January 11, 2026 11 A.M.
Welcome!
Introduction
In the waters of the Jordan, Jesus is revealed as the beloved Son of God. Through this great epiphany, Jesus fulfills all righteousness and becomes the servant of God who will bring forth justice and be a light to the nations. In the waters of baptism we too are washed by the Word, anointed by the Spirit, and named God’s beloved children. Our baptismal mission is to proclaim good news to all who are oppressed or in need of God’s healing.
(please stand for our opening song)
We Sing: Shall We Gather at the River ELW 423
Confession and Forgiveness
P: Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God, the Creator of heaven and earth, the Word who spoke life into being, the Wind stirring the waters. C: Amen.
P: Let us turn in confession to the one who knows us completely.
Silence is kept for reflection.
P: Mighty God, lover of justice,
C: you call us to life in community, but we have served our own interests at the expense of our neighbors. We have sown deceit where honesty was needed. We say the right words, but our hearts are far from you. Turn us to seek your face. Knit us together and give us the mind of Christ, that we may do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with you, our God. Amen.
P: The former things have passed away, and new things God now declares:
Like a spring of water that never fails, God covers you in the righteousness of Christ, and forgives your sin in ☩ Jesus’ name. May the Spirit give you strength to live for others, and bless you with the gift of peace.
C: Amen.
Prayer of the Day
O God our Father, at the baptism of Jesus you proclaimed him your beloved Son and anointed him with the Holy Spirit. Make all who are baptized into Christ faithful to their calling to be your daughters and sons, and empower us all with your Spirit, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
(Please be seated for the readings)
First Reading: Isaiah 42:1-9
God’s servant is endowed with God’s spirit in order to bring justice to the nations. The servant will not exercise authority boisterously or with violence, nor will weariness ever prevent the fulfilling of the servant’s task. God’s old promises have been fulfilled; the servant’s new assignment is to bring light to the nations.
R: [1] Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. [2] He will not cry out or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street; [3] a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. [4] He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth, and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
[5] Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: 6 I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, [6] to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. 8 I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. 9 See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.
…This is the Word of the Lord
C: Thanks be to God
Psalmody: Psalm 29
The voice of the LORD is upon the waters. (Ps. 29:3)
Ascribe to the LORD, you gods, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due God’s name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness
The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; the LORD is upon the mighty waters.
The voice of the LORD is a powerful voice; the voice of the LORD is a voice of splendor
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedar trees; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon
The LORD makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox
The voice of the LORD bursts forth in lightning flashes.
Second Reading: Acts 10:34-43
Peter crosses the sharp religious boundary separating Jews from Gentiles and proclaims the good news of God’s inclusive forgiveness in Jesus’ name to Cornelius, a Roman centurion. As a result of Peter’s preaching, Cornelius and his family become the first Gentiles to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
R: 34 Peter began to speak to [Cornelius and his household]: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every people anyone who fears him and practices righteousness is acceptable to him. 36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ— he is Lord of all. 37 That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
…This is the Word of the Lord
C: Thanks be to God
Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17
C: <sung> Sing: Alleluia
Before Jesus begins his ministry, he is baptized by John, touched by the Spirit, and identified publicly as God’s child.
D: 13 Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
…This is the Gospel of the Lord
C: Praise to you, oh Christ
We Sing: Baptised in Water ELW 456
with Pastor John Kearns
(please stand for the Apostles’ Creed)
Apostles’ Creed
C: 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. On 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 everlasting.
Amen
(please be seated)
Prayers of Intercession
As God’s beloved children united in Christ, let us pray for the church, the whole human community, and the well-being of the earth, our home.
A brief silence.
Steadfast God, give courage to your servant church. Heal our divisions and unite us in mission. Uphold our lay leaders, missionaries, pastors, and bishops, and all who proclaim hope in a broken world. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Restoring God, cleanse the life-giving waters of rivers, seas, and springs. Create in us an urgent desire to preserve the beauty and bounty of your good creation. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Righteous God, you guide the nations. Reconcile warring enemies and end cycles of violent retribution. Defend the rights of prisoners, detainees, and all who flee from persecution. Sustain international aid workers and peacemakers. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Compassionate God, you care for all in distress. Provide safety and support for those seeking asylum or in need of shelter. Be near to the dying, and comfort all who are grieving or ill (especially). Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Loving God, awaken the gifts of the Spirit in this congregation, that we may serve Christ by loving one another, our neighbors, and our enemies. We pray for travelers and those who are homebound. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Promising God, in baptism we die and rise with Christ. We give thanks for those who have gone before us, and we trust that we will join them in your everlasting peace. Merciful God, receive our prayer.
Confident that the Holy Spirit receives our prayers and answers us, we commend all for whom we pray to God’s loving-kindness made known to us in Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen.
(stand)
The Sharing of the Peace:
P: The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C: And also with you.
P: We Greet one another with the Peace of Christ
Hymn: We Are Baptized in Christ Jesus WOV 698 ELW 451
Offering Prayer
P: God of majesty, no eye has seen, no ear has heard what you have prepared for those who love you, yet in this meal you reveal the wideness of your mercy. Use what we have gathered to feed us with the reign of God come near, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
C: Amen.
Communion
P: Good and loving God, we rejoice in the birth of Jesus, who came among the poor to bring the riches of your grace. As you have blessed us with your gifts, let them be blessings for others. With the trees of the field, with all earth and heaven, we shout for joy at the coming of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
C: Amen.
P: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you.
P: Rejoice before your Lord. C: We lift them to the Lord.
P: Let us give thanks to our God. C: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
P: It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our Savior Jesus Christ. In the wonder and mystery of the Word made flesh you have opened the eyes of faith to a new and radiant vision of your glory, that, beholding the God made visible, we may be drawn to love the God whom we cannot see. And so, with all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of Power and might.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
P: In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat; this is my body, given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.
P: Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.
P: For as often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
C: Christ has died: Christ is risen: Christ will come again.
P: We pray as Jesus taught us:
C: 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.
Invitation to Communion
P: Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! Come to the table; taste and see.
(sit)
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Prayer after Communion
P: Radiant God, we have seen your glory in the face of Jesus Christ. In the sacrament of his body and blood you have drawn us to your heart. Send us from this table with delight, that our lives may reflect the beauty of your love, and bear witness to all we have seen and heard, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.
C: Amen.
Blessing
P: May the triune God, who has put a new song in your mouth and tuned your heart for praise ☩ bless you now and forever.
C: Amen.
Announcements
Birthdays
January 11 – Marsha Hartnett
13 – Shannon Barie
Anniversary
Weekly Calendar
Wednesday – 10 am – Bible Study at Immanuel
5:30 pm – Council Meeting
6 pm – Prayer Group
Thursday – 9 am – Quilting
We Sing: The Spirit Send us Forth to Serve WOV 723
Dismissal
P: Go in peace. Do justice. Love mercy.
C: Thanks be to God.