the blind and lifts up those who are bowed down.

Refrain: Praise the LORD, my heart! My whole life, give praise.
Let me sing to God as long as I live.

3 God watches over the outcast and sustains the widow and the orphan.
God will reign forever; he is LORD to all generations.

Refrain: Praise the LORD, my heart! My whole life, give praise.
Let me sing to God as long as I live.

Second Reading Acts 4:23–31

²³After Peter and John were released, they went to their own friends and reported everything the high priests and the elders had said. ²⁴When they heard this, with one mind they raised their voices to God and said, “Master, you are the God who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. ²⁵By the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David, your servant, you said:

Why do the nations rage

and the peoples plot in vain?

²⁶The kings of the earth take their stand,

and the rulers are gathered together

against the Lord

and against his Anointed One.

²⁷ “For certainly, in this city both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and people of Israel, were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. ²⁸They did whatever your hand and your plan had decided beforehand should happen.

²⁹ “Now Lord, look at their threats and give to your servants the ability to keep on speaking your word with all boldness ³⁰as you stretch out your hand to heal and as signs and wonders take place through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

³¹After they prayed, the place where they were gathered was shaken. Also, everyone was filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus is the light of the world;

in him we have the light of life.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Luke 4:16–30

¹⁶He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As was his custom, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. ¹⁷The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

¹⁸The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to set free those who are oppressed,

¹⁹and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

²⁰He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

²²They all spoke well of him and were impressed by the words of grace that came from his mouth. And they kept saying, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

²³He told them, “Certainly you will quote this proverb to me, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ Do here in your hometown everything we heard you did in Capernaum.” ²⁴And he said, “Amen I tell you: No prophet is accepted in his hometown. ²⁵But truly I tell you: There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut for three years and six months, while a great famine came over all the land. ²⁶Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow of Zarephath, in Sidon. ²⁷And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was healed except Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸All those who were in the synagogue were filled with rage when they heard these things. ²⁹They got up and drove him out of the town. They led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. ³⁰But he passed through the middle of them and went on his way.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise be to you, O Christ!

Hymn of the Day: 384 Hail to the Lord’s Anointed

1 Hail to the Lord’s anointed, great David’s greater Son!
Hail, in the time appointed, his reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression, to set the captive free,
to take away transgression, and rule in equity.

2 He comes with rescue speedy to those who suffer wrong,
to help the poor and needy and bid the weak be strong,
to give them songs for sighing, their darkness turn to light
whose souls, condemned and dying, are precious in his sight.

3 Kings shall bow down before him and gold and incense bring;
all nations shall adore him, his praise all people sing.
To him shall prayer unceasing and daily vows ascend,
his kingdom still increasing, a kingdom without end.

4 O’er ev’ry foe victorious, he on his throne shall rest,
from age to age more glorious, all blessing and all-blest.
The tide of time shall never his covenant remove;
his name shall stand forever—that name to us is Love.

Text: Public domain

Sermon

Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.

I believe 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 is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From there 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.

Prayer of the Church

Almighty God and Father, we thank you for all your mercies, especially for the gift of your Son, through whom you have revealed your gracious will. We praise you for the Holy Spirit and his working through the means of grace.

Plant your Word in our hearts, and cause it to produce fruit in our lives.

Strengthen and defend your Church, that by your Word and sacraments faith may grow and love toward all may increase.

Support all who spread the light of your truth throughout the world.

Keep our children in the grace of their baptisms. Enable their parents to train them in lives of faith.

Raise up Christians to serve you in the ministry of the Word and in all godly walks of life.

Preserve our nation in justice and honor. Guide and bless all who make, administer, and judge our laws.

Give them wisdom that they may promote justice and hinder evil.

Let your blessing rest on planting and harvest, commerce and industry, medicine and science, the arts and culture. Protect all who travel, and care for those whose work is difficult or dangerous.

Be with all who devote themselves to any useful task.

Comfort all who are in sorrow or need, sickness or adversity, [especially . . . here name the person and the cause of the petition]. Remember those who suffer persecution for the faith. Have mercy on those for whom death draws near.

Grant them your love, and take them into your tender care.

Hear us, Lord, as we pray in silence.

Silent prayer

We remember with thanksgiving those who have loved and served you, who now rest from their labors, [especially . . . here name the person]. Console those who are mourning or living with sadness.

Keep us in the true faith, and bring us at last to the joys of heaven.

Grant us these things, Father, for the sake of Jesus, who died and rose again.

Amen.

Offering Prayer

Offering

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Hymn: 313 Hark the Glad Sound! The Savior Comes

1 Hark the glad sound! The Savior comes, the Savior promised long;
let ev’ry heart prepare a throne and ev’ry voice a song.

2 He comes the pris’ners to release, in Satan’s bondage held;
the gates of brass before him burst, the iron fetters yield.

3 He comes the broken heart to bind, the bleeding soul to cure,
and with the treasures of his grace to‿enrich the humble poor.

4 Our glad hosannas, Prince of Peace, your welcome shall proclaim,
and heav’n’s eternal arches ring with your belovèd name.

Text: Public domain

Prayer

Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins,

as we forgive those

who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,

and the glory are yours

now and forever. Amen.

Blessing

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 T give you peace.

Amen.

Closing Hymn: 520 Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing

1 Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise,
the glories of my God and King, the triumphs of his grace!

2 My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim,
to spread through all the earth abroad, the honors of your name.

3 The name of Jesus calms our fears and bids our sorrows cease;
’tis music in the sinner’s ears,’tis life and health and peace.

4 He breaks the pow’r of canceled sin; he sets the pris’ner free.
His blood can make the foulest clean; his blood avails for me.

5 See all your sins on Jesus laid; the Lamb of God was slain.
His life was once an off’ring made that you might live again.

6 To God all glory, praise, and love be ever, ever giv’n
by saints below and saints above, the Church in earth and heav’n.

Text: Public domain

Acknowledgments

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, New International Version^®, NIV^®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.^TM Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

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