04 Jan Bulletin – Sunday, January 4, 2026
WELCOME to MESSIAH & ST. PETER LUTHERAN CHURCHES
The Reverend Nancy Brody, Pastor
Greta Wright, Organist
Sunday, January 4, 2026
Second Sunday of Christmas
ANNOUNCEMENTS
PRELUDE
ORDER OF CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty Savior, Prince of Peace. Amen. Trusting in God’s steadfast love and faithfulness, let us confess our sin. Silence is kept for reflection.
Reconciling God, we yearn for your presence to transform our grief, pain, and despair. We confess that we have not always prepared room in our hearts for your love; we have not always recognized your presence among us; we have not always embraced your message of peace. We cry out, weary with the burden of violence, oppression, and fear. We confess our failure to make room for those seeking refuge; our participation in violent systems that harm your innocent ones; our reluctance to embody your good news. Be born in us today and teach us to sing the joyful song of your salvation. Amen.
God’s grace upon grace flows over you. ☩ Christ’s presence redeems the whole creation. Your sins are forgiven. Let the earth rejoice and be glad!
Amen.
GATHERING HYMN
Lo, How a Rose Is Growing #58
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 also 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
🎶Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.
🎶Lord God, heavenly king, almighty God and Father: we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God: You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us. You are seated at the right hand of the Father; receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
🎶The Lord be with you.
🎶And Also with you.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Almighty God, you have filled all the earth with the light of your incarnate Word. By your grace empower us to reflect your light in all that we do, 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 JEREMIAH 31:7-1
Thus, says the Lord: Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, “Save, O Lord, your people, the remnant of Israel.” See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labor together; a great company, they shall return here. With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back; I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path where they shall not stumble, for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him and will keep him as a shepherd does a flock.” For the Lord has ransomed Jacob and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall become like a watered garden, and they shall never languish again. Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them and give them gladness for sorrow. I will give the priests their fill of fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty.
PSALM 147:12-20
Worship the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion,
who has strengthened the bars of your gates and has blessed your children within you.
God has established peace on your borders and satisfies you with the finest wheat.
God sends out a command to the earth, a word that runs very swiftly.
God gives snow like wool, scattering frost like ashes.
God scatters hail like bread crumbs. Who can stand against God’s cold?
The Lord sends forth the word and melts them; the wind blows, and the waters flow.
God declares the word to Jacob, statutes and judgments to Israel.
The Lord has not done so to any other nation; they do not know God’s judgments. Hallelujah!
SECOND READING EPHESIANS 1:3-14
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. God, the Father of our Lord, destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood and the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
🎶Alleluia, Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Alleluia. Alleluia.
The Holy Gospel according to Saint John, the 1st chapter.
🎶Glory to you, O Lord.
GOSPEL JOHN 1:[1-9] 10-18
[In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.] He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ”) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, himself God, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
The Gospel of the Lord.
🎶Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON
HYMN of the DAY
Away in the Manger #67
PROFESSION OF FAITH The Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the virgin Mary and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
PRAYERS of INTERCESSION
Empowered by the news of Christ’s birth, let us pray boldly for the church, creation, and all who are in need. A brief silence.
God, you reveal yourself wherever two or three gather in your name. As you are with us now in the infant Jesus and the body and blood of our resurrected Christ, make us your beloved people able to shine the light of life into all the world. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
You reveal yourself in all life-giving water. Grant us wisdom to tenderly care for all the earth. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
You reveal blessings in diversity. Help us see you in people everywhere, no matter how they look or act. In many places, may tongues praise you. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
You reveal yourself in unseen, sometimes misunderstood ways. Support those trying to endure and thrive, especially those displaced because of tragedy or loss. Be with all others who need your life-giving touch this day (especially those on our prayer list). Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
You reveal yourself in holy communion. Sustain all who provide food and fellowship in this congregation and in the wider community. Make our tables signs of your welcoming presence among us. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
You promise to turn mourning into joy and to comfort those who weep. We remember those who have died and look to being united with them in your glory. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.
With the joy of Christ’s birth in our hearts, we commend our prayers to you, O God, trusting in your boundless mercy and eternal love; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
EXCHANGE OF PEACE
OFFERING
OFFERATORY
🎶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.
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.
INVITATION
Come to the table of grace. Receive the gift of new life.
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
BLESSING
CLOSING HYMN
Angels from the Realms of Glory #50
DISMISSAL
POSTLUDE