~ ~

January 7 & 8, 2018

The Festival of Epiphany

198 Westridge Avenue / Burlington, WI 53105 / 262-763-8229 / www.stjohnsburlington.org

Member of the W isconsin Evangel ical Lutheran Synod

~2~

The Festival of Epiphany January 7 & 8, 2018

Today’s Focus: The Gentiles’ Christmas Today we celebrate the festival of Epiphany, the “Gentiles’

Christmas,” when God reveals Jesus to the world as the Savior of both Jews and Gentiles. Epiphany cele-

brates how Jesus, the Jewish messiah, came to save Gentiles, like the Magi, and like us! The light of his star

shines also upon us, who once lived in spiritual darkness. On Epiphany we Gentiles rejoice that Jesus is the

Savior of all nations, and our Savior.

Opening Hymn “How Lovely Shines the Morning Star” CW 79 Please stand to sing the last stanza.

Liturgy Service of the Word (CW pg. 38)

Invocation M: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with

you.

C: And also with you.

Confession & Absolution M: We have come into the presence of God, who created us to love and serve him as his dear children.

But we have disobeyed him and deserve only his wrath and punishment. Therefore, let us confess our

sins to him and plead for his mercy.

C: Merciful Father in heaven, I am altogether sinful from birth. In countless ways I have sinned

against you and do not deserve to be called your child. But trusting in Jesus, my Savior, I pray:

Have mercy on me according to your unfailing love. Cleanse me from my sin, and take away my

guilt.

M: God, our heavenly Father, has forgiven all your sins. By the perfect life and innocent death of our

Lord Jesus Christ, he has removed your guilt forever. You are his own dear child. May God give you

strength to live according to his will.

C: Amen.

M: In the peace of forgiveness, let us praise the Lord.

Welcome to worship today at St. John’s! May God bless you through his Word of grace

and give you the peace and joy that come only from Jesus.

Guests, we ask that you would do us the honor of completing a “Welcome to Worship”

card (found in the hymnal racks) and placing it in the offering plate later in the service.

Members, we ask that you would complete a “Welcome to Worship” card, as well.

Bathrooms are located in the church entryway to the left as you exit the sanctuary.

Nursery / cry room is located in the room (with the large glass windows) to the right as

you exit the sanctuary.

Large print materials are available from the ushers.

Hearing Loop technology is installed in the sanctuary. Hearing aids can be tuned to pick

up the church audio signal. A hearing device headset is also available from the ushers.

~3~

Oh, Taste and See

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed are they who take refuge in him.

Your Word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.

Your faithfulness continues forever.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed are they who take refuge in him.

Prayer of the Day M: Let us pray. Lord God, by the leading of a star you once made known to the nations your one and on-

ly Son. Guide us, also, who know him now by faith, to come at last to the perfect joy of your heavenly

glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,

now and forever.

C: Amen.

Be Seated

First Lesson Isaiah 60:1-6 (pg. 1120) 1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. 2 See, darkness co-

vers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over

you. 3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

4 “Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and

your daughters are carried on the hip. 5 Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell

with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. 6 Herds of

camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold

and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord.

Psalm 72 CW Pg. 93 Sunday: Choir sings the stanzas and doxology, the congregation sings the refrain.

Monday: Sung in unison.

Second Lesson Ephesians 3:2-12 (pg. 1777) 2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that

is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you

will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in

other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mys-

tery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and

sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his

power. 8 Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the

Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery,

which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 10 His intent was that now, through the

church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly

realms, 11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him and

through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

~4~

Anthem—8 & 10:30 “Of the Father’s Love Begotten” Senior Choir

Of the Father’s love begotten, ere the worlds began to be,

He is Alpha and Omega, he the source, the ending he,

Of the things that are, that have been, and that future years shall see,

Evermore and evermore!

O that birth forever blessed, when the Virgin, full of grace,

By the Holy Ghost conceiving, bore the Savior of our race,

And the Babe, the world’s Redeemer, first revealed his sacred face,

Evermore and evermore!

O ye heights of heav’n adore him; angel hosts, his praises sing;

Pow’rs, dominions, bow before him and extol our God and King:

Let no tongue on earth be silent, every voice in concert ring,

Evermore and evermore!

This is he who seers and sages sang of old with one accord;

Whom the writings of the prophets promised in their faithful word;

Now he shines, the long expected; let creation praise its Lord,

Evermore and evermore!

Verse of the Day Monday Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

These words are written that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Stand

Gospel Matthew 2:1-12 (pg. 1469) 1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came

to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose

and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with

him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where

the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out

of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and

found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and

search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went

ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were over-

joyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and wor-

shiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another

route.

M: This is the Gospel of our Lord.

C: Praise be to you, O Christ!

Be Seated

~5~

Hymn of the Day “Arise and Shine in Splendor”

~6~

Sermon—Matthew 2:1-12 Rev. Daniel Waldschmidt

“I’ve Had an Epiphany!”

Stand

Apostles’ Creed I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the vir-

gin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into

hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the

right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the

dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of

sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Be Seated

Offering We ask that all worshipers would do us the honor of completing a “Welcome to Worship” card (found in

the hymnal racks) and placing it in the offering plate during the gathering of the offering.

Stand

Prayer of the Church M: O Lord, King of grace, led by the bright light of your love, we have gathered to worship you today

and to present our gifts of praise and thanks.

C: As the Magi bowed in adoration, we humbly bow before you, trusting you to hear our prayers and

grant us your mercy.

M: We confess that we have often been negligent in worshiping you, that our gifts to you have often been

less than appropriate, and that we have been hesitant in sharing the good news of your saving grace.

C: Forgive us, Lord. Open our hearts, our hands, and our mouths, that we may worship and serve you

with joy.

M: This glad Epiphany assures us that you desire all people to know the truth and to be saved.

C: We praise you for revealing to us the truth that you are our Savior from sin.

M: As the Epiphany star resulted in your gospel being spread to distant lands, so make your church and

her people to be a shining witness of the gospel of salvation to all people, both near and far.

C: Use us, our witness, and the gifts we present to you, to proclaim the news of your kingdom to all

people.

M: Strengthen our weak and doubting faith, and open our spiritual eyes to see how great is your love for

us, to seek us out and be our Savior.

C: Let the Epiphany star point us to your word, where we see your wisdom, power, and love for all

people.

~7~

M: For breaking through the darkness that enshrouded our souls and kept us in the dark about the only

way to eternal life,

C: We are eternally grateful.

(Here special intercessions, silent or spoken, may be made.)

M: At your invitation, we now bring all our other needs to our heavenly Father through the words which

you taught us to pray.

The Lord’s Prayer C: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as

in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against

us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory

are yours now and forever. Amen.

M: Almighty God, we thank you for teaching us the things you want us to believe and do. Help us by

your Holy Spirit to keep your Word in pure hearts that we may be strengthened in faith, guided in

holiness, and comforted in life and in death, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with

you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C: Amen.

Blessing

M: The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.

C: Amen. Amen. Amen.

Be Seated

Closing Hymn “As with Gladness Men of Old” CW 83 Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Cover artwork by Ian M. Welch. © Ian M. Welch. All rights reserved.

Preacher Rev. Daniel Waldschmidt

Presiding Minister Rev. Kirk Lahmann

Accompanist Allison Sorensen

Choir Director Sue Musgrave

Violinist Cassie Avery

~8~