16 Feb BULLETIN – SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2023
WELCOME to MESSIAH & ST. PETER LUTHERAN CHURCHES
Reverend Nancy Brody, Pastor
Greta Wright, Music Director
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Transfiguration of Our Lord
GREETING AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
PRELUDE
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS Page 56
ENTRANCE HYMN Love Divine, All Loves Excelling #315
KYRIE Page 57
HYMN OF PRAISE Pages 57-60
PRAYER of the DAY
O God, in the transfiguration of your Son you confirmed the mysteries of the faith by the witness of Moses and Elijah, and in the voice from the bright cloud declaring Jesus your beloved Son, you foreshadowed our adoption as your children. Make us heirs with Christ of your glory, and bring us to enjoy its fullness, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
FIRST READING EXODUS 24:12-18
The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruct-ion.” So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. To the elders he had said, “Wait here for us, until we come to you again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them.” Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mount-ain. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.
PSALM 99
The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble [with submissive wonder]! He sits enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!
The Lord is great in Zion, And He is exalted and mag-nified above all the peoples.
Let them [reverently] praise Your great and awesome name; Holy is He.
The strength of the King loves justice and righteous judgment; You have established fairness; You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob (Israel).
Exalt the Lord our God And worship at His footstool;
Holy is He.
Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called on His name; They called upon the Lord and He answered them.
He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; They kept His testimonies And the statutes that He gave them.
You answered them, O Lord our God; You were a forgiving God to them, And yet an avenger of their evil practices.
Exalt the Lord our God And worship at His holy hill [Zion, the temple mount],For the Lord our God is holy.
Amplified Bible (AMP) Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
SECOND READING 2 PETER 1:16-21
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mount-ain. So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Page 63
GOSPEL MATTHEW 17:1-9
Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
SERMON
HYMN of the DAY How Good, Lord, to Be Here #89
PROFESSION of FAITH/NICENE CREED Page 64
PRAYERS of INTERCESSION
Called together to follow Jesus, we pray for the church, the world, and all in need. A brief silence.
Make bold witnesses out of disciples today so that testimonials to the majesty of your Son continue. Transform all who participate in worship or express devotion to you privately. Unite the priesthood of all believers. Move us to share stories of faithfulness and forgiveness so our lives proclaim your greatness. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Teach us to dwell with you in all of creation. Bless the work of conservation organizations who protect vital habitats. Support the work of disaster relief agencies around the world. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Guide and give wisdom to all in authority: local leaders, our governor and state legislators, our president and national legislators. Bring freedom and justice to all parts of the country and all nations of the earth. Inspire a higher ethic toward service, duty, and personal responsibility. Reward those who already live that way, especially those who have or currently serve in the military. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Help us want to solve the problem of inequity so more opportunities are fair. Use your influence to increase availability of decent jobs and affordable housing. Protect the helpless and hapless, persons whose financial earnings or dwellings cannot keep out danger. Touch those who are frightened, homebound, sick, or grieving, including those who find themselves in a strange new place or way of being, along with those mentioned by name on our prayer list. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Make us eager to receive your Word in scripture. Help us be companions to each other and share the sight of Jesus’ shining face, the sound of his calming voice, and the effect of his tender touch. Make us confident to follow the way of the cross, making sacrifices for the sake of others. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Receive our thanksgiving for those who have guided us in faithful living and whom you’ve gathered as your people, especially Grant Greider. With our forebears in faith and all who have hoped in you, teach us to wait patiently with courage until the promised day of our return to you dawns. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
We bring to you all of our needs and hopes, O God, because we trust all that you have revealed to us through Christ: the possibility of intimate relationships, lives well lived, moments transfiguration, hope after death and finally, resurrection from the grave to spend eternity with you, our previous companions, and lots of new siblings. Amen.
PEACE
OFFERING
OFFERTORY
Create in me… Page 75
THE LORD’S PRAYER
BENEDICTION Page 74
CLOSING HYMN Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise #526
BLESSING Page 74
DISMISSAL Page 74
POSTLUDE
Revised Common Lectionary copyright © 1992 Consultation on Common Texts. Used by permission. Prayers adapted from Sundays and Seasons, copyright © 2019, Augsburg Fortress. Used with permission. Psalm readings from Lutheran Book of Worship, copyright © 1978. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual Subscription #SB160715 Other quotations from Scripture from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, National Council of Churches in Christ in the United States of America. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Altar flowers at St. Peter have been presented by Ray and Helen Snyder in memory of Andrew and Sarah Yeager.
Altar flowers at Messiah have been presented by Jess and Madison Crum-Burger in memory of loved ones.