X In Nomine Iesu Christi X
THE OPENING SENTENCES
Pastor: O Lord, open my lips,
People: and my mouth will declare Your praise.
Pastor: Make haste, O God, to deliver me.
People: Make haste to help me, O Lord.
THE GLORIA PATRI
All: Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
THE SEASONAL VERSE
All: Praise to You, O Christ, Lamb of our salvation.
THE VENITE
All: Oh come, let us sing/to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of/our salvation!
Let us come into His presence with thanks/giving;
let us make a joyful noise to/Him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a/great God,
and a great/King above all gods.
The deep places of the earth are/in His hand;
the strength of the hills is/His also.
The sea is His, for He/made it,
and His hands/formed the dry land.
Oh come, let us worship and/bow down;
let us kneel before the/Lord, our Maker.
For He/is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture, and the/sheep of His hand.
Glory be to the Father and/to the Son
and to the/Holy Spirit;
As it was in the be/ginning,
is now, and will be for/ever. Amen.
THE OLD TESTAMENT READING Isaiah 42:14-21 (ESV)
For a long time I have held My peace; I have kept still and restrained Myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant. I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools. And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them. They are turned back and utterly put to shame, who trust in carved idols, who say to metal images, “You are our gods.” Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see! Who is blind but My servant, or deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is blind as My dedicated one, or blind as the servant of the Lord? He sees many things, but does not observe them; his ears are open, but he does not hear. The Lord was pleased, for His righteousness’ sake, to magnify His Law and make it glorious.
THE EPISTLE Ephesians 5:8-14 (ESV)
At one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
THE HOLY GOSPEL John 9:1-7; 13-17; 34-39 (ESV)
As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.” Having said these things, He spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then He anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about Him, since He has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a Prophet.” They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, Sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen Him, and it is He who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped Him. Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”
THE APOSTLES’ CREED
All: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His 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 into hell.
The third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit.
The holy Christian Church, the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body,
and the life X everlasting.
Amen.
THE HYMN (Lutheran Service Book #575)
All: My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
No merit of my own I claim
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid Rock I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In ev’ry high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
His oath, His covenant and blood
Support me in the raging flood;
When ev’ry earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Redeemed to stand before His throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
THE SERMON “Divided Opinion” (John 9:16)
THE CANTICLE The Te Deum Laudamus
All: We praise You, O God, we acknowledge You to/be the Lord.
All the earth now worships You, the/Father Everlasting.
To You all angels cry aloud, the heavens and all the/powers therein.
To You cherubim and seraphim con/tinually do cry:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of/Sabaoth;
heaven and earth are full of the majesty/of Your glory.
The glorious company of the apostles/praise You.
The goodly fellowship of the/prophets praise You.
The noble army of martyrs/praise You.
The holy Church throughout all the world/does acknowledge You:
The Father of an Infinite Majesty; Your adorable, true, and/only Son;
also the Holy/Ghost, the Comforter.
You are the King of Glory,/O Christ;
You are the everlasting Son/of the Father.
When You took upon Yourself to/deliver man,
You humbled Yourself to be born/of a virgin.
When You had overcome the/sharpness of death,
You opened the kingdom of heaven to/all believers.
You sit at the right/hand of God
in the glory/of the Father.
We believe that/You will come
to/be our Judge.
We therefore pray You to help Your/servants,
whom You have redeemed/with Your precious blood.
Make them to be numbered/with Your saints
in glory/everlasting.
O Lord, save Your people and bless Your/heritage.
Govern them and lift them/up forever.
Day by day we/magnify You.
And we worship Your name for/ever and ever.
Grant, O Lord, to keep us this day with/out sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us, have/mercy upon us.
O Lord, let Your mercy be upon us, as our trust/is in You.
O Lord, in You have I trusted; let me never/be confounded.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
All: 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.
COLLECT OF THE DAY
Pastor: Let us pray:
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, Your mercies are new every morning; and, though we deserve only punishment, You receive us as Your children and provide for all our needs of body and soul. Grant that we may heartily acknowledge Your merciful goodness, give thanks for all Your benefits, and serve You in willing obedience; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Congregation: Amen.
THE PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
(after each petition:)
Pastor: Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
(at the end:)
People: Amen.
THE COLLECT FOR GRACE
Pastor: O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, You have safely brought us to the beginning of this day. Defend us in the same with Your mighty power and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger, but that all our doings, being ordered by Your governance, may be righteous in Your sight; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.
THE BENEDICTION
Pastor: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit X be with you all.
People: Amen.
X X X