25th Sunday After Trinity ~ 2024

 

Today's Service Leader Rev. Brett Cornelius, Pastor Holy Cross Lutheran Church

 

Today's liturgy is the Divine Service, Setting Three, LSB pages 184ff.

 

Opening Hymn~

 

508 The Day Is Surely Drawing Near

 

5 My Savior paid the debt I owe
    And for my sin was smitten;
Within the Book of Life I know
    My name has now been written.
I will not doubt, for I am free,
And Satan cannot threaten me;
    There is no condemnation!

 

6 May Christ our intercessor be
    And through His blood and merit
Read from His book that we are free
    With all who life inherit.
Then we shall see Him face to face,
With all His saints in that blest place
    Which He has purchased for us.

 

7 O Jesus Christ, do not delay,
    But hasten our salvation;
We often tremble on our way
    In fear and tribulation.
O hear and grant our fervent plea:
Come, mighty judge, and set us free
    From death and ev’ry evil.

Text: Bartholomäus Ringwaldt, 1532–99; tr. Philip A. Peter, 1832–1919, alt.
Tune: Geistliche Lieder auffs new gebessert, 1535, Wittenberg, ed. Joseph Klug
Text and tune: Public domain

 

Please Stand

 

The sign of the cross T may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.

 

Invocation page 184

P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

 

Exhortation LSB 184

P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.

P Our help is in the name of the Lord,

C who made heaven and earth.

P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,

C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

 

Silent Reflection before Confession

 

Confession of Sins

P O almighty God, merciful Father,

C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.

 

Absolution [John 20:19-23]; page 185

P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and 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 T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

 

Introit Psalm 31:1–2a, 5, 24; antiphon: vv. 9a, 15b, 17a

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am | in distress;*
rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my perse- | cutors!
O Lord, let me not be | put to shame,*
for I call up- | on you.
In you, O Lord, do I take | refuge;*
let me never be | put to shame.
In your righteousness de- | liver me;*
incline your ear to me; rescue me | speedily!
Into your hand I commit my | spirit;*
you have redeemed me, O Lord, | faithful God.
Be strong, and let your heart take | courage,*
all you who wait | for the Lord!
Glory be to the Father and | to the Son*
and to the Holy | Spirit;
as it was in the be- | ginning,*
is now, and will be forever. | Amen.
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am | in distress;*
rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my perse- | cutors!
O Lord, let me not be | put to shame,*
for I call up- | on you.

 

Kyrie Mark 10:47; page 186

 

Gloria in Excelsis Luke 2:14; John 1:29; page 187

 

Salutation and Collect of the Day page 189

P Almighty God, we implore You, show Your mercy to Your humble servants that we, who put no trust in our own merits, may not be dealt with after the severity of Your judgment but according to Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

 

Please be Seated

 

Old Testament Reading Exodus 32:1–20

¹When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” ²So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” ³So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. ⁴And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” ⁵When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” ⁶And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

⁷And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. ⁸They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” ⁹And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. ¹⁰Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”

¹¹But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? ¹²Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. ¹³Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” ¹⁴And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

¹⁵Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. ¹⁶The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. ¹⁷When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.” ¹⁸But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.” ¹⁹And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰He took the calf that they had made and burned it with fire and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

 

Gradual Psalm 74:4, 2a

Your foes have roared in the midst of your | meeting place;*
they set up their own | signs for signs.
Remember your congregation, which you have pur- | chased of old,*
which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your | heritage!

 

Epistle 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18

¹³But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. ¹⁴For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁵For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸Therefore encourage one another with these words.

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

 

Please Stand

 

Alleluia John 6:68; page 190

 

Holy Gospel Matthew 24:15–28

P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-fourth chapter.

C Glory be to Thee, O Lord.

¹⁵[Jesus said:] “When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), ¹⁶then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, ¹⁸and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. ¹⁹And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! ²⁰Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. ²²And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. ²³Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵See, I have told you beforehand. ²⁶So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

P This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C Praise be to Thee, O Christ.

 

Apostles’ Creed inside back cover of Hymnal

C I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

     maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

     who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

     born of the virgin Mary,

     suffered under Pontius Pilate,

     was crucified, died and was buried.

     He descended into hell.

     The third day He rose again from the dead.

     He ascended into heaven

     and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

     From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

     the holy Christian Church,

          the communion of saints,

     the forgiveness of sins,

     the resurrection of the body,

     and the life T everlasting. Amen.

 

Please be Seated

 

Sermon Hymn~

 

658 Preserve Your Word, O Savior

Text: Andreas Gryphius, 1616–64; tr. William J. Schaefer, 1891–1976, alt.
Tune: Neu-vermehrtes . . . Gesangbuch, 1693, 3rd ed., Meiningen
Text: © 1941 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110001518
Tune: Public domain

 

Sermon ~ “About Those Who Are Asleep” - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 ~ Rev. Brett E. Cornelius, Pastor Holy Cross Lutheran Church

 

Please Stand

 

Offertory Psalm 51:10-12; page 192

 

Please be Seated

 

Offering is presented during last verse.

 

Offering Hymn

 

336 Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending

Text: Charles Wesley, 1707–88, alt.
Tune: Thomas Olivers, 1725–99
Text and tune: Public domain

 

Please Stand

 

Prayer of the Church [1 Timothy 2:1-4]; page 193

 

Preface 2 Timothy 4:22; [Colossians 3:1]; [Psalm 136]; page 194

 

Proper Preface

P It is truly meet, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who, having created all things, took on human flesh and was born of the virgin Mary. For our sake He died on the cross and rose from the dead to put an end to death, thus fulfilling Your will and gaining for You a holy people. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:

 

Sanctus Isaiah 6:3; Matthew 21:9; page 195

 

Lord's Prayer

C 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.

 

The Words of Our Lord

P Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My T body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”

In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My T blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

 

Pax Domini John 20:19; page 197

 

Agnus Dei John 1:29; page 198

 

Please be Seated

 

Distribution Hymns~ page 199

 

628 Your Table I Approach

 

5 O grant, most blessèd Lord,
    That earth and hell combined
May not about this sacrament
    Raise doubt within my mind.

 

6 Oh, may I never fail
    To thank You day and night
For Your true body and true blood,
    O God, my peace and light.

Text: Gerhard Wolter Molanus, 1633–1722; tr. Matthias Loy, 1828–1915, alt.
Tune: Trente quatre Pseaumes de David, 1551, Geneva, ed. Louis Bourgeois
Text and tune: Public domain

 

461 I Know That My Redeemer Lives

 

5 He lives to silence all my fears;
He lives to wipe away my tears;
He lives to calm my troubled heart;
He lives all blessings to impart.

 

6 He lives, my kind, wise, heav’nly friend;
He lives and loves me to the end;
He lives, and while He lives, I’ll sing;
He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King.

 

7 He lives and grants me daily breath;
He lives, and I shall conquer death;
He lives my mansion to prepare;
He lives to bring me safely there.

 

8 He lives, all glory to His name!
He lives, my Jesus, still the same;
Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives:
I know that my Redeemer lives!

Text: Samuel Medley, 1738–99, abr.
Tune: attr. John C. Hatton, d. 1793
Text and tune: Public domain

 

Distribution Hymn

 

Please Stand

 

Nunc Dimittis Luke 2:29-32; page 199

 

Thanksgiving Psalm 107:1; page 200

 

Post-Communion Collect page 201

A Let us pray.

We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

 

Salutation 201

 

Benedicamus [Psalm 103:1]; page 202

 

Benediction Numbers 6:24-26

 

922 Go, My Children, with My Blessing

Text: Jaroslav J. Vajda, 1919–2008
Tune: Welsh, 18th cent.
Text: © 1983 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110001518
Tune: Public domain

 

Acknowledgments

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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