Service of Light
Stand
915 Today Your Mercy Calls Us
1 Today Your mercy calls us
To wash away our sin.
However great our trespass,
Whatever we have been,
However long from mercy
Our hearts have turned away,
Your precious blood can wash us
And make us clean today.
2 Today Your gate is open,
And all who enter in
Shall find a Father’s welcome
And pardon for their sin.
The past shall be forgotten,
A present joy be giv’n,
A future grace be promised,
A glorious crown in heav’n.
3 Today our Father calls us;
His Holy Spirit waits;
His blessèd angels gather
Around the heav’nly gates.
No question will be asked us
How often we have come;
Although we oft have wandered,
It is our Father’s home.
4 O all-embracing Mercy,
O ever-open Door,
What should we do without You
When heart and eye run o’er?
When all things seem against us,
To drive us to despair,
We know one gate is open,
One ear will hear our prayer.
Text: Ray Palmer, 1808–87
Text: Public domain
Opening Versicles
L The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and peace at the last.
C Amen.
L It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
C to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
L to herald Your love in the morning,
C Your truth at the close of the day.
Confession of Sins
L I confess to God Almighty, before the whole company of heaven and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned in thought, word, and deed by my fault, by my own fault, by my own most grievous fault; wherefore I pray God Almighty to have mercy on me, forgive me all my sins, and bring me to everlasting life. Amen.
C The almighty and merciful Lord grant you pardon, forgiveness, and remission of all your sins. Amen.
C I confess to God Almighty, before the whole company of heaven and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned in thought, word, and deed by my fault, by my own fault, by my own most grievous fault; wherefore I pray God Almighty to have mercy on me, forgive me all my sins, and bring me to everlasting life. Amen.
L The almighty and merciful Lord grant you pardon, forgiveness, and remission of all your sins.
C Amen.
Psalm Psalm 31
5Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.
24Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the Lord!
1In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me!
2Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily!
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me!
3For you are my rock and my fortress;
and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me;
19Oh, how abundant is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you
and worked for those who take refuge in you,
in the sight of the children of mankind!
20In the cover of your presence you hide them
from the plots of men;
you store them in your shelter
from the strife of tongues.
22I had said in my alarm,
“I am cut off from your sight.”
But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy
when I cried to you for help.
23Love the Lord, all you his saints!
The Lord preserves the faithful
but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen.
5Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.
24Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the Lord!
Sit
Readings & Catechism
Reading Genesis 41:1–44
L A reading from Genesis, chapter 41.
1After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, 2and behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass. 3And behold, seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. 4And the ugly, thin cows ate up the seven attractive, plump cows. And Pharaoh awoke. 5And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time. And behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. 6And behold, after them sprouted seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind. 7And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. 8So in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
9Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “I remember my offenses today. 10When Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, 11we dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own interpretation. 12A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. 13And as he interpreted to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged.”
14Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh. 15And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” 16Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” 17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile. 18Seven cows, plump and attractive, came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass. 19Seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I had never seen in all the land of Egypt. 20And the thin, ugly cows ate up the first seven plump cows, 21but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were still as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke. 22I also saw in my dream seven ears growing on one stalk, full and good. 23Seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprouted after them, 24and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. And I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”
25Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one. 27The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine. 28It is as I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt, 30but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land, 31and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of the famine that will follow, for it will be very severe. 32And the doubling of Pharaoh’s dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about. 33Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. 34Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. 35And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. 36That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.”
37This proposal pleased Pharaoh and all his servants. 38And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?” 39Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. 40You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” 41And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” 42Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. 43And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”
L O Lord, have mercy on us.
C Thanks be to God.
The Second Petition
Thy kingdom come.
What does this mean?
The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also.
How does God’s kingdom come?
God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.
The Third Petition
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
What does this mean?
The good and gracious will of God is done even without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also.
How is God’s will done?
God’s will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature, which do not want us to hallow God’s name or let His kingdom come; and when He strengthens and keeps us firm in His Word and faith until we die. This is His good and gracious will.
TFBF 118 Blessed Assurance
1 Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
2 Perfect communion, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight.
Angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love. [Refrain]
3 Perfect submission, all is at rest.
I in my Savior am happy and bless’d,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love. [Refrain]
Sermon
Stand
Prayer
Litany
L: O Lord, C: have mercy. L: O Christ, C: have mercy. L: O Lord, C: have mercy.
L: O Christ, C: hear us. L: God the Father in heaven, C: have mercy. L: God the Son, Redeemer of the world, C: have mercy. L: God the Holy Spirit, C: have mercy.
Jesus, Son of the living God, Have mercy. From all evil, O Jesus, deliver us.
From sudden, unprepared, or evil death; From the snares of the devil; From anger, hatred, or ill-will; From everlasting death, O Jesus, deliver us.
By the mystery of Your incarnation; By Your most holy life and conversation; By Your most bitter Passion and death; By Your agony and bloody sweat; By Your thrice-repeated prayer; By Your bonds and stripes; By Your sacred body, buffeted and smitten; By the spitting upon Your adorable face; By the false judgment pronounced by Caiaphas; By Herod’s disdain of You; By the shameful stripping of Your garments; By Your painful crown of thorns; By Your purple robe of mockery; By Your most unjust condemnation; By Your bearing Your own cross; By Your footprints to the place of death; By the tearing off of Your garments; By the cruel straining of Your sacred limbs; By Your dread crucifixion; By the anguish You did suffer; By Your prayers and tears; By the insults You endured; By the shedding of Your most precious blood; By Your patience and humility; By the love with which You loved us to the end: O Jesus, deliver us.
We poor sinners implore You to hear us: O most loving Jesus.
That being dead to sin, we may live unto righteousness; That we may take up our cross daily and follow You; That Your blood may cleanse us from dead works to serve the living God; That looking on Your example, we may follow Your steps; That being partakers of Your sufferings, we may be also partakers of Your glory: We implore You to hear us, O Jesus.
To give comfort and relief to all who have asked for our prayers [especially ______________]: We implore You to hear us, O Jesus.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, Have mercy.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, Have mercy.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, Grant us Your peace.
Collect for Peace
L O God, from whom come all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works, give to us, Your servants, that peace which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to obey Your commandments and also that we, being defended from the fear of our enemies, may live in peace and quietness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
L Taught by our Lord and trusting His promises, we are bold to pray:
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.
Benedicamus
L Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Benediction
P The almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the T Son, and the Holy Spirit, bless and preserve you.
C Amen.