Scripture Reading of Praise Psalm 16
Pastor: Lift up your hearts!
Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord!
Prayer of Invocation
Hymn (stand) “Up From the Grave He Arose” Trinity 206
Passage of Confession Romans 2:4-5
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
Personal Silent Prayer of Confession (kneel)
Corporate Prayer of Confession (All Together):
Eternal God, in whom we live and move and have our being, whose face is hidden from us by our sins, and whose mercy we forget in the blindness of our hearts: cleanse us from all our offenses, and deliver us from proud thoughts and vain desires, that with reverent and humble hearts we may draw near to you, confessing our faults, confiding in your grace, and finding in you our refuge and strength; through Jesus Christ your Son. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon (stand) Romans 3:23-24
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Pastor: Our sins are forgiven through Christ.
Congregation: Thanks be to God!
Hymn (stand) “O Sacred Head Now Wounded” Cantus 263
The Nicene Creed AD 381
Pastor: Christian, what do you believe?
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made;
Who, for us men, and for our salvation, came down from Heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the virgin, Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into Heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord, and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the Prophets. And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church; I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The Heidelberg Catechism ad 1563
Question 37: What do you understand by the words, “He suffered”?
Answer: That he, all the time that he lived on earth, but especially at the end of his life, sustained in body and soul, the wrath of God against the sins of all mankind: that so by his passion, as the only propitiatory sacrifice, he might redeem our body and soul from everlasting damnation, and obtain for us the favor of God, righteousness and eternal life.
q 38: Why did he suffer “under Pontius Pilate, as judge”?
a: That He, being innocent, might be condemned by the temporal judge,and thereby deliver us from the severe judgment of God, to which we were exposed.
q 39: Is there anything more in his being “crucified,” than if he had died some other death?
a: Yes, for thereby I am assured that He took upon Himself the curse which lay upon me, because the death of the cross was accursed of God.
Hymn (stand) “God the Lord Is Known in Judah” PSalm 76 Cantus 115
The Reading of the Universal Word (stand)
Old Testament Isaiah 11:1-5
Congregation: Thanks be to God!
New Testament Acts 17:22-28 Congregation: Thanks be to God!
Pastoral Prayer (sit)
Concluding with The Lord’s Prayer (all together)
Preaching of the Word
“All Men Everywhere” Acts 17:29-31
Hymn (stand) “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” Cantus 270
Typically, heads of household serve their own families, but this is not mandatory. See our note about Communion on the cover of this bulletin.
Gloria Patri (stand) Cantus 436
Benediction (stand)