Baptism of Our Lord Worship Bulletin
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
Baptism of Our Lord Coronavirus
01-09-2022 10:00AM Worship
OPENING SONG: “TAKE ME TO THE WATER” Brown # 117
THE CALL TO WORSHIP (based on Psalm 29):
L 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!
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY:
And we pray:
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.
FIRST READING: ISAIAH 43:1-7 [Let trust in God’s promise cast fear aside! You are precious to God and loved.]
43:1 But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
43:3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
43:4 Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.
43:5 Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you;
43:6 I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth–
43:7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
SECOND READING: ACTS 8:14-17 [Scattered Christians preach wherever, and the Holy Spirit quenches what water can’t.]
8:14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.
8:15 The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit
8:16 (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus).
8:17 Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
GOSPEL VERSE:
“Always remember Jesus, Jesus.
Always remember Jesus, Jesus.
Always keep Him on your mind.”
THE GOSPEL: LUKE 3:15-17, 21-22 [There is nobody like Jesus! Jesus is God’s beloved Son.]
3:15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,
3:16 John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
3:17 His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
3:21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened,
3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
THE SERMON: Pastor Gwen or Pastor Neil
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 [virtually 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, 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!”
OFFERING [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.]
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:
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: “GO, MY CHILDREN, WITH MY BLESSING” Dennis Fortune
THE PRAYERS… We pray that the joy and light of JESUS CHRIST will touch all lives!
THE LORD’S PRAYER
SONG SELECTION:
THE BENEDICTION