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Prelude
In Christ Alone – Words and Music by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend
Arr. by Richard Kingsmore
Welcome and Invocation
Readings: Mark 1:4-11; Romans 6:1-11
Holy Gospel Mark 1:4–11
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the first chapter.
C Glory to You, O Lord.
4John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opening and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C Praise to You, O Christ.
Epistle Romans 6:1–11
1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Confession and Absolution
P Gracious God,
C our sins are too heavy to carry,
too real to hide, and too deep to undo.
We confess them to You and we renounce them.
– Silence to bring to God what is specifically troubling us –
C Forgive what our lips tremble to name,
what our hearts can no longer bear,
and what has become for us a consuming fire of judgment.
Set us free, dear Lord, from a past that we cannot change;
open to us a future in which we can be changed.
In short, cleanse us from all sins, and grant, in the place of sin,
that we welcome the risen Lord Jesus into our hearts, minds, and wills,
finding supernatural Life in Him who is the Light of the world.
P Christ died, the one payment for all the sins of everyone.
And you were baptized into Him and His death: it all avails for you.
You are forgiven; you are free.
The same Jesus also rose from the dead -He is Life and the Life you seek.
Your same baptism put you into His presence, love, power, and life.
C Amen.
SJ Kids Sunday School Hour
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Hymn: In Christ Alone
Verse 1
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
Verse 2
In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live.
Verse 3
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
Verse 4
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand
Sermon
Declaration of Faith and Prayer for Life
O God, You are my life. You have breathed into me the breath of life, and I have become a living being [Gen 2:7]. My very existence and my being flow from You. In You I live and move and have my being [Ac 17:28]. You are the Vine, and I am a true branch of Yours [Jn 15:5]. Father, You have made me alive with Christ [Eph 2:4-5]. He came that I might have life, and have it abundantly [Jn 10:10]. I am baptized into Christ [Rom 6:3]; I have Jesus Christ, and I have His life [1 Jn 5:12].
Dear Father, I give my life to You to be filled with Your life. Restore this frail branch in full union with Jesus who is the Vine. Restore my full union with Christ and with You. I return myself to You—my body, soul, and spirit, heart, mind, and will. I return myself fully to the Source of Life. May I be one with You even as Jesus was one with You [Jn 10:30, 17:21]. Let Your life flow through me and flow and flow throughout this day.
O Life, live into me. Encompass me and all that I am; well up within me. You are the God who gives life to the dead [Rom 4:17]. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in me (and You are living in me), He who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to my mortal body through His Spirit, who lives in me [Rom 8:11].
O God, fill me with the resurrection power of Jesus Christ in my body, soul, and spirit. I consecrate my life fully to the Lord Jesus Christ, to be a vessel of His triumphant life. I take my place in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and in His life. For in baptism I have been raised with Christ to a new life. I present my life to You, Jesus, to be filled with Your life. I choose to live by the strength of Jesus Christ and by His mighty life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Prayer of the Church
Offering
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St. James Lutheran Church
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Benediction and Announcements
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