THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD

THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD
February 27, 2022

+ PREPARATION +

OPENING HYMN: #686 – Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

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

OPENING SENTENCES      Hebrews 3:6a; Luke 9:35; Psalm 99:9
Pastor:            Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son.
People:          And we are His house.

Pastor: “This is My Son, My Chosen One;
People: listen to Him!”

Pastor: Exalt the Lord our God,
and worship at His holy mountain;
People: for the Lord our God is holy!

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION           1 John 1:8–9
Pastor:             If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
People:          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.

Pastor: Almighty God, merciful Father,
People: 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. Forgive us for our spiritual blindness, and renew our faith in You alone.

Pastor: Jesus came down from the Mount of Transfiguration, even though He knew His disciples would forsake and deny Him. He went to the cross so that He could offer us all full and free forgiveness. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.

+ SERVICE OF THE WORD +

PSALM 99
1The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2The Lord is great in Zion;
            he is exalted over all the peoples.
3Let them praise your great and awesome name!
Holy is he!
4The King in his might loves justice.
            You have established equity;
you have executed justice
            and righteousness in Jacob.
5Exalt the Lord our God;
worship at his footstool!
Holy is he!
6Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
            Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.
            They called to the Lord, and he answered them.
7In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
they kept his testimonies
and the statute that he gave them.
8O Lord our God, you answered them;
            you were a forgiving God to them,
            but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9Exalt the Lord our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the Lord our God is holy!

KYRIE
Pastor: For peace, despite our past mistakes,
People: O Lord, have mercy on us.

Pastor: For peace to hear God speaking to us in this time of worship,
People: O Lord, have mercy on us.

Pastor: For peace that we may be living stones in God’s house,
People: O Lord, have mercy on us, and grant us Your peace today and always. Amen.

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

Pastor: Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, in times past You spoke through Your servants, the prophets, who proclaimed Your Word of promise until Your Son would come to save us. Strengthen our faith by Your Holy Spirit that we may listen to our Savior, who in these last days has fulfilled all Your promises and by whose death and resurrection the heavenly promised land awaits us, where we shall be with You in eternal joy; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING Deuteronomy 34:1–12
(Moses was the greatest prophet.)
1Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, 2all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4And the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” 5So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, 6and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. 7Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. 8And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.
9And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. 10And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 12and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

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

GRADUAL (spoken together)
Praise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!

EPISTLE Hebrews 3:1–6
(Moses served in God’s house, but Jesus is the Son of God, its builder.)
1Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house. 3For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4(For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

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

VERSE Psalm 45:2a
Alleluia. You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips. Alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL          Luke 9:28–36
(Jesus is transfigured, and the voice tells the disciples to listen to Him.)
Pastor:            The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the ninth chapter.
People:          Glory to You, O Lord.

28Now about eight days after these sayings [Jesus] took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” 36And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

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

HYMN OF THE DAY: #414 – ‘Tis Good, Lord, to Be Here
1     ’Tis good, Lord, to be here!
    Thy glory fills the night;
Thy face and garments, like the sun,
    Shine with unborrowed light.

2     ’Tis good, Lord, to be here,
    Thy beauty to behold
Where Moses and Elijah stand,
    Thy messengers of old.

3     Fulfiller of the past
    And hope of things to be,
We hail Thy body glorified
    And our redemption see.

4     Before we taste of death,
    We see Thy kingdom come;
We long to hold the vision bright
    And make this hill our home.

5     ’Tis good, Lord, to be here!
    Yet we may not remain;
But since Thou bidst us leave the mount,
    Come with us to the plain.
Text: Joseph A. Robinson, 1858–1933, alt.
Text: Public domain

SERMON: When We Trust in God’s Promises We Are Never Disappointed

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:      … for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
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 God, in the glorious transfiguration of Your beloved Son You confirmed the mysteries of the faith by the testimony of Moses and Elijah. In the voice that came from the bright cloud You wonderfully foreshowed our adoption by grace. Mercifully make us co-heirs with the King in His glory and bring us to the fullness of our inheritance in heaven; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.

BENEDICAMUS and BENEDICTION        Numbers 6:24–26
Pastor:            Let us bless the Lord.
People:          Thanks be to God.

Pastor: The blessing of God Almighty—the Father, who created us; the + Son, who redeemed us; and the Holy Spirit, who has bestowed faith on us—be with You, today and always.
People: Amen.

FAREWELL TO ALLELUIA Luke 9:36
Pastor: Luke writes that after the transfiguration, the three disciples “kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.” Because we know about our Lord’s resurrection, we cannot keep silent, but during the season of Lent, which begins this Wednesday, we shall mute our liturgical praises and refrain from singing our alleluias until our Easter celebration. Let us sing our farewell to that song of gladness now.

CLOSING HYMN: #417 – Alluluia Songs of Gladness