Baptism of Our Lord (Epiphany Season) Worship Bulletin
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
Baptism of Our Lord (Epiphany Season)
01-08-2023 10:00AM Hybrid Worship
+ Gathering +
THE CALL TO WORSHIP (based on Psalm 29): Carol Chatman + Congregation
L Hey, human beings, don’t hold back!
Break it out!
Give God the glory!
Offer God the praise that is due!
Shout it loud!
Raise a hearty “HALLELUJAH!”
Recognize God’s strength and respect the power of God’s voice!
C God speaks and waters rise and crash!
God speaks and lightning cracks!
God speaks and thunder rumbles!
God speaks and winds howl!
God speaks and large trees sway and fall!
God speaks and the earth shakes, rattles, and rolls!
God speaks and life ends or begins!
L Sisters and brothers, don’t hold back!
Break it out!
Give God the glory!
Offer God the praise that is due!
Shout it loud!
Raise a hearty “HALLELUJAH!”
Recognize God’s tenderness and wonder at the mystery of God’s compassion!
C God speaks and mercy surrounds us!
God speaks and grace pours upon us!
God speaks and love embraces us!
God speaks and hope sustains us!
God speaks and the Holy Spirit fills us!
God speaks and we are God’s children!
God speaks and Jesus is Lord!
L Our God is surely an awesome God, both mighty and tender!
Let us humble our hearts and ask for God’s forgiveness and blessing!
Let us step into amazing grace to live gratefully and faithfully!
And let us dare to walk and serve in Jesus’ name!
C We give up our “HALLELUJAH!” and can’t hold back on “GLORY!”
We praise God with our humble “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY!”
And we step into “AMAZING GRACE!” to live faithfully and love fervently!
OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD! HEY!
OPENING SONG: “JESUS, THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD” Brown #59
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY: Carol
Father in heaven, at our best we know that Jesus Christ is our light, our joy, our answer, our way.
Send your Spirit upon your church today as we remember and renew our baptism.
Turn us upside down and inside out, fire us up, and shake us into ministry and mission.
Help us to recognize and embrace the power of Christ’s love alive in our hearts and our lives. Amen.
+ The Holy Word +
FIRST READING: ISAIAH 42:1-9 [A job description: called and empowered to bring justice and light to others.]
42:1 Here 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.
42:2 He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street;
42:3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.
42:4 He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
42:5 Thus 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:
42:6 I 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,
42:7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.
42:8 I am the LORD, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols.
42:9 See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.
SECOND READING: ACTS 10:34-43 [A radical lesson: God’s love and mercy are inclusive of “outsiders”.} Iyanna
10:34 Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality,
10:35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
10:36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ–he is Lord of all.
10:37 That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced:
10:38 how 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.
10:39 We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree;
10:40 but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear,
10:41 not 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.
10:42 He 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.
10:43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
GOSPEL VERSE:
“Always remember Jesus, Jesus.
Always remember Jesus, Jesus.
Always keep Him on your mind.”
THE GOSPEL: MATTHEW 3:13-17 [Baptism for Jesus and for us: claimed, anointed, commissioned, sent.]
3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.
3:14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
3:15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented.
3:16 And 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.
3:17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
THE SERMON: Pastor Gwen or Pastor Neil
SONG SELECTION: All Saints Choir
+ The Holy Waters +
THE RENEWAL OF BAPTISM PROMISES:
L My brothers and sisters in Christ, for the last few weeks we have been celebrating the birth of
Emmanuel, God-with-us. With the shepherds we have heard the Good News of a new age dawning with
peace for all people on earth. With the magi we have journeyed by the light of faith to Bethlehem and
found there our Savior and King. Now we celebrate the fulfillment of this mystery, for today – as he is
baptized in the muddy waters of the River Jordan – Jesus will be revealed as the beloved Son of God,
anointed by the Spirit, and commissioned to be the Messiah, the suffering servant of God’s love for the
sake of the world.
In our baptism, we too have been washed in waters, claimed as God’s beloved sons and daughters,
anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit, and called and sent to be bearers of God’s light, servants of
God’s love, seekers of God’s justice, and sharers of God’s mercy for all the world. Today we come to the
life-giving waters to renew our commitments, in each other’s presence, to the Christ who has raised us,
the Spirit who has birthed us, and the Creator who is making all things new. And therefore I ask you to
respond…
L Do you renounce the devil and all the forces of evil that defy God?
C I renounce them.
L Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God?
C I renounce them.
L Do you renounce and repent the ways of sin that draw you away from God?
C I renounce them.
L Do you believe in God, who formed us from the dust of the earth and breathed life into us, and
who has called us to a new life in the waters of baptism and by the fire of the Spirit?
C Yes, I do believe!
L Do you believe in Jesus Christ, God’s eternal Word, who was born of the virgin Mary, and at the
Jordan River was anointed by the Holy Spirit as Messiah… who taught and demonstrated God’s love
and the way of true life… who willingly died and by his death and rising has brought us over into
God’s Kingdom… and who will come again in final, lasting glory?
C Yes, I do believe!
L Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, who has gathered us together and anointed us in baptism to be
God’s holy people, sent to proclaim the Kingdom of justice and love, of freedom and peace, today
and until the end of time?
C Yes, I do believe!
L And do you believe in yourselves and in one another, the Church, living Christ’s life in the world
today as his very own Body, one with the saints of ages past and yet to come, and heirs to the
promise of eternal life with God and with all his faithful forever and ever?
C Yes, I do believe!
L Today you have once again turned away from the powers of sin and death, once again proclaimed
your faith, once again chosen God’s will over your own priorities. Now I ask you…
Do you intend to continue in the covenant God made with you in holy baptism –
to be diligent in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers…
to persevere in resisting evil and, whenever you fall into sin, to repent and return to the Lord…
to proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ Jesus, wherever you are and in
all that you do…
and to strive for peace and justice in all the earth?
C Yes, I put my whole trust in Jesus Christ and in his saving grace!
I promise to serve him as my Lord, and I pray to God to help and guide me.
Amen and Hallelujah!
L [sprinkles water upon and addresses the Congregation. If you are not in the sanctuary this morning, you may
sprinkle water on yourself or trace the sign of the cross upon your forehead during each response.]
Today let us thank and praise God for the gift of water that springs forth and sustains life.
Let us thank and praise God for the voice of mercy to our parched and weary spirits.
Let us ask God to bubble up in our dry and arid places and refresh us.
C O Holy Spirit, come upon these waters, come upon us, and stir us with your power!
L May the Holy Spirit strengthen each of you in your baptism, strengthen you in your faith.
May these waters be drops of God’s mercy, wash away your sins and death’s power.
May you be reborn again and again with the resurrection power of Jesus Christ.
C O Holy Spirit, come upon these waters, come upon us, and stir us with your power!
L May the grace-gifts of the Spirit be showered upon you today and every day.
May you be daily refreshed and revived and renewed in your service to Christ.
May you get soaking wet in God’s will and passionately wild with God’s love.
C O Holy Spirit, come upon these waters, come upon us, and stir us with your power!
L Sisters and brothers in Christ, the baptism of Jesus inaugurated his public ministry.
Let your baptism stir your ministry out there in the world in public and on purpose.
May you always remember your identity as God’s baptized child,
may you never forget your mission as God’s anointed servant,
may you never stop trusting in God’s power to enable you in difficult times. Amen.
C [singing] I’ll say “YES, LORD, YES!” to your will and to your way.
I’ll say “YES, LORD, YES!”, I will trust you and obey.
When the Spirit speaks with me, with my whole heart I’ll agree,
And the answer will be “YES, LORD, YES!”
+ The Holy Meal +
OFFERING OF TITHES (10% giving) AND GIFTS… Who will do Christ’s work in our world if we ignore or refuse GOD’S MISSION? As people who have passed through the waters of baptism, let us show our gratitude by daring to walk and serve in Jesus’ name. Our giving and daily living makes room for others to come and believe.
Please note that our boxes of 2023 offering envelopes have been delayed by paper supply route issues and by fewer seasonal hires to do the printing. We will start this year without them. But we encourage you to continue to give offerings and to write your name or past offering box number on an envelope. We will have unnumbered envelopes in the sanctuary, or you can use one from home.
SONG SELECTION: All Saints Choir
THE OFFERTORY SONG: “THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE”
- This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine… (3X)
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!
- Ev’rywhere I go, I’m gonna let it shine… (3X)
- Jesus gave it to me, I’m gonna let it shine… (3X
OFFERING PRAYER by the Communion Assistant: ?
O Lord our God, You have anointed us to bring good news and to proclaim liberty, to bind up the brokenhearted and to liberate the oppressed. Help us to shine forth always and in all ways with the bright glory of Jesus Christ. Amen.
THE PREFACE:
L The Lord be with you. C AND ALSO WITH YOU!
L Lift up your hearts! C WE LIFT THEM UP IN LOVE FOR GOD!
L Let us give thanks to the Lord our God! C IT IS RIGHT TO GIVE GOD THANKS AND PRAISE!
THE EUCHARISTIC WORDS by the Celebrant, who recalls and re-enacts Jesus’ Holy Meal.
THE LORD’S PRAYER (spoken)
COMMUNION AND BLESSINGS… All believers in Christ are welcome at the Lord’s Table! We will have “continuous distribution” with wafers and either wine or grape juice. CHRIST COMES TO US IN BREAD AND WINE AND BLESSING, BRINGING US PEACE, UNITY, STRENGTH, AND HOPE!
COMMUNION SONGS: Brown #117 Brown #118
THE COMMUNION BLESSING by the Celebrant after all have communed.
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER by the Communion Assistant. ?
+ Sending +
BENEDICTION by the Pastor… God sends us TO SHINE with the Light of Jesus Christ in a shadowy world!
CLOSING SONG: “GO, MY CHILDREN, WITH MY BLESSING” Brown #161
He was born to die, he died to give us new birth.