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“Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain”
Αϊσωμεν, πάντεζ λαοί; Author — John of Damascus (c. 750); Tr. — John M. Neale (1859, alt. ab.) Tune — Ave Virgo Virginum
1 Come, you faithful, raise the strain
of triumphant gladness!
God has brought his Israel
into joy from sadness,
loosed from Pharoah’s bitter yoke
Jacob’s sons and daughters,
led them with unmoistened foot
through the Red Sea waters.
2 ‘Tis the spring of souls today:
Christ hath burst his prison,
and from three days’ sleep in death
as a sun has risen;
all the winter of our sins,
long and dark, is flying
from his light, to whom is giv’n
laud and praise undying.
3 Now the queen of seasons, bright
with the day of splendor,
with the royal feast of feasts,
comes its joy to render;
comes to gladden faithful hearts
Which with true affection
welcomes in unwearied strains
Jesus’ resurrection!
4 For today among His own
Christ appeared, bestowing
His deep peace, which evermore
Passes human knowing.
Neither could the gates of death
nor the tomb’s dark portal
nor the watchers nor the seal
hold Him as a mortal.
5 Alleluia! Now we cry
to our King immortal,
who, triumphant, burst the bars
of the tomb’s dark portal.
Come, you faithful, raise the strain
Of triumphant gladness!
God has brought His Israel
Into joy from sadness!
Invocation
P: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. +
C: Amen.
Confession
P: Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart, and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to grant us forgiveness.
P: Our help is in the name of the Lord,
C: Who made heaven and earth.
P: I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord;
C: And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
All: Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, we poor sinners confess unto You, that we are by nature sinful and unclean, and that we have sinned against You by thought, word and deed. Therefore, we flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Your grace, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
P: Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, has had mercy upon us, and has given His only-begotten Son to die for us, and for His sake forgives us all our sins. To those who believe in His Name, He gives power to become the sons of God, and has promised them His Holy Spirit. He that believes, and is baptized, shall be saved.
P: Grant this, Lord, unto us all. C: Amen.
Psalm
Psalm 107:1-9
1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, 3 And gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. 4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way; they found no city to dwell in. 5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. 6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. 7 And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for a dwelling place. 8 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! 9 For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness.
Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Kyrie
Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us.
Gloria in Excelsis
Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, we glorify Thee, we give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory, O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty. O Lord, the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sin of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us. For thou only art holy; Thou only art the Lord; Thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Collect
P: O gracious and merciful Father. You sent Your only-begotten Son to be lifted up on the cross and atone for the sins of all. By Your Holy Spirit, grant that we hear Your Word and look in faith to Christ Jesus and His cross for pardon, forgiveness and everlasting life with You, the Son and Holy Spirit, ever one God, forever and ever. C: Amen.
Catechism Lesson: The Creed.
101. What difference is there between the Law and the Gospel?
1. The Law teaches what we are to do and not to do; the Gospel teaches what God has done, and still does, for our salvation.
2. The Law shows us our sin and the wrath of God; the Gospel shows us our Savior and the grace of God.
3. The Law demands, threatens, and condemns; the Gospel promises, gives, and seals unto us forgiveness, life, and salvation.
4. The Law works wrath and kills; the Gospel invites and draws us to Christ, works faith, and thus gives us spiritual life.
5. The Law must be preached to secure sinners, the Gospel to such as are alarmed and terrified on account of their sins.
Old Testament Lesson: Numbers 21:4-9
4 Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” 6 So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
Epistle Lesson: James 1:22-27
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Gospel Lesson: John 16:23-33
23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. 25 “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; 27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God. 28 I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.” 29 His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! 30 Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Apostles’ Creed
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 Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary; Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The holy Christian Church, the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body; And the Life everlasting. Amen.
Hymn: “God Loved the World So That He Gave”
Unknown, 1791 (cento), Tr. August Crull, d. 1923 (alt.); Tune: St. Crispin, George J. Elvey (1862)
1 God loved the world so that He gave
His only Son the lost to save
That all who would in Him believe
Should everlasting life receive.
2 Christ Jesus is the Ground of faith,
Who was made flesh and suffered death;
All that confide in Him alone
Are built on this chief Cornerstone.
3 God would not have the sinner die,
His Son with saving grace is nigh,
His Spirit in the Word doth teach
How man the blessed goal may reach.
4 Be of good cheer, for God’s own Son
Forgives all sins which thou hast done,
And, justified by Jesus’ blood,
Thy Baptism grants the highest good.
5 If thou be sick, if death draw near,
This truth thy troubled heart can cheer:
Christ Jesus saves my soul from death;
That is the firmest ground of faith.
6 Glory to God the Father, Son,
And Holy Spirit, Three in One!
To Thee, O blessed Trinity,
Be praise now and eternally! Amen.
Sermon
Dear fellow-redeemed sinners, ransomed by the shed blood of Christ Jesus, our Savior. Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
As Moses Lifted Up the Serpent
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:14-17 (Read v. 14-21)
In Numbers 21:4-9 is the account of the children of Israel and the bronze serpent which Moses lifted up on a pole. The people became discouraged along the way in the wilderness and spoke against both God and Moses, questioning why God and His servant Moses brought them out into such a desolate land where they had neither food nor water. Because of their lack of faith and their evil words, the LORD God sent fiery serpents among the people to bite them, and many of the people died.
The people then acknowledged their sin and asked Moses to pray to the LORD that He remove the serpents from them. Instead, God commanded Moses to make a serpent and lift it up on a pole so that anyone bitten by a serpent could look at the serpent on the pole and live rather than die. As God commanded, Moses made a serpent of bronze and mounted it on a pole, and anyone who was bitten by one of the fiery serpents, if he looked in faith at the bronze serpent, he lived.
In the same way, because of our sinful and unbelieving hearts, we do not follow after the LORD God and walk in His ways. We grumble and complain of His commandments and of the things which God permits to arise in our lives. Like Adam and Eve, who failed to trust in the Word of the LORD and ate of the tree of which God had commanded them not to eat, so we fail to trust in the Word of the LORD and so often think we know better than God what is good for us.
Thus, when God says, “You shall not,” we question His goodness and wisdom and do those things He says not to do. When He tells us what He would have us do, again we think we know better and do our own thing instead.
In the same way as God did not immediately remove the fiery serpents from among His people, so He has not removed from us all the consequences of our sin. Like Adam and Eve, we must suffer sorrow and hardship in this life and finally die.
In Psalm 90:7-9, we read: “For we have been consumed by Your anger, and by Your wrath we are terrified. You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. For all our days have passed away in Your wrath; we finish our years like a sigh.”
But God has provided a way for us to live rather than suffer the eternal death and damnation we deserve. As He promised Adam and Eve the Seed of the woman who would crush the serpent’s head in Genesis 3:15, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness that all who, in faith, looked to it could live (cf. Num. 21:4-9), so God sent His only begotten Son into the world, the Seed of the woman, to win for us eternal salvation.
As we heard in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Though we are still bitten by the old evil serpent and have the poison of sin flowing through our hearts and veins, God in His great love for all mankind sent His only begotten Son into the world. And, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so also Jesus, the Son of God and Son of man, was lifted up on the cross when He was crucified and condemned for the sins of the whole world.
And, as those who looked in faith upon the bronze serpent lifted up by Moses lived, so also sinners today can look in faith to Christ Jesus, who was lifted up on the cross and crucified for our sins and has risen again in victory; and those who look to Jesus in faith will not die eternally but live!
Jesus, when He was lifted up upon the cross, paid in full the just penalty for the sins of all. His resurrection is proof (cf. Rom. 4:23ff.). And those who look to Jesus in faith will not be condemned to hell for their sins because, in Jesus, atonement was made and, through faith in Him, God graciously forgives sins and gives to all who believe everlasting life!
Those who will not repent and turn to Jesus and His cross in faith remain dead in their trespasses and sins and will suffer the eternal and just consequences for their sins (cf. John 3:18-21; 8:24).
As Jesus says in John 3:18, “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Because Jesus was lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, we who should die for our sins are, through faith in Jesus, given instead the everlasting glories of heaven. How great God’s love toward us is in Christ Jesus!
Dear Jesus, I have sinned and turned aside from loving, trusting and honoring You with my life. Do not deal with me as I deserve on account of my sin. I look to You and Your cross for salvation. Forgive my sin, cleanse my heart and grant me life eternal with You in Your everlasting kingdom. Amen.
P: The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Offertory
ALL: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Amen.
General Prayer
Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Heavenly Father, You tenderly invite us to bring our petitions before You, and You promise to hear us. Keep us, we pray, steadfast in the faith, that we might ever cling to Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who has overcome the world for us. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Gracious Father, we thank You for raising up faithful pastors among us to care for Your holy flock. Fill them with Your Spirit, that they would never tire of preaching Christ and Him crucified for the salvation of all who hear and believe. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Almighty Father, keep this nation under Your care and bless the leaders of our land, especially our president and our governor. Preserve us in safety, liberty and livelihood. Heal our divisions, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to the other nations of the earth. Give us grateful hearts for the freedom we enjoy and for the men and women who have given their lives to keep us free. We ask You also to preserve all who work in emergency and medical fields. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Merciful Father, extend Your compassionate and caring hand toward all who suffer tribulation in this sinful world. Spare us from this pestilence and its effects, and look with mercy especially upon the destitute, homeless and those impoverished. Motivate Your children to be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, that they would be Your instruments of love to help and assist those in need. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Loving Father, look with mercy upon all those who are sick or suffering in any way [especially Bill and Roberta at the loss of two of Roberta’s sibling this past week, _____________]. Restore them to health or give them the strength and perseverance to endure. Above all, comfort them in the sure and certain knowledge that their Redeemer lives, and that they have the promise of eternal life through Him. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Heavenly Father, bring us to the holy altar in repentance and faith, that we might receive a foretaste of the feast to come in the eating and drinking of Your Son’s very body and blood. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Eternal Father, we give You thanks for receiving all those who have gone to their heavenly reward before us and now rest from their labors. Keep us with them in that same faith, that together with them, we may receive the promised inheritance of Your eternal Kingdom as fellow heirs with Your Son when He returns in glory on the Last Day. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
All: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (New King James Version, Matthew 6)
Benediction
P: The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.
C: Amen.
Hymn: “He is Arisen! Glorious Word!” “Han er opstanden! Store Bud!”
Author Birgitte K. Boye (1778), Tr. George T. Rygh (1909); Wie Schoen Leuchtet, Philipp Nicolai (1599)
He is arisen! Glorious Word!
Now reconciled is God, my Lord;
The gates of heav’n are open.
My Jesus did triumphant die,
And Satan’s arrows broken lie,
Destroyed hell’s direst weapon.
Oh, hear
What cheer!
Christ victorious
Riseth glorious,
Life He giveth—
He was dead, but see, He liveth! Amen.
[Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Some hymns in this service may be copyright protected and are used with permission under LSB Hymn License No. 100010399.]