Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
January 31, 2010
Prelude Prelude on “Holy Spirit, Truth Divine” R. Vaughan Williams
Welcome
We’re delighted to greet everyone in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who takes away our sin and offers grace
to all people. If you are a guest, please fill out the Guest Form. If you’re looking for a meaningful ministry with which to become involved, you are encouraged to speak with the Pastor.
Gathering
(Please stand)
Brief Order for Confession & Forgiveness
P We gather in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P God of all mercy and consolation, come to the help of your people, turning us from our sin to live for you alone. Give us the power of your Holy Spirit that we may confess our sin, receive your forgiveness, and grow into the fullness of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
C Amen.
(Please kneel)
Confession
P Most merciful God,
C we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. 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. 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.
P In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us
all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore
declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the ς Son, and of
the Holy Spirit. Amen.
(Please stand for our Gathering Hymn)
Gathering Hymn Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty Hymn 533
P The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all!
C And, also with you.
(1)
Kyrie
Music page 147
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 pece 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, comford, and defend us, gracious Lord.
Amen.
Hymn of Praise Music page 148
P Glory to God in the highest, and
peace to God’s people on earth.
C
Lord God, heavenly King, almighty god and Father, we
worship you, we give you praise 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.
Prayer of the Day
P Almighty and ever-living God,
increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and love; and that
we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you
command, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and
Lord.
(Please
sit)
Children’s
Message
Scripture
Lesson Jeremiah
1:4–10
God calls Jeremiah to be a
prophet and consecrates him in the womb. Jeremiah’s task is
to preach God’s word in the midst of the difficult
political realities of his time, before the Babylonian
exile. He is to make God known not only to Judah, but also
to the nations.
Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, "Before I
formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born
I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the
nations.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know
how to speak, for I am only a boy.” But the LORD said to
me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’; for you shall go to all
to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command
you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver
you, says the LORD.” Then the LORD put out his hand and
touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me, “Now I have put
my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over
nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to
destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
P
The Word of the Lord.
C
Thanks be to God.
Psalmody Psalm
71:1–6
In you, O LORD, have I taken
refuge; let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free;
incline your ear to me and save me.
Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe;
you are my crag and my stronghold.
Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor.
R
For you are my hope, O Lord GOD,
my confidence since I was young.
I have been sustained by you ever since I was born; from my
mother’s womb you have been my strength;
my praise shall be always of you.
R
Lesson 1
Corinthians 13:1–13
Christians in Corinth prided
themselves on their spiritual gifts. Paul reminds them that
God gives us many gifts through the Holy Spirit, but the
purpose behind all of them is love, the kind of love that
God showed us in Jesus Christ.
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do
not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And
if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries
and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove
mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give
away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that
I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is
patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or
arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is
not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in
wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things,
believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to
an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge,
it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we
prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the
partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke
like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a
child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish
ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will
see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know
fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith,
hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of
these is love.
P The
Word of the Lord.
C
Thanks be to God.
(Please stand)
Gospel
Acclamation
Gospel Luke
4:21-30
P The Holy
Gospel according to Saint Luke, the fourth chapter.
C
Glory to you, O Lord.
People in Jesus’ hometown are
initially pleased when he says that God will free the
oppressed. Their pleasure turns to rage when he reminds
them that God’s prophetic mission typically pushes beyond
human boundaries so that mercy and healing are extended to
those regarded as outsiders.
Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has
been fulfilled in your hearing.” All spoke well of him and
were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” He said to them,
“Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure
yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown
the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’” And
he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the
prophet’s hometown. But the truth is, there were many
widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was
shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe
famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of
them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were
also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet
Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the
Syrian.” When they heard this, all in the synagogue were
filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was
built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he
passed through the midst of them and went on his way.
P
The Gospel of the
Lord.
C
Praise to you, O Christ.
(Please
sit)
Sermon
The Reverend Dr.
Robert Wallace
(Please
stand)
Hymn
of the Day He Comes to Us as One
Unknown Hymn 737
The 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,
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 truly
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 in glory to judge the living
and the dead, and this 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 with the Father and the
Son is worshipped and glorified, who has spoken through the
prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic 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.
The
Prayer of the People
After each prayer petition:
P Lord in your mercy
C Hear
our prayer.
The prayers conclude:
P Receive our prayers, holy God, and
give us all we need for this day and the days to come,
through the power of the Holy Spirit, and in the name of
Jesus Christ our Lord.
C
Amen.
(Please
stand)
Peace
P
The peace of the Lord
be with you always.
C
And also with you.
(Please feel free to move about and share God’s Peace with
one another!)
Meal
(Please sit)
Offering
Anthem (8:30
am) Lord
Speak to Us Robert Schuman
Family Choir
Anthem (11:00
am) Now
the Silence Gerald Near
Gallery Choir
(Please stand)
Offering Response Tune: Old
Hundreth
C
Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below,
Praise Him above ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Offering Prayer
P God of majesty, in your might you
have created all things, and you entrust to our care what
you have made. Receive our offerings, and make them a sign
of our dedication to provide for the needs of all people nd
creatures, in the name of the one who sustains all things
by his word, Jesus Christ our Lord.
C
Amen.
The
Great Thanksgiving Music on page 152
P The
Lord be with you.
C
And also with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
C
We lift them to the Lord.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our
God.
C
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Proper Preface
Sanctus
Music on Page 153
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.
Words of Institution
In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took
bread and gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his
disciples, saying: “Take and eat; this is my body, given
for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave
it for all to drink, saying: “This cup is the new covenant
in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the
forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.”
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.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now
and forever.
Amen.
Communion
All baptized Christians are invited to share in the
Eucharist. Those who are not baptized, or wish to receive
only
a blessing, are asked to fold their arms over their chest.
Communion will be by intinction (dipping). Please follow
the usher’s direction.
(Please
sit)
Music
at the Communion
Agnus
Dei Music on
page 154
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.
Communion
Hymns 522, 494
(Please stand)
Post
Communion Blessing and Prayer
P Loving
God, in this meal you sustain the weary and heal the
broken. May the gift of your word made flesh,
the body and blood of Christ, inspire our tongues to praise
you and proclaim to the entire world the Savior,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
C
Amen.
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord’s face shine on you with grace and mercy. The Lord
look upon you with favor and
ς give you
peace.
C
Amen.
Sending
Hymn Joyful, Joyful We Adore
Thee Hymn
836
Dismissal
P
Go in peace. Serve the
Lord.
C
Thanks be to God.
Postlude
St.
Matthew’s Lutheran Church * 405 King Street * Charleston,
SC 843.723.1611