Service with Communion Simplified Spoken Form

4. Service with CommunionSimplified Spoken Form This Service is a revision of the “Simplified form of the communion service” Released by the LCA Commission on Worship in 1989.

5. FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 29th January, 2012

6. Opening sentence M: The Lord God will raise up a prophet like Moses from among your own people. C: He will put his words in the mouth of the prophet and you shall heed such a prophet. (based on Deut 18:15,18)

7. PREPARATION M: In the name of the Father and of the Son † and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen

8. CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION M: Friends in Christ: Let us confess our sins to God our Father and ask him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us.

9. CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION C: We confess that we are born in bondage to sin And cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, By what we have done And by what we have failed to do.

10. CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION We have not loved you with our whole heart, And we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. We deserve your eternal punishment.

11. CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, Have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.

12. CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION M: As a called and ordained servant of the word, I announce the grace of God to all of you. On behalf of my Lord Jesus Christ, and by his command, I forgive the sins of all of you who repent and believe, in the name of the Father and of the Son † and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen

13. Hymn We Sing: Baptised into Thy name most holy LH 277 CAL 293 Ich bin getauft auf deinenNamen Johann JakobRambach 1693-1735 tr Catherine Winkworth 1827-78, alt

14. Baptised into Thy name most holy 1. Baptised into your name most holy, O Father, Son, and Spirit, Lord, I claim a place, though weak and lowly, among the people you have called. With Christ I'm buried, dead to sin, and now your Spirit lives within.

15. Baptised into Thy name most holy 2. My loving Father, here you take me to be your own dear child and heir; my faithful Saviour, here you let me the fruit of all your sorrows share; come, Holy Spirit, comfort me when threatening clouds around I see.

16. Baptised into Thy name most holy 3. My faithful God, you will protect me. Your covenant surely will abide; do not be angry and reject me if I should break it on my side. Have mercy when I come defiled; forgive, lift up, restore your child.

17. Baptised into Thy name most holy 4. All that I am and love most dearly, receive it all, O Lord, from me. Help me to make my vows sincerely and your devoted child to be. Let nothing that I am or own serve any will but yours alone. †

18. Liturgy of the word

19. GREETING M: The Lord be with you. C: And also with you.

20. PRAYER OF THE DAY M: Let us pray that we accept the authority of Jesus. C: Great and loving God, we thank you for sending your Son Jesus with authority to teach and to heal.

21. PRAYER OF THE DAY Make us ready to listen to him in all our doubts and confusion, and to trust in him in all our troubles. For he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

22. FIRST READING Deuteronomy 18:15-20CEV The Lord promises a prophet like Moses R: The first reading for the fourth Sunday after Epiphany is written in chapter 18 of Deuteronomy beginning at verse 15.

23. Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Moses said the Lord God will choose one of your own people to be a prophet just like me, and you must do what that prophet says.  

24. Deuteronomy 18:15-20 16You were asking for a prophet the day you were gathered at Mount Sinai and said to the LORD, "Please don't let us hear your voice or see this terrible fire again - if we do, we will die!“ 

25. Deuteronomy 18:15-20 17Then the LORD told me: Moses, they have said the right thing.   18So when I want to speak to them, I will choose one of them to be a prophet like you. I will give my message to that prophet, who will tell the people exactly what I have said.  

26. Deuteronomy 18:15-20 19Since the message comes from me, anyone who doesn't obey the message will have to answer to me. 

27. Deuteronomy 18:15-20 20But if I haven't spoken, and a prophet claims to have a message from me, you must kill that prophet, and you must also kill any prophet who claims to have a message from another god. This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God.

28. Psalm 111 CEV R: The Psalm is Psalm 111 1Shout praises to the LORD! With all my heart I will thank the LORD when his people meet.   C: 2The LORD has done many wonderful things! Everyone who is pleased with God's marvellous deeds will keep them in mind.

29. Psalm 111 CEV R: 3Everything the LORD does is glorious and majestic, and his power to bring justice will never end. C: 4The LORD God is famous for his wonderful deeds, and he is kind and merciful.  

30. Psalm 111 CEV R: 5He gives food to his worshipers and always keeps his agreement with them.   C: 6He has shown his mighty power to his people and has given them the lands of other nations.

31. Psalm 111 CEV R: 7God is always honest and fair, and his laws can be trusted.   C: 8They are true and right and will stand forever.   R: 9God rescued his people, and he will never break his agreement with them. He is fearsome and holy.

32. Psalm 111 CEV C: 10Respect and obey the LORD! This is the first step to wisdom and good sense. God will always be respected.  C: Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; As it was in the beginning is now and will be forever. Amen.

33. SECOND READING 1 Corinthians 8:1-13CEV Freedom and the conscience of your fellow believer R: The second reading is written in chapter 8 of 1st Corinthians beginning at verse 1.

34. 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 In your letter you asked me about food offered to idols. All of us know something about this subject. But knowledge makes us proud of ourselves, while love makes us helpful to others.  

35. 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 2In fact, people who think they know so much don't know anything at all.   3But God has no doubts about who loves him. 4Even though food is offered to idols, we know that none of the idols in this world are alive. After all, there is only one God.  

36. 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 5Many things in heaven and on earth are called gods and lords, but none of them really are gods or lords.   6We have only one God, and he is the Father. He created everything, and we live for him.

37. 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 Jesus Christ is our only Lord. Everything was made by him, and by him life was given to us 7Not everyone knows these things. In fact, many people have grown up with the belief that idols have life in them. So when they eat meat offered to idols, they are bothered by a weak conscience.  

38. 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 8But food doesn't bring us any closer to God. We are no worse off if we don't eat, and we are no better off if we do. 9Don't cause problems for someone with a weak conscience, just because you have the right to eat anything.  

39. 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 10You know all this, and so it doesn't bother you to eat in the temple of an idol. But suppose a person with a weak conscience sees you and decides to eat food that has been offered to idols.   11Then what you know has destroyed someone Christ died for.  

40. 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 12When you sin by hurting a follower with a weak conscience, you sin against Christ.   13So if I hurt one of the LORD'S followers by what I eat, I will never eat meat as long as I live.  This is the Word of the Lord. C: Thanks be to God.

41. John the Baptist prepares the way CEV GOSPEL CEV

42. Mark 1:21-28 M: The Holy Gospel is written in Chapter 1 of the Gospel according to St Mark beginning at verse 21. C: Glory to You O Lord

43. Mark 1:21-28 21Jesus and his disciples went to the town of Capernaum. Then on the next Sabbath he went into the Jewish meeting place and started teaching.   22Everyone was amazed at his teaching. He taught with authority, and not like the teachers of the Law of Moses.  

44. Mark 1:21-28 23Suddenly a man with an evil spirit in him entered the meeting place and yelled,  24"Jesus from Nazareth, what do you want with us? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are! You are God's Holy One.”

45. Mark 1:21-28 25Jesus told the evil spirit, "Be quiet and come out of the man!" 26The spirit shook him. Then it gave a loud shout and left.  

46. Mark 1:21-28 27Everyone was completely surprised and kept saying to each other, "What is this? It must be some new kind of powerful teaching! Even the evil spirits obey him."  

47. Mark 1:21-28 28News about Jesus quickly spread all over Galilee.  M: This is the gospel of the Lord. C: Praise to you, O Christ.

48. PRAYER AFTER THE GOSPEL M: Lord Jesus, thank you for coming with God's authority and power. Help us to listen to what you say and to obey you. C: Amen.

49. We Sing: How sweet the name of Jesus sounds v.1,2,4 LH 161 CAL293 John Newton (1725-1807), alt.

50. How sweet the name of Jesus sounds 1. How sweet the name of Jesus sounds In a believer’s ear! It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, And drives away his fear.