Holy Cross Day Sunday ~ 2025

 

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~

 

435 Come to Calvary’s Holy Mountain

Text: James Montgomery, 1771–1854, alt.
Tune: Ludvig M. Lindeman, 1812–87
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 98:1, 4, 6; antiphon: v. 2

The Lord has made known his sal- | vation;*
he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the | nations.
Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done | marvelous things!*
His right hand and his holy arm have worked salva- | tion for him.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, | all the earth;*
break forth into joyous song and sing | praises!
With trumpets and the sound | of the horn*
make a joyful noise before the | King, 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.
The Lord has made known his sal- | vation;*
he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the | nations.

 

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 Merciful God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, was lifted high upon the cross that He might bear the sins of the world and draw all people to Himself. Grant that we who glory in His death for our redemption may faithfully heed His call to bear the cross and follow Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

 

Please be Seated

 

Old Testament Reading Numbers 21:4–9

⁴From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. ⁵And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” ⁶Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. ⁷And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. ⁸And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” ⁹So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

 

Gradual Isaiah 49:22a; John 3:14b–15

“Behold, I will lift up my hand to the | nations,*
and raise my signal to the peoples,” | [says the Lord.]
So must the Son of Man be | lifted up,*
that whoever believes in him may have e- | ternal life.

 

Epistle 1 Corinthians 1:18–25

¹⁸The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

²⁰Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. ²²For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

 

Please Stand

 

Alleluia John 6:68; page 190

 

Holy Gospel John 12:20–33

P The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the twelfth chapter.

²⁰Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. ²¹So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²²Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. ²³And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

²⁷“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. ²⁸Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” ²⁹The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” ³⁰Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. ³¹Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. ³²And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” ³³He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

P This is the Gospel of the Lord.

 

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~

 

454 Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle

Text: Venantius Honorius Fortunatus, c. 530–609; tr. John Mason Neale, 1818–66, alt.
Tune: Carl F. Schalk, 1929–2021
Text: Public domain
Tune: © 1967 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110001518

 

Sermon ~ Rev. Brett E. Cornelius, Pastor Holy Cross Lutheran Church

 

Please Stand

 

Offertory Psalm 51:10-12; page 192

 

Please be Seated

 

Offering Collected

 

Offering is presented.

 

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 accomplished the salvation of mankind by the tree of the cross that, where death arose, there life also might rise again and that the serpent who overcame by the tree of the garden might likewise by the tree of the cross be overcome. 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

 

837 Lift High the Cross

 

5 Let ev’ry race and ev’ry language tell
Of Him who saves our lives from death and hell. Refrain

 

6 So shall our song of triumph ever be:
Praise to the Crucified for victory! Refrain

Text: George W. Kitchin, 1827–1912; rev. Michael R. Newbolt, 1874–1956, alt.
Tune: Sydney H. Nicholson, 1875–1947
Text and tune: © 1974 Hope Publishing Co. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110001518

 

421 Jesus, Grant That Balm and Healing

Text: Johann Heermann, 1585–1647; tr. composite, alt.
Tune: Johann Balthasar König, 1691–1758
Text and tune: Public domain

 

560 Drawn to the Cross, Which Thou Hast Blessed

Text: Genevieve M. Irons, 1855–1928
Tune: Joseph Barnby, 1838–96
Text and tune: Public domain

 

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

 

659 Lord of Our Life

Text: Matthäus Apelles von Löwenstern, 1594–1648; tr. Philip Pusey, 1799–1855, alt.
Tune: Antiphoner, 1746, Poitiers
Text and 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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