PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH ROCHESTER
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS
Christ Came So That We May Have Peace.
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December 27, 2020
The Gospel for the First Sunday after Christmas takes us to the temple in Jerusalem, where Jesus is brought by Mary and Joseph. In presenting Him there, they are affirming that He is dedicated to God as a firstborn son. But He is much more than a son—He is the Son. In her classic hymn text, German hymnist Elisabeth Cruciger celebrates His coming as she writes, “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” (LSB 402:1). Jesus is the One in whom we see our salvation, whose light guides our way through life, and whose presence enlightens our world. With joy, we worship Him!
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+ PREPARATION +
OPENING HYMN: #368 – Angels We Have Heard on High
INVOCATION
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
OPENING SENTENCES Luke 2:30, 32; Psalm 71:19, 23
Pastor: Alleluia! My eyes have seen Your salvation,
People: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel. Alleluia!
Pastor: Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens.
People: You who have done great things, O God, who is like You?
Pastor: My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to You;
People: my soul also, which You have redeemed.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
Pastor: People redeemed by the Lord, let us now make confession of our sins to God, our heavenly Father.
People: Merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We repent of having sinned against You in thought, word, and deed. We have left undone those things we ought to have done; we have done those things we ought not to have done. We have not lived our lives fully in the freedom won for us by our Lord. We have not always shared the bounty You have given us as stewards of Your creation. We sincerely repent of our sins and humbly ask Your grace and forgiveness in Jesus, our Savior. By the renewing work of the Holy Spirit, lead us to change what is sinful in our lives that each day we grow in righteousness and godly living to the glory of Your holy name.
Pastor: God has promised pardon, life, and salvation because of the atoning sacrifice of His beloved Son, who has replaced slavery to sin with a priceless inheritance of freedom and joy. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. As you believe, so may it be.
People: Amen.
+ WORD +
PSALM Psalm 111
1Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who delight in them.
3Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and merciful.
5He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.
6He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy;
8they are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name!
10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!
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.
SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY
Pastor: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Pastor: Let us pray.
O God, our Maker and Redeemer, You wonderfully created us and in the incarnation of Your Son yet more wondrously restored our human nature. Grant that we may ever be alive in Him who made Himself to be like us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT READING Isaiah 61:10–62:3
(Nations will acknowledge the Chosen One of the Lord.)
10I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to sprout up before all the nations.
1For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch.
2The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
3You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
GRADUAL Isaiah 9:6; Psalm 98:1a
To us a child is born, to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder.
And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things!
EPISTLE Galatians 4:4–7
(At the right time, God sent His Son into the world.)
4When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
VERSE Luke 2:30,32
Alleluia. My eyes have seen your salvation; a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel. Alleluia.
HOLY GOSPEL Luke 2:22–40
(Jesus is presented in the temple by Mary and Joseph.)
Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the second chapter
People: Glory to You, O Lord.
22When the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, [Mary and Joseph] brought [Jesus] up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
29“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
30for my eyes have seen your salvation
31that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”
33And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35(and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
36And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
39And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to You, O Christ.
HYMN OF THE DAY: #374 – Gentle Mary Laid Her Child
SERMON: Christ Came So That We May Have Peace
CATECHISM: The Third Article
Pastor: Through the working of the Holy Spirit, we can call God our “Abba”—our Father. The Spirit directs our praying and intercedes for us. Today we confess the words of the Apostles’ Creed regarding the work of the Holy Spirit and also speak the words from Luther’s Small Catechism regarding the work of the Spirit through the Church, of which each of us is a special part.
People: 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.
Pastor: What does this mean?
People: I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.
In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.
In this Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers.
On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.
This is most certainly true.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
After each petition:
Pastor: … Lord, in Your mercy:
People: hear our prayer.
At conclusion:
Pastor: … You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever.
People: Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER Matthew 6:9–13
People: 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.
CLOSING PRAYER
Pastor: Let us pray.
Gracious God, through our Lord Jesus Christ You have taken the slavery under which we were held captive to sin and Satan and have given us new life. By the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, keep us ever connected to Christ to live out each day in our baptismal grace as we await the joy of life in Your eternal presence. This we ask for the sake of Jesus, our Savior.
People: Amen.
BENEDICTION
Pastor: Go out into the world in peace, have courage, hold to what is good, return no person evil for evil, strengthen the fainthearted, support the weak, help the suffering, honor all of God’s people, love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit. The almighty God—the Father, the + Son, and the Holy Spirit—bless you and keep you and give you peace.
People: Amen.
HYMN: #386 – Now Sing We, Now Rejoice
1 Now sing we, now rejoice,
Now raise to heav’n our voice;
He from whom joy streameth
Poor in a manger lies;
Not so brightly beameth
The sun in yonder skies.
Thou my Savior art!
Thou my Savior art!
2 Come from on high to me;
I cannot rise to Thee.
Cheer my wearied spirit,
O pure and holy Child;
Through Thy grace and merit,
Blest Jesus, Lord most mild,
Draw me unto Thee!
Draw me unto Thee!
3 Now through His Son doth shine
The Father’s grace divine.
Death was reigning o’er us
Through sin and vanity
Till He opened for us
A bright eternity.
May we praise Him there!
May we praise Him there!
4 Oh, where shall joy be found?
Where but on heav’nly ground?
Where the angels singing
With all His saints unite,
Sweetest praises bringing
In heav’nly joy and light.
Oh, that we were there!
Oh, that we were there!
Text: Public domain
Creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish, Series B, Quarter 1. Copyright © 2020 Concordia Publishing House.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
