Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany 2/12/23
SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
FEBRUARY 12, 2023
IN THE NAME OF JESUS, WELCOME TO ST. PAUL’S!
8:00 & 10:30 a.m.
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THE ENTRANCE RITE
PRELUDE Pauline Bell Ringers Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise Setting: B. Ingram
WELCOME
ENTRANCE HYMN #802 Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
1 Immortal, invisible,
God only wise,
In light inaccessible
hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious,
the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious,
Thy great name we praise.
2 Unresting, unhasting,
and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting,
Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains
high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains
of goodness and love.
3 To all life Thou givest—
to both great and small—
In all life Thou livest,
the true Life of all;
We blossom and flourish
as leaves on the tree
And wither and perish—
but naught changes Thee.
4 Great Father of glory,
pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee,
all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render:
O help us to see
’Tis only the splendor
of light that hides Thee.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
n the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Silence for reflection on God’s Word and for self-examination.
Let us then confess our sins to God our Father.
Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.
Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
KYRIE LSB 168
In peace let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the peace from above and for our salvation let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship and praise let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.
Amen.
HYMN OF PRAISE – “Gloria in Excelsis” LSB 170
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly king, almighty God and Father:
We worship You, we give You thanks, we praise You for Your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God:
You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.
You are seated at the right hand of the Father; receive our prayer.
For You alone are the Holy One, You alone are the Lord,
You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray. O Lord,
graciously hear the prayers of Your people that we who justly suffer the consequence of our sin may be mercifully delivered by Your goodness to the glory of Your name; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
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THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
FIRST LESSON (Be seated) Deuteronomy 30:15-20
“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
ANTHEM Jubilation Choir The Only Son from Heaven Setting: J. Behnke
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 O time of God appointed,
O bright and holy morn!
He comes, the king anointed,
The Christ, the virgin-born,
Grim death to vanquish 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 blessèd Trinity!”
SECOND LESSON 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?
What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
ALLELUIA VERSE (Stand) LSB 173
Alleluia. Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia.
GOSPEL Matthew 5:21-37
The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the 5th chapter
Glory to You, O Lord.
[Jesus said:] “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to You, O Christ
SERMON (Be seated)
Today’s message will be given by The Rev. Joseph Ochola Omolo, Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya.
HYMN OF THE DAY #394 (Stand) Songs of Thankfulness and Praise
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.
APOSTLES’ CREED Hymnal, back cover
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
mker 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.
OFFERING
Offerings support the church’s mission work – both here and through our many partners. Offerings may be placed in the box at the sanctuary entrance or sent to the church through our website or the mail. Fellowship Cards help us welcome new people and track participation. Please fill one out and place it in the offering box following the service.
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
In peace, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
That almighty God, who receives the praise of seas and rivers, would keep us in the baptismal grace He has given us by water and the Word, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For maturity of faith, that our Father in heaven would bless pastors, teachers, parents and all who teach His Word; and that He would give us a constant desire to hear and obey it, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For peace, that God, who condemns unrighteous anger as murderous and who has saved us from His righteous anger by the death of His Son, would move us to repentance and reconciliation, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For purity of heart and mind, that the Lord who created us would deliver us from lustful thoughts and looks, so that we may lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For integrity, that the Author of truth would preserve us from false oaths and strengthen us to acknowledge His Word and do what He commands, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For the rulers of the nations, that the Lord, who judges all peoples in righteousness and equity, would endow them with wisdom so that we are preserved from harmful divisions and enabled to live in peace, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For the suffering, especially the people of Turkey and Syria who were affected by the deadly earthquakes there, and for those on our prayer list and those we name in our hearts at this time… that the Lord, our life, would sustain, strengthen and heal them; and for all who mourn, that the Lord would console them through the promise of everlasting life in Christ, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For Bishop Omolo and the people of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya, that God would bless them in their life and work together; and for Christian unity among all God’s people, that the Lord who gives growth to the Church by His Means of Grace would preserve His people from the perils of division and unite them through a common confession of His truth, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
We praise you, O Lord – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – and we commend all for whom we pray into your loving and merciful hands, for you live and reign among us with all power and glory, one God, now and forever. Amen.
OFFERTORY VERSE #955 Let the Vineyards Be Fruitful
Let the vineyards be fruitful, Lord,
And fill to the brim our cup of blessing.
Gather a harvest from the seeds that were sown,
That we may be fed with the bread of life.
Gather the hopes and the dreams of all;
Unite them with the prayers we offer now.
Grace our table with Your presence, and give us
A foretaste of the feast to come.
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SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT
PREFACE LSB 177
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
It is truly good right and salutary…evermore praising You and saying:
SANCTUS LSB 178
Holy, holy, holy Lord, Lord God of pow’r and might:
Heav’n and earth are full of Your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING LSB 178
THE WORDS OF OUR LORD LSB 179
PROCLAMATION OF CHRIST
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.
PAX DOMINI LSB 180
The peace of the Lord be with you always.
Amen.
AGNUS DEI LSB 180
Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; grant us peace.
THE COMMUNION (Be seated)
The Communion Assistant will come forward to receive first, then those from the pulpit side – by order of pew, front to back. Communicants will come up the center aisle and return via the side aisle. When all from the pulpit side have communed, the baptismal font side will commune in the same manner. We ask that the wine be consumed away from the tray table. Empty cups should be dropped into the receptacles.
COMMUNION HYMN #616 Baptismal Waters Cover Me
1 Baptismal waters cover me
As I approach on bended knee;
My Father’s mercy here I plead,
For grievous sins of thought and deed.
2 I look to Christ upon the tree,
His body broken there for me;
I lay before Him all my sin,
My darkest secrets from within.
3 Lord, may Your wounded hand impart
Your healing to my broken heart;
Your love alone can form in me
A heart that serves You joyfully.
4 From Your own mouth comes forth a word;
Your shepherd speaks, but You are heard;
Through him Your hand now stretches out,
Forgiving sin, destroying doubt.
5 Baptismal waters cover me;
Christ’s wounded hand has set me free.
Held in my Father’s strong embrace,
With joy I praise Him for His grace.
NUNC DIMITTIS LSB 182
Lord, now You let Your servant go in peace;
Your word has been fulfilled.
My own eyes have seen the salvation
which You have prepared in the sight of ev’ry people:
A light to reveal You to the nations
and the glory of Your people Israel.
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.
PRAYER (Stand)
BENEDICTION
SENDING HYMN #398 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,
Were precious in His sight.
3 He shall come down like showers
Upon the fruitful earth;
Love, joy, and hope, like flowers,
Spring in His path to birth.
Before Him on the mountains
Shall peace, the herald, go;
And righteousness in fountains
From hill to valley flow.
4 Kings shall fall 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.
5 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.
ANNOUNCEMENTS (Be seated)
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE Distant Bells By: J. L. Streabbog
Today we are pleased to welcome as our preacher and teacher the Rev. Joseph Ochola Omolo, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK). The ELCK has 550 congregations and 500,000 baptized members, with 230 active pastors and 380 evangelists. Pr. Omolo is married to Ruth. They have six grown children and seven grandchildren. In 2005, Pr. Omolo and his wife started the charity Hope for the Destitute which helps orphaned and vulnerable children. His previous positions include regional bishop, seminary president and seminary professor of Neema Lutheran College. He was elected archbishop on November 2019. We pray the Lord’s blessings on his work.
FELLOWSHIP: Christian Family
Those serving:
Sunday, February 12,
8:00 a.m.
Greeter: Steve Janssen
Comm. assist: Judy Koucky
Reader: Norm Williams
10:30 a.m.
Greeter: Janice Siebrass
Comm. assist: Judy Koucky
Reader: Dan Buuck
Piano: Dale Rogers
Acknowledgments
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2023 Concordia Publishing House.
Let the Vineyards Be Fruitful Text: John W. Arthur, 1922–80 Tune: Richard W. Hillert, 1923–2010 Text & Tune: © 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise Text: W. Chalmers Smith, 1824–1908, alt. Tune: Welsh Text and tune: Public domain
Songs of Thankfulness and Praise Text: Christopher Wordsworth, 1807–85, alt. Tune: George J. Elvey, 1816–93 Text & Tune: Public domain
Baptismal Waters Cover Me Text: Kurt E. Reinhardt, 1969 Tune: Sammlung alter und neuer . . . Melodien, 1742 Text: © 2003 Kurt E. Reinhardt. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326 Tune: Public domain
Hail to the Lord’s Anointed Text: James Montgomery, 1771–1854, alt. Tune: Leonhart Schröter, c. 1532–c. 1601 Text & Tune: Public domain
