The View from the Middle: Service outline for Sunday, January 8, 2023

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

Alliance, Ohio

Sunday, January 8, 2023

9:30 AM

PRELUDE Crashing Waters at Creation Childs

Confession and Forgiveness

Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,

who makes all things new,

whose mercy endures forever.

Amen.

Trusting in God’s mercy, let us confess our sin.

Silence is kept for reflection.

Holy One, source of our renewal,

we confess that we are wrapped up in sin,

and cannot free ourselves.

We have not practiced your righteousness.

Our hearts have turned away from you.

For the sake of the world you so love,

forgive us,

that we may be reconciled to one another

for the glory of your holy name.

Amen.

Thus says our God:

“The former things have come to pass

and new things I now declare.”

God’s mercy makes us new.

We are forgiven in the name of ☩ Christ our Savior.

Amen.

HYMN As with Gladness Men of Old #302

GREETING

The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God, and communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

And also with you.

Kyrie

Hymn of praise Rise, Shine, You People! #665 v. 1

PRAYER OF THE DAY

CHILDREN’S SERMON

FIRST READING ISAIAH 42:1-9

¹Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. ²He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; ³a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. ⁴He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching. ⁵Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: ⁶I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, ⁷to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. ⁸I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. ⁹See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.

PSALM 29

Ascribe to the ^| Lord, you gods, ascribe to the Lord glo- ^| ry and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory ^| due God’s name; worship the Lord in the

        beauty of holiness.
The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of ^| glory thunders;
the Lord is upon the ^| mighty waters.
⁴The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice; the voice of the Lord is a voice of splendor.
⁵The voice of the Lord breaks the ^| cedar trees; the Lord breaks the ce- ^| dars of Lebanon;
⁶the Lord makes Lebanon skip ^| like a calf, and Mount Hermon like a ^| young wild ox.
⁷The voice ^| of the Lord bursts forth in ^| lightning flashes.
⁸The voice of the Lord^| shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
⁹The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe and strips the ^| forests bare.
     And in the temple of the Lord all are ^| crying, “Glory!”
¹⁰The Lord sits enthroned a- ^| bove the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king

for- ^| evermore.
O Lord, give strength ^| to your people; give them, O Lord, the blessings of peace.

SECOND READING ACTS 10:34-43

³⁴Peter began to speak to [Cornelius and his household]: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, ³⁵but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. ³⁶You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. ³⁷That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: ³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. ³⁹We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; ⁴⁰but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, ⁴¹not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

GOSPEL MATTHEW 3:13-17

¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. ¹⁶And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.

HYMN When Jesus Came to Jordan #305

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, PEACE

OFFERING

Communion Prayer

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

Distribution of communion

Hymn Shall We Gather at the River #423