[VIDEO] Baptism of Our Lord Worship Service

We will gather together for worship service on Zoom using the following information:
MEETING ID: 5977365682
MEETING PASSWORD: 204934

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St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church         

Baptism of Our Lord         Coronavirus  

01-10-2021      10:00AM Worship

 

THE CALL TO WORSHIP (based on Psalm 29):         

L   Sisters, brothers, let us give credit to whom credit is due – 

     There is no god like the God who has given us life and new life!

     BREAK IT OUT! GIVE GOD THE GLORY!

C    God is fully alive and deserves our praise and gratitude!

Even the ends of the earth are talkin’ and tweetin’ about it!

LORD, YOU ARE MAGNIFICENT AND MIGHTY!

L   God’s beauty is manifest in the skies and the forests.

     God’s power is represented in the sweep of the ocean. 

     God’s majesty is portrayed in the gigantic bodies suspended in our universe.

     DON’T HOLD BACK! GIVE GOD THE PRAISE!

C    The wind and the rain,

     the lightning and the thunder,

          the creatures that inhabit our land,

               the flowers that brighten our lives –

          ALL THIS AND SO MUCH MORE COMES FROM GOD’S VOICE, FROM GOD’S HAND!

L   The glory is not ours, but God’s.

     Even the achievements of human hand, mind, and machine come by way of the God’s wisdom and power. 

     Let us give credit to whom credit is due – 

     GIVE A SHOUT-OUT TO GOD! DANCE TO THE RHYTHM OF JOY! 

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:        “TAKE ME TO THE WATER”            

THE PRAYER OF THE DAY:       

    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 as we recognize and embrace the amazing power of Christ’s love alive in our hearts and lives.  Amen.

FIRST READING:     GENESIS 1:1-5       [There is nobody like God… nothing like God’s love!]    

1:1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,

1:2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

1:3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

1:4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

1:5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

SONG SELECTION

SECOND READING:     ACTS 19:1-7       [There is nobody like the Holy Spirit… nothing like God’s power!] 

19:1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples.

19:2 He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

19:3 Then he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.”

19:4 Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.”

19:5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

19:6 When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied–

19:7 altogether there were about twelve of them.

GOSPEL VERSE:    “Always remember Jesus, Jesus.   

       Always remember Jesus, Jesus.

                  Always keep Him on your mind.” 

THE GOSPEL:     MARK 1:4-11       [There is nobody like Jesus… nothing like God’s grace!]   

1:4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

1:5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

1:6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

1:7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.

1:8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

1:9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

1:10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.

1:11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

THE SERMON:        Pastor Neil or Pastor Gwen   

SONG SELECTION   

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 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. 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, 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, 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, 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!”

OFFERING  [As people who have passed through the waters of baptism, let us make our grateful response. 

Our gifts of time and talent, and our tithes and offerings of money are a symbol of the greater offering of self that Christians gladly and generously give in response to the joyous Christ-event. Let us dedicate who we are and what we have to GOD”S MISSION!]           

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)
  1. Jesus gave it to me, I’m gonna let it shine…  (3X)

OFFERING PRAYER:       

     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. 

MUSIC SELECTION   

THE PRAYERS…  We pray that the joy and light of JESUS CHRIST will touch all lives!      

THE LORD’S PRAYER

SONG SELECTION:    “GO, MY CHILDREN, WITH MY BLESSING”                       

THE BENEDICTION