02 Feb Bulletin – Sunday, February 2, 2025
WELCOME to MESSIAH & ST. PETER LUTHERAN CHURCHES
The Reverend Nancy Brody, Pastor
Greta Wright, Organist
Sunday, February 2, 2025
Fourth Sunday After Epiphany
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONFESSION and FORGIVENESS
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, our creator, our protector, our wellspring of life. Amen.
Trusting that God receives our words and the meditations of our hearts, let us confess our sin. Silence is kept for reflection.
Merciful God, you speak blessing and compassion into the world. Forgive us for the ways we act with judgment, cruelty, or indifference ignoring the needs of our neighbors; resisting your call to oppose injustice. We give in to scarcity and fear; we assume the worst about one another. Cleanse us from our faults and release us from their grasp. Show us your lovingkindness. Restore our hearts and repair your world, that we may live in Christ’s ways. Amen.
God proclaims these words of assurance: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine.” In ☩ Christ, you are forgiven. In the Spirit, you are made free. Refreshed by the waters of mercy, live anew as beloved children of God. Amen.
GATHERING HYMN
Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee #551
APOSTOLIC GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And aslo with you.
KYRIE
🎶In peace let us pray to the Lord.
🎶Lord have mercy.
🎶For the peace from above, and for our salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
🎶Lord have mercy.
🎶For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord.
🎶Lord have mercy.
🎶For this holy house, and for all who offer here and online their worship and praise, let us pray to the Lord.
🎶Lord have mercy.
🎶Help, save, comfort, and defend us gracious Lord.
🎶Amen
HYMN OF PRAISE
🎶This is the feast of victory for our God. Aleluia, aleluia, aleluia. Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain, whose blood set us free to be people of God.
🎶This is the feast of victory for our God. Aleluia, aleluia, aleluia. Power, riches, wisdom, and strength, and honor, blessings and glory are his.
🎶This is the feast of victory for our God. Aleluia, aleluia, aleluia. Sing with all the people of God and join in the hymn of all creation: Blessing, honor, glory, and might be to God and the Lamb forever, Amen.
🎶This is the feast of victory for our God. Aleluia, aleluia, aleluia. For the Lamb who was slain has begun his reign, Aleluia.
🎶This is the feast of victory for our God. Aleluia, aleluia, aleluia.
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray:
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Almighty and ever-living God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and love; and that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
FIRST READING JEREMIAH 1:4-10
Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.”
Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, “Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
PSALM 71:1-6
In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free;
incline your ear to me and save me.
Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe; you are my crag and my strong old.
Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor.
For you are my hope, O Lord God, my confidence since I was young.
I have been sustained by you ever since I was born; from my mother’s womb you have been my strength; my praise shall be always of you.
SPECIAL MUSIC
Brad Crum
SPECIAL OFFERING
Missionary Support (10 AM Only)
SECOND READING 1 CORINTHIANS 13:1-13
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
🎶Alleluia, Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia. Alleluia.
The Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke, the 4th chapter.
🎶Glory to you, O Lord.
GOSPEL LUKE 4:21-30
Then [Jesus] began to say to [all in the synagogue in Nazareth,] “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’ ” And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.
The Gospel of the Lord.
🎶Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON
HYMN of the DAY
O Jesus Joy of Loving Hearts #356
PROFESSION of FAITH Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He decended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life-everlasting. Amen.
PRAYERS of INTERCESSION
With the Spirit of Christ shining upon us, let us boldly pray for the church, the world, and all of creation. A brief silence.
God of eternal wisdom, we pray for your church to be transformed by your word. Thank you for making the church available for scout meetings. Bless the church with wisdom and guidance so we notice and take part in what you hope for us to do. Incline your ear and deliver us, for you are our hope, O Lord GOD, our confidence since we were young.
Your creation sustains us and all living creatures. Grant us humility to acknowledge ways we bring harm to the earth. Grant us courage to make effective change so that all lands and living things prosper. Incline your ear and deliver us, for you are our hope, O Lord GOD, our confidence since we were young.
Embolden leaders of scout gatherings, nations, corporations, and all in authority, that they lovingly tend those in their charge. Help them to respond to all who cry out in need. Incline your ear and deliver us, for you are our hope, O Lord GOD, our confidence since we were young.
Provide good health for the sick and the suffering. Help them, with those on our prayer list to get better. Send your Spirit so that all are filled with your presence and experience hospitality. Incline your ear and deliver us, for you are our hope, O Lord GOD, our confidence since we were young.
We pray for young people and their families and give thanks for sisters and brothers, for coloring supplies like paint and paper. We pray for everyone to find happiness and to have their voices celebrated. Give children and youth places of honor among us. Incline your ear and deliver us, for you are our hope, O Lord GOD, our confidence since we were young.
We remember those who went before us and mourn the loss of loved ones and sometimes, love itself. Let those who aim to be a faithful example of living continue to bear witness. Incline your ear and deliver us, for you are our hope, O Lord GOD, our confidence since we were young.
O GOD, we have been sustained by you ever since birth; from our mother’s womb you have been our strength. Our praise shall be always of you and our trust in you. In sure and certain hope that you will reveal your promises among the people, we pray. Amen.
EXCHANGE of PEACE
OFFERING
OFFERTORY
🎶Let the vineyards be fruitful, Lord and fill to the brim our cup of blessing. Gather a harvest of the seeds that were sown, that we may be fed with the bread of life. Gather the hopes and the dreams of all; unite them with the prayer we offer now. Grace our table with your presence, and give us a foretaste of the feast to come.
PRAYER
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, maker of all things. Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts. With them we offer ourselves to your service and dedicate our lives to the care and redemption of all that you have made, for the sake of him who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
LITURGY OF HOLY COMMUNION
🎶The Lord be with you.
🎶And also with you.
🎶Lift up your hearts.
🎶We lift them to the Lord.
🎶Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
🎶It is right to give him thanks and praise.
🎶It is indeed right and salutary….we praise your name and join their unending hymn.
🎶Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might; heaven and earth are full of your glory, Hosana, Hosana, Hosana in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosana in the highest.
LORD’S PRAYER
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 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.
POST-COMMUNION CANTICLE
🎶Thank the Lord and sing his praise; tell everyone what he has done. Let all who seek the Lord rejoice and proudly bear his name. He recalls his promises and leads his people forth in joy with shouts of thanksgiving. Aleluia, Aleluia.
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER
BENEDICTION Page 74
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.
Amen.
CLOSING HYMN
Lord, Dismiss Us With Your Blessing #259
DISMISSAL
Go in peace. Serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
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 are presented by Ross ad Nicole Miller in memory of Lauren Spence.
Altar flowers at Messiah are presented by Deb Thornberg in memory of Shirley Paul.