THANKSGIVING EVE

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

November 23, 2022

We Are Blessed to Be a Blessing

The Day of Thanksgiving provides us a special time to pause, reflect, and give thanks to God for His countless blessings in our lives. From our early years, we have likely been told: “Count your blessings!” Can you do that today? As you think about the ways the Lord has blessed you in both body and soul, can you ever count them all? No way! God’s blessings are way too numerous! Nevertheless, as we name our blessings and number them, we pause at each one to say, “Thank You, Lord!” Even when we go through difficult and trying times—and perhaps especially when we go through difficult and trying times—it is vitally important for us to learn from the Word of God and, echoing what is recorded in its sacred pages, respond to the Lord in gratitude and worship. In today’s Epistle, we will see how Paul was taught by times of hardship how he could be content. Paul’s awareness of God’s ever-faithful provision led him to “abound” in thanksgiving! May we do the same today, abounding in thanksgiving to the God who “will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19)!

+ Preparation +

OPENING HYMN: #785 – We Praise You, O God

INVOCATION

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

People: Amen.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Psalm 124:8; 130:3–4

Pastor: Our help is in the name of the Lord,

People: who made heaven and earth.

Pastor: If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?

People: But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.

Pastor: Since we are gathered to listen to God’s Word, call upon Him in thanksgiving and praise, and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ at His very own Table, let us first consider our unworthiness to be invited to the feast of our Savior and confess before Him our sins of thought, word, and deed. Together, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we turn to our gracious Lord for His pardon and peace, seeking His grace and saying: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

People: Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen.

Pastor: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die 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 X Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen! Thanks be to God!

WORD

INTROIT Psalm 104:24, 27–28, 30; antiphon: v. 33

Pastor: I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;

People: I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

Pastor: O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom have You made them all;

People: the earth is full of Your creatures.

Pastor: These all look to You,

People: to give them their food in due season.

Pastor: When You give it to them, they gather it up;

People: when You open Your hand, they are filled with good things.

Pastor: When You send forth Your Spirit, they are created,

People: and You renew the face of the ground.

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.

Pastor: I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;

People: I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

KYRIE

Pastor: O Lord,

People: have mercy.

Pastor: O Christ,

People: have mercy.

Pastor: O Lord,

People: have mercy.

SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY

Pastor: Let us pray.
Almighty God, Your mercies are new every morning and You graciously provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may receive Your goodness, abound in thanksgiving, and share Your blessings all our days; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING Deuteronomy 8:1–10

(You shall bless the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.)

¹“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. ²And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. ³And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ⁴Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. ⁵Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. ⁶So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. ⁷For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, ⁸a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, ⁹a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. ¹⁰And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.”

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL Psalm 145:15–16; 118:1

Pastor: The eyes of all look to You, O Lord, and You give them their food in due season.

People: You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

Pastor: Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

People: His steadfast love endures forever.

EPISTLE Philippians 4:6–20

(God supplies our needs, and we abound in thanksgiving.)

⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

¹⁰I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. ¹¹Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. ¹²I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ¹³I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

¹⁴Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. ¹⁵And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. ¹⁶Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. ¹⁷Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. ¹⁸I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. ¹⁹And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. ²⁰To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

VERSE Psalm 136:1

Pastor: Alleluia. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,

People: for His steadfast love endures forever. Alleluia.

HOLY GOSPEL Luke 17:11–19

(One of the healed lepers returns to give thanks to Jesus.)

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

People: Glory to You, O Lord.

¹¹On the way to Jerusalem [Jesus] was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. ¹²And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance ¹³and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” ¹⁴When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. ¹⁵Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; ¹⁶and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁸Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to You, O Christ.

HYMN OF THE DAY: #789 – Praise and Thanksgiving

SERMON: We Are Blessed to Be a Blessing

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: With hearts ever grateful and lives ever thankful, we offer these prayers before You, O Lord, trusting that You hear, answer, and bless us; through 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 God, Your mercies are new every morning and You graciously provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant us Your Holy Spirit that we may acknowledge Your goodness, give thanks for Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience all our days; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

BENEDICTION Philippians 4:19–20; Numbers 6:24–26

Pastor: And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

People: To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

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 X give you peace.

People: Amen.

THANKSGIVING EVE – Online Church at Home Service Bulletin