THE TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD
A Glimpse of What’s in Store
February 14, 2021
Although many travelers to the Holy Land focus their visits on biblical sites located in Israel, there are many noteworthy sacred locations in today’s nation of Jordan, on the east side of the Jordan River. Two of these sites are the site called Tell Mar Elias, by tradition the place where the prophet Elijah was born, and Elijah’s Hill, near the Jordan River location of Jesus’ Baptism, where it is said that Elijah ascended to heaven in the whirlwind. Both sites were the location of notable Christian churches centuries ago. Elijah has long been remembered and honored by Christian people as a precursor to Jesus and an important historical figure of faith. Yet Elijah was a human being—just like us. His presence on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus and Moses reminds us of what is to come for us humans by God’s grace for the sake of our glorious and glorified Lord Jesus Christ.
Download Printable PDF Bulletin Text Here
Download Printable PDF Sermon Text Here
Use the scroll bar on the right side of the window below to read along with the service.
OPENING HYMN: ’Tis Good, Lord, to Be Here
OPENING HYMN: ’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: Public domain
INVOCATION
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
OPENING SENTENCES Isaiah 30:15, 18, 29
Pastor: For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,
People: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
Pastor: Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you.
People: For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.
Pastor: You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept,
People: and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
Pastor: O God, our Father, we admit and confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean and that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed.
People: Have mercy on us, and forgive us, O Lord.
Pastor: We confess that we have not always brought glory to You through our words and our deeds.
People: Have mercy on us, and forgive us, O Lord.
Pastor: We repent of all that is sinful in our lives, both that which we know and those things unknown to us that are against Your righteous laws.
People: Have mercy on us, and forgive us, O Lord.
Pastor: Upon this your confession and by the command of our Lord, I, a called and ordained servant of Christ, forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
Pastor: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.
People: Amen.
+ SERVICE OF THE WORD +
PSALM Psalm 50:1–6
1The Mighty One, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
3Our God comes; he does not keep silence;
before him is a devouring fire,
around him a mighty tempest.
4He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5“Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge!
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.
God of grace and glory, before Your Son turned His face to Jerusalem and Mount Calvary, on another mountain You revealed His glory as He appeared with Moses and Elijah. Sustain Your Church both by His glory and also by Your grace, and help us to reflect the glory of Your love to all; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.
CELEBRATION OF THE DAY
Pastor: On February 14, we commemorate Valentine, Martyr. The word “martyr” reminds us that Valentine died for confessing his faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. For eighteen hundred years, Valentine’s faithful witness has inspired Christian people to faith-filled words and loving deeds.
A physician and priest in Rome during the rule of Emperor Claudius, Valentine lived in a time when Christians were harshly persecuted because of their religion. Arrested by Roman authorities, he received a death sentence.
Tradition suggests that while Valentine was waiting in prison for his day of execution, he developed a friendship with the young daughter of his jailer. He told the girl about Jesus and shared his hope of heaven. On the day of his execution, he left her a note cut into a special shape. Written inside was a message of affection and encouragement. He signed the letter “your Valentine,” beginning a tradition that has changed and grown through the centuries.
Love for Christ and love in Christ shaped the actions of Valentine. On Valentine’s Day, it is good to reflect on what that love is like.
Pastor: Let us pray.
Lord of love, bless our remembering of the saints of ages past, including Your servant Valentine. Help us proclaim Your love in our day in word and deed as we look forward to the great reunion with all of the saints in Your heavenly kingdom. We pray in Jesus’ name.
People: Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT READING Exodus 34:29–35
(Moses speaks with the Lord, and his face becomes radiant.)
29When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. 32Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. 33And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.
34Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, 35the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
GRADUAL Psalm 117:1–2a; 96:8
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 2 Corinthians 3:12–13 (14–18); 4:1–6
(Paul writes of God’s people being transformed.)
12Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
1Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. 4In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
HOLY GOSPEL Mark 9:2–9
(Jesus is transfigured on a high mountaintop.)
Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the ninth chapter.
People: Glory to You, O Lord.
2After six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 4And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
9And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to You, O Christ.
HYMN OF THE DAY: O Wondrous Type! O Vision Fair
SERMON: The Transfiguration: A Glimpse of What’s in Store
CATECHISM The First Article
Pastor: In the First Article, our confession is focused on God, our Creator, from whom our divine Savior Jesus Christ has proceeded. It is the voice of God the Father that we hear on the Mount of Transfiguration, acclaiming His Son, Jesus, and directing His disciples to listen to Him. As we declare our faith in God the Father, we affirm our trust in His plan for us as His children to grant us life and to place us into vocations through which we can serve Him and our neighbors. We speak the words of this article of the Apostles’ Creed followed by the explanation.
People: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
Pastor: What does this mean?
People: I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them.
He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.
He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.
This is most certainly true.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
After each petition:
Pastor: … Lord, in Your mercy:
People: hear our prayer.
At conclusion:
Pastor: … through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
People: Amen.
OFFERING
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.
FAREWELL TO ALLELUIA Ecclesiastes 3:1–4, 7
Pastor: This week with Ash Wednesday, we begin our observance of Lent. To highlight the penitential nature of the season, it is the Church’s custom to suspend the use of the word “Alleluia,” which means “Praise the Lord.” A tradition has been in place since the fifth century not to use the joyful word “Alleluia” in worship from the conclusion of worship on the final Sunday before Lent, which is today, until the first service on Easter Sunday. The text of our closing hymn, “Alleluia, Song of Gladness,” dates back to the eleventh century and links us to a millennium of God’s people at worship. We now repeat words from the Book of Ecclesiastes, which remind us that there are appropriate times for all things, including a time to keep silence, which we will observe regarding use of the “Alleluia” throughout Lent.
Pastor: For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
People: a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
Pastor: a time to break down, and a time to build up;
People: a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
Pastor: a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
People: a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.
Pastor: As part of our observance of a holy Lent as it begins this week, we now say farewell to Alleluia until the time of our rejoicing anew at the resurrection of our Lord on Easter Day.
People: Alleluia! Amen.
BENEDICAMUS and BENEDICTION
Pastor: Let us bless the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
Pastor: The blessing of almighty God—the Father, the + Son, and the Holy Spirit—be upon you and remain with you always.
People: Amen.
HYMN: Alleluia, Song of Gladness
Creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish, Series B, Quarter 1. Copyright © 2020 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
