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The Epiphany of Our Lord January 6, 2016

St. John’s Lutheran Church 198 Westridge Ave., Burlington, WI 53105 262-763-8229 / www.stjohnsburlington.org

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The lights are dimmed during the preservice.

As the bells ring, the minister will light a candle from the Christ candle, and the ushers

will light their candles from the minister’s candle. Worshippers nearest the aisle will

light their candles from the ushers’ candles. Please hold lighted candles upright and tip

only unlit candles into the flame of a lighted candle. The lights in the church will be

dimmed.

The pastor and the congregation chant the Service of Light responsively.

The Epiphany of Our Lord January 6, 2016

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Hymn “Arise and Shine in Splendor” Music on page 11

Please extinguish candles after the hymn has been sung.

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. Paul Prange

Presiding Minister: Rev. Daniel Waldschmidt

Organist: Rosanne Hahn

Pianist: Allison Sorensen

Senior Choir Director: Sue Musgrave

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M: Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who led

your people Israel with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of

fire by night. Enlighten our darkness by the light of your Christ.

May his Word be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path; for

you are merciful, and you love your whole creation. We, your

creatures, glorify you: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

C: Amen.

Hymn “As with Gladness Men of Old” CW 83

As with gladness men of old Did the guiding star behold,

As with joy they hailed its light, Leading onward, beaming bright,

So, most gracious Lord, may we Evermore your followers be.

As with joyful steps they sped, Savior, to your lowly bed,

There to bend the knee before You whom heav’n and earth adore,

So may we with willing feet Ever seek your mercy seat.

As they offered gifts most rare At your cradle, rude and bare,

So may we with holy joy, Pure and free from sin’s alloy,

All our costliest treasures bring, Christ, to you, our heav’nly King.

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Holy Jesus, ev’ry day Keep us in the narrow way;

And when earthly things are past, Bring our ransomed souls at last

Where they need no star to guide, Where no clouds your glory hide.

In the heav’nly country bright Need they no created light;

You its light, its joy, its crown, You its sun which goes not down.

There forever may we sing Alleluias to our King!

M: Lord God, by the leading of a star you once made known to the

nations your one and only 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.

Please extinguish candles.

First Lesson Isaiah 60:1-6 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises

upon you. 2 See, darkness covers 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 Choir & Congregation The choir sings the refrain, then the congregation repeats the refrain.

The choir sings the verses; the congregation joins in singing the refrains.

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Candle Lighting The minister will light a candle from the Christ candle, and the ushers will light their

candles from the minister’s candle. Worshippers nearest the aisle will light their candles

from the ushers’ candles. Please hold lighted candles upright and tip only unlit candles

into the flame of a lighted candle. The lights in the church will be dimmed.

M: Rejoice! The Light of the world has come. That light transforms

us with the brightness of his glory. This is the message we have

heard from him and proclaimed to you: that God is light, and in

him is no darkness at all.

C: If we say we have fellowship with him but still walk in dark-

ness, we lie, and do not live according to the truth.

M: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellow-

ship with one another;

C: And the blood of Jesus his Son purifies us from all our sin.

M: You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid-

den. Neither do people light a lamp and then cover its light. In-

stead they set the lamp on its stand, set up high, and it lights eve-

ryone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before

everyone, that they may see your good works and give praise to

your Father in heaven.

Let us pray: O God, as you make us glad by the yearly festival of

the birth of your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ, grant that we

who joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, may with sure confi-

dence behold him when he comes to be our judge; who lives and

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

C: Amen.

M: The almighty and merciful God, the Father, the Son, and the

Holy Spirit, bless you now and forever.

C: Amen! Glory to God in the Highest! And peace to his people

on earth!

Be Seated

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M: Holy God, eternal Light, the psalmist prayed that you endow

the king with your justice. Grant that same gift to the leaders of

our nation and every nation. Fill them also with wisdom, com-

passion and care, so that, unlike Herod, they seek to uphold life

and watch over the welfare of those they govern. Lord, in your

mercy,

C: Hear our prayer.

M: Holy God, eternal Light, we long for the day when we lift up

our eyes and see all your sons and daughters gathered before

you. Yet, we ask you first to reveal your saving truth to still

more people by your Holy Spirit. As your Church proclaims

your Gospel, let the nations come to your light. Grant to each of

us an unending zeal and courage to speak about our Savior in

our neighborhoods, communities and world. Lord, in your

mercy,

C: Hear our prayer.

M: All these petitions, gracious Father, and whatever else you

know we need, grant for the sake of him who shattered this

world’s darkness with everlasting light, who lives and reigns

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

C: Amen.

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.

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God, may your judgment come dwell in your king, your justice to each son and

daughter; Oh show forth your justice, your mercy to the poor. Refrain

Justice shall flourish, and peace forevermore, from the seas to the ends of the earth.

Refrain

For he shall rescue the poor when they cry, the weak and the helpless he shall save;

His mercy will shine on the poor and needy souls. Refrain

Second Lesson Ephesians 3:2-12 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 mystery

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 ad-

ministration 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.

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Anthem “Star of the East” Choir Star of the East, lead us on. Show us the dawn of our salvation,

A shimmer of hope amid darkness and sin, a star to lead us home.

Star, Christ the Lord.

Gold for a king, born for the world. Incense rising from all the prayers of ages.

Myrrh to anoint the lamb who was slain. A star to lead us home.

Star, Christ the Lord.

Rise, city of God! Your glory has come, radiant in the light of newborn promise.

Nations will walk by the light of this child, the star who leads us home.

Star, Christ the Lord.

Gospel Matthew 2:1-12

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 worshiped 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.

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Hymn of the Day “How Lovely Shines the Morning Star” CW 79

Sermon “Reflections”

Sermon Text: Revelation 22:16 Rev. Paul Prange 16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the

churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright

Morning Star.”

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.

Offering Hymn “The Only Son From Heaven” CW 86

Stand

Prayer of the Church M: Holy God, eternal Light, the darkness of sin covers the earth

and its peoples. Let the light of the Gospel lead us and unbe-

lievers to him who was born king of the Jews. Plant in us hum-

ble and grateful hearts that bow down and worship him, and

that willingly offer him the most precious gifts we have to give.

Lord, in your mercy,

C: Hear our prayer.

M: Holy God, eternal Light, you have revealed that even those of

us who are Gentiles become fellow heirs, members of the same

body and partakers of the promise in Christ through the Gos-

pel. Grant that our hearts thrill and rejoice over your gift, so

that we bring gifts and praise to you. Shine your light to every

dark corner of the world, turning unbelieving hearts to faith in

Christ who was born to save all people. Lord, in your mercy,

C: Hear our prayer.