St. Paul’s Lutheran Church
Alliance, Ohio
Sunday, January 28, 2024
9:30 AM
PRELUDE Sing
Praise to God, the Highest Good Walter Pelz
Confession and Forgiveness
Blessed be the holy Trinity, one God, creator of darkness and light,
word of truth,
wind sweeping over the waters.
Amen.
Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.
Silence is kept for reflection.
God, our rock and refuge,
we pour out our hearts before you.
We have known you but have not always loved you.
We have wounded one another
and sinned against you.
We have not always recognized the Holy Spirit
dwelling in each of us.
Remember your covenant.
Renew your creation.
Restore us,
that we might proclaim your good news to all.
Amen.
The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. God has spoken:
The time of grace is now. In Jesus, the reign of God has come near.
By the authority of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. You
are God’s beloved.
Amen.
HYMN Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing #886
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: Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Moses said:] 15The Lord your God will raise up for you
a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a
prophet. 16This is what
you requested of the Lord your
God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: “If I hear the voice of
the Lord my God any
more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die.” 17Then the Lord replied to me: “They are right
in what they have said. 18I will raise up for them a prophet like you from
among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who
shall speak to them everything that I command. 19Anyone who does not heed
the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold
accountable. 20But any
prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my
name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak—that prophet shall
die.”
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Psalm 111
1Hallelujah! I will give
thanks to the Lord with | my whole heart, in
the assembly of the upright, in the | congregation.
2Great are your | works, O Lord, pondered by all who delight in
them.
3Majesty and
splendor | mark your deeds, and your righteousness endures forever.
4You cause your wonders
to | be remembered; you are gracious and full | of
compassion. R
5You give food to | those who fear
you, remembering forever your covenant.
6You have shown your
people the power | of your works in giving them the
lands | of the nations.
7The works of your hands
are faithfulness and justice; all of your precepts are sure.
8They stand fast forever
and ever, because they are done in | truth and
equity.
9You sent redemption to your people and commanded
your covenant forever;
holy and awesome | is your name.
10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all who practice this
have a good understanding.
God’s praise endures forever.
Second Reading :1
Corinthians 8:1-13
1Now concerning food
sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge
puffs up, but love builds up. 2Anyone who claims to know something does not yet
have the necessary knowledge; 3but anyone who loves God is known by him. 4Hence, as to the eating
of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,”
and that “there is no God but one.” 5Indeed, even though there may be
so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many
lords—6yet for us there is one
God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord,
Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 7It is not everyone,
however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols
until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol;
and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8“Food will not bring us
close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we
do. 9But take care that this
liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if others see you,
who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since
their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed
to idols? 11So by your
knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. 12But when you thus sin
against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you
sin against Christ. 13Therefore,
if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not
cause one of them to fall
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Gospel: Mark 1:21-28
The
Holy Gospel, according to Saint Mark, the 1st chapter. Glory to you, O Lord.
21[Jesus and his disciples] went to
Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught.22They were astounded at
his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the
scribes. 23Just then
there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24and he cried out, “What
have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know
who you are, the Holy One of God.” 25But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be
silent, and come out of him!” 26And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and
crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27They were all amazed,
and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with
authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28At once his fame began
to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee. The Gospel of the
Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.
SERMON
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, special music
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 Healer of Every Ill
#612
PRAYER, BLESSING
HYMN Let the Whole Creation Cry #876
DISMISSAL
