TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
November 13, 2022

+ PREPARATION +

OPENING HYMN: #738 - Lord of All Hopefulness

INVOCATION
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.

OPENING SENTENCES
Pastor: The Lord is faithful.
People: He establishes us and guards us against Satan.

Pastor: The Lord is steadfast.
People: He directs our hearts to love our neighbors.

Pastor: We can be confident in the Lord and His love for us.
People: May He grant us quiet lives free from trouble.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
Pastor: In our lives, we struggle to follow Jesus’ example of love, steadfastness, and faith. We have sown hatred, shown laziness, and known many doubts. We have not kept our eyes fixed on Jesus. Yet our heavenly Father invites us to draw near to His throne in confidence and ask for forgiveness.

Silence for reflection.

Pastor: Heavenly Father,
People: we have sinned against You in thoughts, words, and actions. Help us to serve in joy and love. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us back to You, on account of Jesus. Amen.

Pastor: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die and rise 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.
People: Amen. We are forgiven by the steadfast love of Christ.

+ WORD +

INTROIT Psalm 121:1–2, 5, 7–8; antiphon: Luke 21:33
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
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.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.

Kyrie
People: Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY
Pastor: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.

Pastor: Let us pray.
Lord Jesus Christ, You are always faithful. As we await Your promised return, help us to recognize Your gifts in this life so that we may serve You in confidence and quietness, for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING Malachi 4:1–6
(The day of the Lord is coming.)
1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. 3And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.
4“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and just decrees that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.
5“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL Revelation 7:14b; Psalm 84:5
These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.
They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Blessèd are those whose strength is in You,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

EPISTLE 2 Thessalonians 3:6–13
(Paul warns against idleness.)
6Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. 7For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, 8nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. 9It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. 10For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.
13As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.

ALLELUIA and VERSE Luke 21:28b
Alleluia. Straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. Alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL Luke 21:5–33
(Jesus prophesies the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem.)

Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the twenty-first chapter.
People: Glory to You, O Lord.

5While some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, [Jesus] said, 6“As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” 7And they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” 8And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them. 9And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”
10Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. 12But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13This will be your opportunity to bear witness. 14Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict. 16You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. 18But not a hair of your head will perish. 19By your endurance you will gain your lives.
20“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, 22for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 23Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. 24They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
29And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. 30As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. 33Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to You, O Christ.

HYMN OF THE DAY: #508 - The Day Is Surely Drawing Near

SERMON: Nothing Lasts Forever

NICENE CREED
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth
and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of His Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father,
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried.
And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures
and ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of the Father.
And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord and giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,
who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church,
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,
and I look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life + of the world to come. Amen.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
After each petition:
Pastor:            … Lord, in Your mercy:
People:          hear our prayer.
At conclusion:
Pastor:            …through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER      Matthew 6:9–13
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.
O Lord, almighty and ever-living God, You have given exceedingly great and precious promises to those who trust in You. Rule and govern our hearts and minds by Your Holy Spirit that we may live and abide forever in Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.

BENEDICTION         Numbers 6:24–26
Pastor:            The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and + give you peace.
People:          Amen.

DISMISSAL
Pastor: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!
People: Thanks be to God.

CLOSING HYMN: #826 – Hark the Voice of Jesus Crying