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REFORMATION DAY
October 31, 2021
He whom the Son sets free is free indeed!
Jesus calls us to abide in His Word. To abide means to dwell or be at home. Are you at home in Jesus’ Word? Is it the place where you long to be? Jesus’ Word is the only place in all the world where we can find the absolute guarantee of sins forgiven, hope restored, and new life granted as children of God the Father. Today, Jesus mercifully calls us to come to Him, confess our sins, and be filled with His pardon and peace. He will renew us by His Word, strengthen us at His Table, and send us forth with His blessing to proclaim to all creation: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).
+ PREPARATION +
OPENING HYMN: Thy Strong Word
INVOCATION
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
OPENING SENTENCES John 8:31–32
Pastor: Jesus said, “If you abide in My word,
People: you are truly My disciples,
Pastor: and you will know the truth,
People: and the truth will set you free.”
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION John 8:36
Pastor: With humble hearts, let us approach our Father’s throne of grace.
Silence to reflect on our sin and our need for the Savior
Pastor: Together, we pray:
People: Gracious Father, because our entire lives are to be ones of repentance, we bow before You and confess our sins. We have turned away from the truth of Your Word, choosing to go our own way. By what we have thought, by what we have done, and by what we have failed to do, we have broken Your commands and are deserving of Your wrath and punishment. By the mercy of Christ, Your Son, set us free from our captivity. Enable us by Your Holy Spirit to live under You in Your kingdom and to serve You in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. Amen.
Pastor: Just as Christ is risen from the dead, He lives and reigns to all eternity! It is most certainly true that He died and rose again for you to make you right with God, to adopt you as children of the heavenly Father, and to set you free from sin and death. As a called and ordained servant of the Word, I therefore forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
Pastor: “So if the Son sets you free,
People: you will be free indeed!”
+ WORD +
PSALM Psalm 46; antiphon: v. 7 (spoken responsively)
1God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
4There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
6The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
10“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
11The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
KYRIE,LSB p.186 (spoken together)
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.
Almighty and gracious Lord, to know You is to know true freedom from sin and to live in the transforming power of Your Holy Spirit. Grant that we, who hold fast to the Word of Your Son, may never return to our captivity but walk daily in the new life we have received; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.
FIRST READING Revelation 14:6–7
(The Gospel is eternal and must be proclaimed everywhere.)
6Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
GRADUAL Psalm 48:1a, 12–14a
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God!
Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers,
consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels,
that you may tell the next generation
that this is God, our God forever and ever.
EPISTLE Romans 3:19–28
(The righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ.)
19Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
21But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
27Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
VERSE Luke 12:32
Alleluia. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Alleluia.
HOLY GOSPEL John 8:31–36
(Jesus’ truth will set you free.)
Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the eighth chapter.
People: Glory to You, O Lord.
31So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
34Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to You, O Christ.
HYMN OF THE DAY: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
SERMON: He whom the Son sets free is free indeed!
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 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.
Almighty and gracious Lord, pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your faithful people. Keep us steadfast in Your grace and truth, protect and deliver us in times of temptation, defend us against all enemies, and, through the abiding Word of Your Son, set us free from our sin that we may know Your saving peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, 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! Serve the Lord!
People: Thanks be to God.
CLOSING HYMN: Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word
Creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish, Series B, Quarter 4. Copyright © 2021 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
