+ PREPARATION +
HYMN A Mighty Fortress LSB 656 vs 1 & 4
A mighty fortress is our God,
A trusty shield and weapon;
He helps us free from ev'ry need
That hath us now o'ertaken.
The old evil foe Now means deadly woe;
Deep guile and great might
Are his dread arms in fight;
On earth is not his equal.
The Word they still shall let remain
Nor any thanks have for it;
He's by our side upon the plain
With His good gifts and Spirit.
And take they our life,
Goods, fame, child, and wife,
Though these all be gone,
Our vict'ry has been won;
The Kingdom ours remaineth.
INVOCATION
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
OPENING SENTENCES Psalm 41:13; 79:9, 13; 125:1–2
Pastor: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
People: from everlasting to everlasting!
Pastor: Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for Your name’s sake!
People: We Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, will give thanks to You forever; from generation to generation we will recount Your praise.
Pastor: Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
People: As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people, from this time forth and forevermore.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION Psalm 130
Pastor: Beloved in the Lord, as together we make our confession this day, we use words of a confessional hymn text based on Psalm 130, written by Martin Luther more than five hundred years ago in 1523. In confidence, let us come before our gracious Lord to confess our sins and to receive His gracious absolution. We speak the words of the psalm and then sing the stanzas penned by the great reformer.
People: Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with Him is plentiful redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Pastor: God has promised His forgiveness of sins to those who repentantly confess their sins, imploring His grace and mercy for the sake of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, as His called and ordained servant, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
+ WORD +
HYMN Glory Be to God the Father LSB 506
Glory be to the God the Father, glory be to God the Son,
Glory by to God the Spirit: great Jehovah, Three in One!
Glory, glory while eternal ages run!
Glory be to Him who loved us, washed us from each spot and stain;
Glory be to Him who bought us, made us kings with Him to reign!
Glory, glory to the Lamb that once was slain!
Glory to the King of angels, glory to the Church’s King,
Glory to the King of nations; Heav’n and earth, your praises bring!
Glory, glory to the King of glory sing!
Glory, blessing, praise eternal! Thus the choir of angels sings;
Honor, riches, pow’r dominion! Thus its praise creations brings.
Glory, glory, glory to the King of Kings!
PRAYER OF THE DAY
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 grant to Your church 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
REFORMATION SEQUENCE Part 1
Pastor: One of the most famous documents of the Reformation Era is the set of the Ninety-Five Theses posted on the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517. In this set of ninety-five statements that Dr. Luther wished to have debated was a challenge to accepted practices in the church of his time that Luther felt were at odds with the biblical witness and therefore were not true. His introduction to the set of statements he had written is highlighted by two words: “love” and “truth.” We now hear what Luther wrote as the introduction to his now famous Ninety-Five Theses.
Reader: “Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be debated at Wittenberg, under presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and the Lecturer on Ordinary on the same at that place. For that reason, he requests that those who cannot be present and debate orally with us may do so by letter.”
Pastor: The challenges to Luther that resulted from his posting of the Ninety-Five Theses remained a constant factor throughout his life. A few years before his death, he wrote the words to the stirring hymn “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word.” Both the text and the tune are attributed to the great reformer.
HYMN Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Thy Word TLH 261 vs 1
Lord, keep us steadfast in Thy Word;
Curb those who fain by craft and sword
Would wrest the Kingdom from Thy Son
And set at naught all He hath done.
FIRST READING Revelation 14:6–7 (Another angel proclaims an eternal Gospel message.)
6 Then 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. 7 And 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.”
EPISTLE Romans 3:19–28 (God grants the gift of redemption through Jesus Christ.)
19 Now 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. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom 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. 26 It 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.
27 Then 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. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
HOLY GOSPEL John 8:31–36 (Jesus proclaims that “the truth will set you free.”)
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
HYMN Thy Strong Word LSB 578 vs 1, 2 , 5 & 6
Thy strong word did cleave the darkness;
At Thy speaking it was done.
For created light we thank thee
While Thine ordered seasons run.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Praise to thee who light dost send!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia without end!
Lo, on those who dwelt in darkness,
Dark as night and deep as death,
Broke the light of Thy salvation,
Breathed thine own life-giving breath.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Praise to thee who light dost send!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia without end!
Give us lips to sing Thy glory,
Tongues Thy mercy to proclaim,
Throats that shout the hope that fills us,
Mouths to speak thy holy name.
Alleluia! Alleluia! May the light which thou dost send
Fill our songs with alleluias, Alleluias without end!
God the Father, light-creator, To Thee laud and honor be.
To Thee, Light from Light begotten, Praise be sung eternally.
Holy Spirit, light-revealer, Glory, glory be to Thee.
Mortals, angels, now and ever Praise the holy Trinity!
SERMON
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 Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe 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.
GREETING/ANNOUNCEMENTS
OFFERING
REFORMATION SEQUENCE Part 2
Pastor: A major focus of Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses was his concerns about the marketing of indulgences or letters of pardon for sins committed that were sold by traveling salesmen sent out by the church to raise funds for cathedral construction and other church projects. This money-raising strategy turned the forgiveness God gives freely through Jesus Christ into a commodity that could be purchased for the right price. Indulgences were readily available to wealthy people but not to the masses of common people—the kind of people that Luther knew well and preached to week by week. In Theses 36 and 37, he rightly asserts that God’s forgiveness is equally available to all who repent.
Reader: “Every truly repentant Christian has plenary [full] remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has a part in all the benefits of Christ and the church, given him by God, even without letters of pardon.”
Pastor: Luther’s love for the truth and his desire to bring it to light led to dark times for those who saw the light of the Gospel in the writings of the great reformer. In the second stanza of “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word,” Luther prays that God would defend and protect the church and its people. His prayer in his day is our prayer today as well.
HYMN Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Thy Word TLH 261
Lord Jesus Christ, Thy power make known,
For Thou art Lord of lords alone;
Defend Thy Christendom that we
May evermore sing praise to Thee.
REFORMATION SEQUENCE Part 3
Pastor: In the final two of the Ninety-Five Theses, Martin Luther gave an indication that he was well aware of the pathway that Christians would be taking as they followed the truth of the Gospel. No matter how contentious and challenging the world might be in a given era, the gracious guidance of Christ would be sufficient to lead His faithful flock to the joys of everlasting glory. Hear now Theses 94 and 95.
Reader: “Christians should be exhorted to be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through penalties, death and hell. And thus be confident of entering into heaven through many tribulations rather than through the false security of peace (Acts 14:22).”
Pastor: In Thesis 62, Luther shared the heart of his message in a most straightforward way, as he writes, “The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.” The closing stanza of “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word” is a prayer for peace and unity to the Holy Spirit. With the psalmist we say to our loving Lord, “I will praise You with an upright heart. . . . I will keep Your statutes” (119:7a, 8a). Together we sing the last stanza of Luther’s hymn of trust and faith.
HYMN Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Thy Word TLH 261
O Comforter of priceless worth.
Send peace and unity on earth.
Support us in our final strife
And lead us out of death to life.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH LSB, p. 215
Pastor: Friends in Christ, I urge you all to lift up your hearts to God and pray with me as Christ, our Lord, has taught us and freely promised to hear us.
God, our Father in heaven, look with mercy on us, Your needy children on earth, and grant us grace that Your holy name be hallowed by us and all the world through the pure and true teaching of Your Word and the fervent love shown forth in our lives. Graciously turn from us all false doctrine and evil living whereby Your precious name is blasphemed and profaned. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: May Your kingdom come to us and expand. Bring all transgressors and those who are blinded and bound in the devil’s kingdom to know Jesus Christ, Your Son, by faith that the number of Christians may be increased. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Strengthen us by Your Spirit according to Your will, both in life and in death, in the midst of both good and evil things, that our own wills may be crucified daily and sacrificed to Your good and gracious will. Into Your merciful hands we commend [name(s)] and all who are in need, praying for them at all times: Thy will be done. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Grant us our daily bread, preserve us from greed and selfish cares, and help us trust in You to provide for all our needs. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Forgive us our sins as we also forgive those who sin against us so that our hearts may be at peace and may rejoice in a good conscience before You, and that no sin may ever frighten or alarm us. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Lead us not into temptation, O Lord, but help us by Your Spirit to subdue our flesh, to turn from the world and its ways, and to overcome the devil with all his wiles. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: And lastly, O heavenly Father, deliver us from all evil of both body and soul, now and forever. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: We trust, O Lord, in Your great mercy to hear and answer us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
People: Amen.