First Sunday after Christmas January 1, 2023

Today’s Theme for Worship: A Savior Is Born to Be the True Son. By coming to be the true Son of the Father, Jesus gives us rights to be redeemed sons and daughters—sons just like Jesus with the rights, the relationship, and the privileges of heirs.

Hymn: 333 O Little Town of Bethlehem

1 O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by;
yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light.
The hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.

2 For Christ is born of Mary,
and, gathered all above
while mortals sleep, the angels keep
their watch of wond’ring love.
O morning stars, together
proclaim the holy birth,
and praises sing to God the King
and peace to all the earth.

3 How silently, how silently
the wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of his heav’n.
No ear may hear his coming,
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him, still
the dear Christ enters in.

4 O holy Child of Bethlehem,
descend to us, we pray;
cast out our sin and enter in,
be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Immanuel!

Text: Phillips Brooks, 1835–1893, abr., alt.
Text: Public domain

Invocation

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

Let us pray.

Almighty God, the martyred innocents of Bethlehem showed forth your praise not by speaking but by dying. Put to death in us all that is in conflict with your will that our lives may bear witness to the faith we profess with our lips; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: Amen.

First Reading: Isaiah 63:7–9

⁷I will tell about the Lord’s mercies,

about the praises of the Lord,

about all that the Lord has done for us,

about his great goodness to the house of Israel,

which he did for them according to his abundant compassion,

and according to his great mercy.

⁸He said, “Surely they are my people,

sons who will not deal falsely,”

so he became their Savior.

⁹In all their anguish he had anguish,

and the Angel of his Presence saved them.

In his love and in his pity he himself redeemed them,

and he took them up and carried them all the days of old.

Hymn: 332 Let Us All with Gladsome Voice

1 Let us all with gladsome voice
praise the God of heaven,
who, to bid our hearts rejoice,
his own Son has given.

2 To this vale of tears he comes,
here to serve in sadness,
that with him in heav’n’s fair homes
we may reign in gladness.

3 We are rich, for he was poor;
is not this a wonder?
Therefore praise God evermore
here on earth and yonder.

4 Christ, our Lord and Savior dear,
bless us and be near us.
Grant us now a glad new year.
Amen, Jesus, hear us.

Text: tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–1878, alt.; German, 17th cent
Text: Public domain

Second Reading: Galatians 4:4–7

⁴But 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 of the Day

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

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

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Gospel: Matthew 2:13–23

¹³After the Wise Men were gone, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream. He said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, because Herod will search for the child in order to kill him.”

¹⁴Joseph got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and left for Egypt. ¹⁵He stayed there until the death of Herod. This happened to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

¹⁶When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Wise Men, he was furious. He issued orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under. This was in keeping with the exact time he had learned from the Wise Men. ¹⁷Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

¹⁸A voice was heard in Ramah,

weeping and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children,

and she refused to be comforted,

because they are no more.

¹⁹After Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. The angel said, ²⁰“Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”

²¹Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. ²²But when he heard that Archelaus, Herod’s son, had succeeded his father as ruler in Judea, he was afraid to go there. Since he had been warned in a dream, he went to the region of Galilee. ²³When he arrived there, he settled in a city called Nazareth. So what was spoken through the prophets was fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Hymn: 355 Let All Together Praise Our God

1 Let all together praise our God
before his highest throne;
today he opens heav’n again
and gives us his own Son,
and gives us his own Son.

2 He leaves his heav’nly Father’s throne,
is born an infant small,
and in a manger, poor and lone,
lies in a humble stall,
lies in a humble stall.

3 He veils in flesh his pow’r divine
a servant’s form to take,
in want and lowliness must pine
who heav’n and earth did make,
who heav’n and earth did make.

4 He undertakes a great exchange,
puts on our human frame,
and in return gives us his realm,
his glory, and his name,
his glory, and his name.

5 He serves that I a lord may be—
a great exchange indeed!
Could Jesus’ love do more for me
to help me in my need,
to help me in my need?

6 For us he opens wide the door
of paradise today.
The angel guards the gate no more;
to God our thanks we pay,
to God our thanks we pay.

Text (sts. 1–3, 5–6): tr. August Crull, 1845–1923, sts. 1-3,5,6, alt.; (st. 4): tr. F. Samuel Janzow, 1913–2001, st. 4
Text (sts. 1–3, 5–6): Public domain
Text (st. 4): © 1969 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: OneLicense no. 703297

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

You can give your offerings from your smartphone with the new Vanco Mobile app, which can be downloaded for free at Google Play or the App Store.  You can also give at holytrinitylutheranwyoming.com by clicking the Offerings link at the top of the page. If you have any questions about any of these options, please contact Dave Vogel at financialsecretary@holytrinity-wels.netThe Sacrament

Prayer of the Church

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.

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 song. 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.

Hymn: 366 O Rejoice, All Christians Loudly

1 O rejoice, all Christians, loudly,
for our joy has now begun;
wondrous things our God has done.
Tell abroad his goodness proudly,
who our race has honored thus,
that he has befriended us. (Refrain)

Ref Joy, O joy, beyond all gladness!
Christ has done away with sadness!
Hence, all sorrow and repining,
for the Sun of grace is shining!

2 See, my soul, your Savior chooses
poverty and weakness, too;
in such love he comes to you.
Neither crib nor cross refuses,
all he suffers for your good
to redeem you by his blood. (Refrain)

3 Lord, how shall I thank you rightly?
I am saved eternally
by your life and death for me.
Let me not forget it lightly,
but with all my heart believe
that from you I shall receive. (Refrain)

4 Jesus, guard and guide your members,
fill them with your boundless grace,
hear their prayers in ev’ry place.
Fan to life faith’s glowing embers;
grant all Christians far and near
holy peace, a glad new year. (Refrain)

Text: tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–1878, alt.; Christian Keimann, 1607–1662
Text: Public domain

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.

Hymn: 334 I Stand beside Your Manger Here

1 I stand beside your manger here,
O Jesus, life from heaven.
The gifts I bring as I draw near
are what to me you’ve given:
my spirit, courage, mind, and heart—
take all I am, take ev’ry part;
in mercy let it please you.

2 Before I ever came to be,
or knew of you, my Savior,
you’d chosen me, been born for me,
that I might have your favor.
Before you formed me by your hand
in grace you had already planned
how I would learn to love you.

3 Death held me in the deepest night
till you, my sunshine beaming,
brought joy and bliss and life and light,
in love my soul redeeming.
O Sun, your rays so warm and fair
have made my darkness disappear—
faith’s precious light is shining.

4 One thing I hope; my Savior, hear;
bestow on me this blessing,
that I may ever hold you near,
you as my own possessing.
So let my heart your manger be;
come, holy Child, lie down in me
with all your joyful treasures.