Sunday, JANUARY 26, 2025 3rd SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
CHRIST THE KING LUTHERAN CHURCH
PASTOR: Rev. Harry M. Krolus
CHURCH: 410-356-3400 CELL: 410-707-7663
Church email: ctklclcms@yahoo.com
Church Web Site: ctklchurch.org
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WELCOME to everyone who is worshiping with us today. We are glad that you are here! We pray that your worship experience here at Christ The King is spiritually uplifting and rewarding. If you are visiting, please sign our guest book and introduce yourself to Pastor Harry.
(Please turn off all electronic devices before worship begins; or, if you are using a Bible app to enhance your worship experience or to use PayPal, please enable the do not disturb function on your phone.)
THE CALL TO WORSHIP
P. Just a taste of something wonderful,
C. Only a glimpse of something magnificent,
P. Just a glimmer of something holy in something so ordinary.
C. Yet, enough to know we are in the presence of God,
P. Enough to cause us to stop and stare in awe,
C. Enough to stir our hearts in wonder,
P. Enough to set our feet to dancing
C. And to prompt our voices to protest and praise.
THE HANDSHAKE OF CHRISTIAN PEACE
OPENING HYMN: 400 “Brightest And Best Of The Stars Of The Morning”
AN ACT OF ADORATION
P. Let us adore our heavenly Father, who created us, who sustains us, who loves us with an everlasting love and gives us the light of the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ.
C. We praise you, O God; we acknowledge you to be the Lord.
P. Let us glory in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor; who in every respect was tempted as we are, yet without sinning; who went about doing good and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom; who became obedient unto death, even death on a cross; who died and is alive forevermore; who has opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers; who is seated at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father; who will come again, as Judge and King.
C. You are the King of glory, O Christ.
P. Let us rejoice in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, by whom we are born into the family of God, and made members of the body of Christ; whose witness confirms us, whose wisdom teaches us, whose power enables us to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.
C. All praise to you, O Holy Spirit.
AN ACT OF CONFESSION
P. O God our Father, since you have set forth the way of life for us in your beloved Son, we confess with shame our slowness to learn of him, our failure to follow him, our reluctance to bear the cross.
C. Have mercy on us and forgive us, O Lord.
P. Forgive us the poverty of our worship, our neglect of fellowship and of the means of grace, our hesitating witness for Christ, our evasion of responsibility in your service, our imperfect stewardship of your gifts.
C. Have mercy on us and forgive us, O God.
P. Forgive us that so little of your love has reached others through us, that we have been thoughtless in our judgments, hasty in condemnation, grudging in forgiveness, slow to seek reconciliation, unwilling to help our neighbors as we ought.
C. Have mercy on us and forgive us, O Lord.
ALL: Have mercy on us, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out our transgressions. Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity, and cleanse us from our sin. Create in us clean hearts, O God, and put a new and right spirit within us.
THE PSALM FOR THE DAY: Psalm 71:15-21
P. My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure.
C. I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.
P. Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
C. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.
P. Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, you who have done great things. Who, O God, is like you?
C. Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again;
P. from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.
C. You will increase my honor and comfort me once again.
THE LESSONS
The First Lesson: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-18
All the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.
So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read.
Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
The Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.
And now I will show you the most excellent way.
The Children’s Message
The Gospel Lesson: Luke 4:16-30
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”
“I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed — only Naa-man the Syrian.”
All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
THE APOSTOLIC CREED
I believe in God the Father, the Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered and was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He died and was buried. He descended into hell, and the third day he rose again. He entered into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Almighty Father. He will come again 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 eternal. Amen.
HYMN: 694 “Thee Will I Love, My Strength, My Tower”
THE SERMON: “Pieces of the Puzzle”
text: 1 Corinthians 12:12
THE OFFERING
AN OFFERING SONG (783)
Take my life, that I may be consecrated, Lord, to thee;
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect, and use every pow’r as thou shalt choose.
THE PRAYERS
P. O God, we thank you for your gift of light,
C. but above all, for the light of your glory that shines in the face of your Son.
P. You said, long ago, "Let there be light!" and there was light.
C. You saw the light, and it was good.
P. You chose for yourself a people and gave them, through Moses, the Law
C. that their path might be lighted by its wisdom and truth.
P. And when they preferred to walk in darkness, in the deceptive comfort of darkness,
C. you sent them prophets like Elijah to rebuke them, recall them, save them.
P. Gracious God, we thank you for moments of special illumination granted to whomever you single out for revelation.
C. We thank you for allowing Moses a vision of yourself that made his face shine like the sun.
P. We thank you for letting faithful Elisha witness "the homebound Elijah" in that chariot of fire,
C. confirming him as Elijah's successor, fit to wear the great prophet's mantle.
P. Sovereign God, Creator, Author of Light, we marvel at your graciousness.
C. You allowed your servant John to baptize your Son and to participate in the pleasure you took in him.
P. You permitted Peter, James and John to accompany our Lord to that mountaintop,
C. and to witness his transfiguration -- awed, dazed, but unharmed.
P. Like Moses or Elijah or Peter, powerful witnesses, but mortal humans,
C. we long to bask in his light, to be transformed in his likeness.
P. Help us to recall that, in your divine wisdom, you grant such moments of ecstasy only rarely,
C. and that even Peter, James and John may not remain on the mountaintop with the Lord.
P. Make us thankful for Moses on Sinai, for Elijah's faithfulness, for the witness to your Son's glory shared with us by Peter, James and John,
C. but let us not forget that our mission is not to sun ourselves in your light high above this earth.
P. Confirm us rather in our mission on this planet so much in need of your redemption:
C. our mission to preach the Good News of your reconciling love, to do justice, to show mercy and to walk humbly with you by the light of your glory shining in the face of your Son.
P. And now, O Lord, we bring before your throne of grace those prayers of concern, thanksgiving, and praise that are on our hearts.
(There are now a few moments for personal prayer.)
P. As we have brought these prayers before you, we do so with confidence, knowing that they will be answered according to your good and gracious will. In Jesus’ name we pray.
C. Amen.
CELEBRATING THE LORD’S SUPPER
We invite to the Lord’s Table all who have been baptized, accept the Bible as God’s authoritative Word, and believe that the body and blood of the risen Christ are really present in the bread and wine; given for the forgiveness of our sins. If you prefer the individual cup, please extend one index finger as your hands are folded on the altar railing. This will alert the communion assistants of your preference. Also, if for some medical reason you are not able to consume alcohol, grape juice is available in the individual cups. The grape juice is “red” while the wine is “white”.
P. Our Lord Jesus has given us a holy supper in which we receive his true body and blood for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of our faith. In this supper, we celebrate the gift of his redemption, we bear witness to the fellowship we share as confessors of the truth, and we proclaim his death until he returns.
C. Praise to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In love, he has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.
THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION
THE WORDS OF INVITATION
P. The gifts of God for the people of God.
C. Amen.
THE DISTRIBUTION
Hymns: 619 “Thy Body, Given For Me, O Savior”
555 “Salvation Unto Us Has Come”
575 “My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less”
A COMMUNION PRAYER
We give thanks, Almighty God, that you have refreshed us with this holy supper. We pray that through it you will strengthen our faith in you and increase our love for one another. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
THE BLESSING
P. The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his
Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always.
C. Amen.
CLOSING HYMN: 924 “Lord, Dismiss Us With Your Blessing”
