GATHERING SONG “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise” #834
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, who stretches out the heavens,
who sends light to the nations, who gives breath to us all. Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
Silence for reflection and self-examination.
Loving God,
we confess that we have turned from your way to follow our own ways.
Forgive us for the times
we have spoken or acted too quickly;
we have not spoken or acted at all;
we have hurt those closest to us;
we have hurt those we have yet to know;
we have thought more about ourselves than others;
we have thought less of ourselves than we ought.
Turn us around, and give us a fresh start, so that we can live again as your children. Amen.
Even when we have done wrong, God makes us right.
Even when we have messed up, God puts us together.
God’s love never runs out. God never tires of calling us beloved children.
Hear God say to you now: Your sins are forgiven, for the sake of ☩ Jesus Christ our Savior.
Amen.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray. Everlasting God, you give strength to the weak and power to the faint. Make us agents of your healing and wholeness, that your good news may be made known to the ends of your creation, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
THE FIRST LESSON: Isaiah 40:21-31
Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God"? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.
PSALM 147:1–11, 20c
Hallelujah! How good it is to sing praises to our God!
How pleasant it is to honor God with praise!
The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem, and gathers the exiles of Israel.
The LORD heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
The LORD counts the number of the stars and calls them all by their names.
Great is our LORD and mighty in power; there is no limit to God's wisdom.
The LORD lifts up the lowly, but casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music upon the harp to our God,
who covers the heavens with clouds and prepares rain for the earth,
making grass to grow upon the mountains.
God provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they cry.
God is not impressed by the might of a horse,
and has no pleasure in the speed of a runner,
but finds pleasure in those who fear the LORD, in those who await God's steadfast love.
Hallelujah!
SECOND LESSON: 1 Corinthians 9:16-23
If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I do not proclaim the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel. For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.
Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.
THE GOSPEL FOR THE DAY: Mark 1:29-39
The holy gospel according to Saint Mark. Glory to you, O Lord.
As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them. That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you." He answered, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON Raised to Serve Pastor Phil Wold
HYMN OF THE DAY “Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness” #843
THE APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come 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
THE SIGN OF PEACE IS SHARED
The peace of Christ be with you always. And also with you.
THE OFFERING AND OFFERING PRAYER
Let us pray. Blessed are you, O God, maker of all things. Through your goodness you have blessed us with these gifts: our selves, our time, and our possessions. Use us, and what we have gathered, in feeding the world with your love, through the one who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
THE 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 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
BLESSING
SENDING SONG “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” #858
SENDING
Go in peace. Live the gospel. Thanks be to God.
POSTLUDE
Copyright © 2024 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SAS006385.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.