Holy Trinity Sunday ~ 2026

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

Today's liturgy is the Divine Service THREE, page 184ff.

507 Holy, Holy, Holy

Text: Reginald Heber, 1783–1826
Tune: John B. Dykes, 1823–76
Text and tune: Public domain

Stand

Confession And Absolution

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

Invocation

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.

Kneel/Stand

Silence for reflection on God’s Word and for self-examination.

Confession of Sins LSB 184

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 LSB 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.

Stand

Introit Psalm 8:1–2a, 3–5; antiphon: Liturgical Text

Blessèd be the Holy Trinity and the undivided | Unity.*
Let us give glory to him because he has shown his mer- | cy to us.
O | Lord, our Lord,*
how majestic is your name in | all the earth!
You have set your glory above the | heavens.*
Out of the mouth of babes and infants, you have es- | tablished strength.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your | fingers,*
the moon and the stars, which you have | set in place,
what is man that you are mind- | ful of him,*
and the son of man that you | care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly | beings*
and crowned him with glory and | honor.
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.
Blessèd be the Holy Trinity and the undivided | Unity.*
Let us give glory to him because he has shown his mer- | cy to us.

Kyrie LSB 186

Gloria in Excelsis LSB 187

Salutation and Collect of the Day

P Almighty and everlasting God, You have given us grace to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity by the confession of a true faith and to worship the Unity in the power of the Divine Majesty. Keep us steadfast in this faith and defend us from all adversities; for You, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, live and reign, one God, now and forever.

Sit

Old Testament Reading Isaiah 6:1–7

¹In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. ²Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”

⁴And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. ⁵And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

⁶Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

Gradual Liturgical Text

Blessèd are You, O Lord, who be- | holds the deep,*
and who dwells between the | cherubim.
Blessèd are You, O Lord, in the firmament of | heaven,*
and greatly to be praised for- | ever.

Epistle Romans 11:33–36

³³Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

³⁴“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
³⁵“Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”

³⁶For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

Stand

Alleluia LSB 190

Holy Gospel John 3:1–17

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

¹Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ²This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” ³Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ⁴Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” ⁵Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” ¹⁰Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? ¹¹Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. ¹²If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. ¹⁴And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

¹⁶“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

P This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Athanasian Creed

¹Whoever desires to be saved 
must, above all, hold the catholic faith.
²Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled 
will without doubt perish eternally.
³And the catholic faith is this, ⁴that we worship one God in Trinity 
and Trinity in Unity, 
neither confusing the persons 
nor dividing the substance.
⁵For the Father is one person, the Son is another, 
and the Holy Spirit is another.
⁶But the Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one: 
the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.
⁷Such as the Father is, such is the Son, 
and such is the Holy Spirit:
⁸the Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, 
the Holy Spirit uncreated;
⁹the Father infinite, the Son infinite, 
the Holy Spirit infinite;
¹⁰the Father eternal, the Son eternal, 
the Holy Spirit eternal.
¹¹And yet there are not three Eternals, 
but one Eternal,
¹²just as there are not three Uncreated or three Infinites, 
but one Uncreated and one Infinite.
¹³In the same way, the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, 
the Holy Spirit almighty;
¹⁴and yet there are not three Almighties, 
but one Almighty.
¹⁵So the Father is God, the Son is God, 
the Holy Spirit is God;
¹⁶and yet there are not three Gods, 
but one God.
¹⁷So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, 
the Holy Spirit is Lord;
¹⁸and yet there are not three Lords, 
but one Lord.
¹⁹Just as we are compelled by the Christian truth to acknowledge each distinct person as God and Lord, 
so also are we prohibited by the catholic religion to say that there are three Gods or Lords.
²⁰The Father is not made nor created 
nor begotten by anyone.
²¹The Son is neither made nor created, 
but begotten of the Father alone.
²²The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son, 
neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeding.
²³Thus, there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; 
one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.
²⁴And in this Trinity none is before or after another; 
none is greater or less than another;
²⁵but the whole three persons are coeternal with each other and coequal, 
so that in all things, as has been stated above, the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped.
²⁶Therefore, whoever desires to be saved 
must think thus about the Trinity.
²⁷But it is also necessary for everlasting salvation 
that one faithfully believe the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
²⁸Therefore, it is the right faith that we believe and confess 
that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is at the same time both God and man.
²⁹He is God, begotten from the substance of the Father before all ages; 
and He is man, born from the substance of His mother in this age:
³⁰perfect God and perfect man, 
composed of a rational soul and human flesh;
³¹equal to the Father with respect to His divinity, 
less than the Father with respect to His humanity.
³²Although He is God and man, 
He is not two, but one Christ:
³³one, however, not by the conversion of the divinity into flesh, 
but by the assumption of the humanity into God;
³⁴one altogether, 
not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person.
³⁵For as the rational soul and flesh is one man, 
so God and man is one Christ,
³⁶who suffered for our salvation, 
descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead,
³⁷ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, 
from whence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
³⁸At His coming all people will rise again with their bodies 
and give an account concerning their own deeds.
³⁹And those who have done good will enter into eternal life, 
and those who have done evil into eternal fire.
⁴⁰This is the catholic faith; 
whoever does not believe it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved.

Sit

Sermon Hymn

954 We All Believe in One True God

Text: Martin Luther, 1483–1546; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.
Tune: Latin, 14th cent., adapt.
Text and tune: Public domain

Sermon - Rev. Brett Cornelius, Pastor

Votum

P The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

C Amen.