SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY

Use the scroll bar on the right side of the window below to read along with the service.

February 13, 2022

Blessed in the Lord, Cursed on Our Own

During the middle weeks of the winter season, many homes receive catalogs in the mail from seed and nursery companies that are filled with pictures of beautiful plants and trees. It is easy to project what we see in those catalogs into our own yards and gardens. But before we do any ordering, we must consider whether we can provide settings in which those plants and trees can flourish. In both the Old Testament Reading and the Psalm of the Day, we are given images not only of plants and trees that flourish, but of people who flourish—people with faith in the Lord Jesus, who bring blessings in every season.

+ PREPARATION +

**OPENING HYMN: #790 – *Praise to the Lord, the Almighty***

INVOCATION

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

People: Amen.

OPENING SENTENCES Psalm 30:10; 43:3; Proverbs 4:18; Isaiah 2:5b

Pastor: Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!

People: O Lord, be my helper.

Pastor: Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me;

People: let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your dwelling!

Pastor: The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,

People: which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

Pastor: Let us now make confession of our sins. Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid, cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You and worthily magnify Your holy name, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord.

People: Amen.

Pastor: Assured of God’s great mercy, let us confess together that we, by our darkened, sinful nature, are estranged from God, and by our thoughts, words, and deeds have sinned and deserve His condemnation now and eternally.

People: Almighty God, we repent of our sins in thought and in word and in deed. Although we deserve Your just punishment, we ask for Your unmerited blessing. Be merciful to us and for the sake of Jesus grant us Your forgiveness so that, as Your redeemed people, we may be made bright by Your presence in our lives, joyfully serving You in time and through eternity.

Pastor: In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

+ WORD +

PSALM Psalm 1 (spoken responsively by verse)

¹Blessèd is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

²but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

³He is like a tree

planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

⁴The wicked are not so,

but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

⁵Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

⁶for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

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.

KYRIE

Lord, have mercy;

Christ, have mercy;

Lord, have mercy.

SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY

Pastor: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Pastor: Let us pray.
O Lord, You bless the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the persecuted. Mercifully hear the prayers of Your people when they call upon You, and give us faith to believe Your kingdom belongs to the humble of heart; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who with You and the Holy Spirit are one God, world without end.

People: Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING Jeremiah 17:5–8

(The man who trusts the Lord is blessed.)

⁵Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
            and makes flesh his strength,
            whose heart turns away from the Lord.
⁶He is like a shrub in the desert,
            and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
            in an uninhabited salt land.
⁷“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
            whose trust is the Lord.
⁸He is like a tree planted by water,
            that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
            for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
            for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

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 1 Corinthians 15:12–20

(Paul teaches about the resurrection of the dead.)

¹²Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

VERSE Luke 6:23a (spoken together)

Alleluia. Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. Alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL Luke 6:17–26

(Jesus preaches on the mountainside by the Sea of Galilee.)

Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the sixth chapter.

People: Glory to You, O Lord.

¹⁷[Jesus] came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. ¹⁹And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.

²⁰And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

²¹“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

²²“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! ²³Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

²⁴“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

²⁵“Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.

“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

²⁶“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to You, O Christ.

HYMN OF THE DAY: #729 – I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus

SERMON Blessed in the Lord, Cursed on Our Own

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: … Blessed Lord, in Your mercy:

People: hear our prayer and grant our supplication.

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.
O Lord, graciously hear the prayers of Your people that we who justly suffer the consequence of our sin may be mercifully delivered by Your goodness to the glory of Your name; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, 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 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.

SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY – Online Church at Home Service Bulletin