In the Beginning . . . was Life!
Sanctity of Human Life Sunday
Prelude
Opening Hymn “Thy Strong Word” vs. 1-5 (LW 328)
Copyright © 1969 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission.
Thy strong word did cleave the darkness; At thy speaking it was done.
For created light we thank thee, While thine ordered seasons run.
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to thee who light dost send!
Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end!
Lo, on those who dwelt in darkness, Dark as night and deep as death,
Broke the light of thy salvation, Breathed thine own life-giving breath.
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to thee who light dost send!
Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end!
Thy strong Word bespeaks us righteous, Bright with thine own holiness,
Glorious now, we press toward glory, And our lives our hopes confess.
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to thee who light dost send!
Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end!
From the cross thy wisdom shining Breaketh forth in conqu’ring might;
From the cross forever beameth All thy bright redeeming light.
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to thee who light dost send!
Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end!
Give us lips to sing thy glory, Tongues thy mercy to proclaim,
Throats that shout the hope that fills us, Mouths to speak thy holy name.
Alleluia, alleluia! Praise to thee who light dost send!
Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end!
Invocation
Pastor: Remembering the new beginning God gives through the waters of baptism, we begin our service in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
Confession
Pastor: We needed a new beginning. As the Psalmist reminds us, “Surely I have been a sinner from birth,
People: sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5)
Pastor: Therefore, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).
People: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Pastor: Let us then confess our sins in the words of David.
All: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are proved right when You speak and justified when You judge. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:1-4, 7, 10).
Pastor: Lift up your hearts! God has had mercy upon you. He sent Jesus to take your place from the very beginning. He too was conceived in a womb but without sin. He took your place on the cross and in a tomb. His resurrection assures you of a new beginning! Therefore, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen!
Introit Psalm 8
Pastor: Having received the forgiveness of sins, let us now enter with joy into the presence of God. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!
People: You have set Your glory above the heavens.
Pastor: From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise because of Your enemies,
People: To silence the foe and the avenger.
Pastor: When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
People: The moon and the stars, which You have set in place,
Pastor: What is man that You are mindful of him,
People: The son of man that You care for him?
Pastor: You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
People: And crowned him with glory and honor.
Pastor: You made him ruler over the works of Your hands;
People: You put everything under his feet:
Pastor: All flocks and herds,
People: And the beasts of the field,
Pastor: The birds of the air,
People: And the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.
Pastor: O LORD, our Lord,
People: How majestic is Your name in all the earth!
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
Hymn of Praise “Thy Strong Word” vs. 6 (LW 328)
God the Father, light-creator, To thee laud and honor be.
To thee, Light of Light begotten, Praise be sung eternally.
Holy Spirit, light-revealer, Glory, glory be to thee,
Mortals, angels, now and ever Praise the holy Trinity!
Collect
Pastor: The Lord be with you.
People: And with your spirit.
Pastor: Let us pray to the Lord.
Almighty God, in Whose hand is the beginning of all life, grant to us, who have been given a new beginning in Jesus Christ, the boldness to witness to the value You give to every human life through Your creating and redeeming hands.
People: Amen!
Old Testament Reading Genesis 1:1-5
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness He called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning-the first day.”
Epistle Reading Colossians 1:15-20
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.”
Gospel Reading John 1:1-5
Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the 1st chapter.
People: Glory to You, O Lord.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
“Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”
Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to You, O Christ.
Creed
Hymn of the Day “Breathe My Name” (Tune: Hymn to Joy)
Text: Rev. Darryl L. Andrzejewski, 1997. Used by permission.
God the Father, You have known me from creation of the earth,
Searched me, Lord, completely knowing of the moment of my birth,
Fashion’d me within my mother, with Your hands You knitted me,
Breathed into my life Your breath a living soul I came to be.
Dearest Jesus, You have known me on the cross of Calvary,
Searched my soul completely saving, breath’d your last in place of me,
through the water and the Spirit washed away my life of sin,
crucified together with You, Lord in me You breathe again.
Holy Spirit, You have known me all my days before they came,
Nowhere can I flee Your presence in the womb You knew my name,
By Your power, through Your working, You have breathed my name again
that through faith it shall be written in the book of life, in heav’n.
Sermon
Offering
Prayers
Pastor: Almighty Father, we praise You as the Creator of all things. We thank You for our creation in our mothers’ wombs. We thank you for the new creation we have in Your Son Jesus Christ. Help us to see the value these “beginnings” give to human life. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: Hear our prayer.
Pastor: Help us be good stewards of your creation by valuing, caring for, and protecting the world that Your hands have made and given to us. Help us be good stewards of life by valuing, caring for, and protecting this gift from Your hands. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: Hear our prayer.
Pastor: Restore to our nation a sense of the inherent dignity and value of human life. Bring an end to all practices that devalue human life. Restore to Your Church a sense of urgency to shine in the darkness and proclaim the inherent dignity and value that Your creating and redeeming hands give to life. Bring an end to indifference and grant boldness to Your people. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: Hear our prayer.
Pastor: Be with those in difficult life circumstances. Help them trust that there is no circumstance that can separate from Your love those You have created and redeemed. Be with those who have made wrong decisions about life and give them a new beginning through forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: Hear our prayer.
Pastor: Bless the work of Lutherans For Life. Continue to give them the resources they need to promote the value that You give to human life and to equip us to do the same. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: Hear our prayer.
Pastor: We now bring our special joys and needs before You. (Special intercessions may be offered here.) All of these things we pray in the name of Jesus who has taught us to pray,
People: Our Father who art in heaven . . .
Benediction
Pastor: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.
People: Amen!
Closing Hymn “Son of God Eternal Savior” (LW 394)
Son of God, eternal Savior, Source of life and truth and grace,
Word made flesh, whose birth among us Hallows all our human race,
You our head, who, throned in glory, For your own will ever plead:
Fill us with your love and pity, Heal our wrongs, and help our need.
As you, Lord, have lived for others, So may we for others live.
Freely have your gifts been granted; Freely may your servants give.
Yours the gold and yours the silver, Yours the wealth of land and sea;
We but stewards of your bounty Held in solemn trust will be.
Come, O Christ, and reign among us, King of love and Prince of Peace;
Hush the storm of strife and passion, Bid its cruel discords cease.
By your patient years of toiling, By your silent hours of pain,
Quench our fevered thirst of pleasure, Stem our selfish greed of gain.
Son of God, eternal Savior, Source of life and truth and grace,
Word made flesh, whose birth among us Hallows all our human race:
By your praying, by your willing That your people should be one,
Grant, oh, grant our hope’s fruition: Here on earth your will be done.
Lutherans For Life
1120 South G Avenue • Nevada, IA 50201-2774
U.S. Toll-Free (888) 364-LIFE • (515) 382-2077 • Fax (515) 382-3020
info@lutheransforlife.org • www.lutheransforlife.org
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