Worship
Invocation
O almighty God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — we come into Your presence to seek Your mercy, to hear Your Word, and to offer up to You our prayers and praises. Hear us for the sake of the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and His atoning sacrifice on the cross for our sins. Amen.
Psalm 130 A Song of degrees
1 Out of the depths have I cried to thee, O LORD. 2 Lord, hear my voice: let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. 3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. 5 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. 6 My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. 7 Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. 8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”
Confession of Sins
P: Let us confess our sins unto the Lord our God and look to Him for mercy and forgiveness for the sake of the abundant redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ, who has redeemed us from all our iniquities.
C: Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, we poor sinners confess to You that we are by nature sinful and unclean and that we have sinned against You in our thoughts, desires, words, and deeds. We, therefore, flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Your grace for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.
P: For the sake of Jesus’ holy life and His atoning sacrifice on the cross, I announce unto you the grace and mercy of God and proclaim to you forgiveness for all your sins through faith in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Scripture Lesson: Matthew 2:1-23
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him. 3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he enquired of them where the Christ should be born. 5 And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. 7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented to him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned by God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
13 And when they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken from the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceeding angry, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all its surrounding lands, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 18 In Ramah was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead who sought the young child’s life. 21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judaea in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there: however, being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: 23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
Do you seek Him?
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2 (Read Matt. 2:1-23)
Once again, through the Scriptures, we have heard of the birth of the Christ Child in Bethlehem of Judea. God the Son was made a true man, born of a virgin, and laid in a manger. An angel told the shepherds in the field nearby that this Child was none other than the Savior of the world, the Messiah, Jehovah God Himself!
Wise men (the Bible doesn’t tell us how many) from a land or lands east of Judea learned of the Messiah’s birth through the appearance of a star (cf. Numbers 24:17; Isaiah 60:1ff.) and traveled a great distance to come and worship this newborn King and bring Him costly gifts. When they arrived in Jerusalem, King Herod was troubled by their quest and inquired of the chief priests and scribes where the Messiah was to be born. They rightly understood the Scriptures and quoted from Micah 5:2, pointing out that Bethlehem was to be the place of the Messiah’s birth.
But what happened after this? The wise men continued their journey and were led by the star to Bethlehem and to the very house where Jesus was. There, they worshipped Jesus and offered Him gifts. Herod, the king, felt threatened by the birth of the Messiah and sought to kill Him and prevent Him from reigning on the throne of David. The chief priests and scribes knew the Scriptures and could tell Herod where the Messiah was to be born, but nowhere do we hear of them traveling to Bethlehem to worship their newborn Savior and King.
The question today is: “What about you?” You have heard of His birth and even know of His sufferings and death for your sins and of His glorious resurrection. Do you reject Jesus and try to silence those who would speak to you of Him because Jesus is a threat to you and your way of life? Do you know all the facts about Jesus, but still fail to come and bow before Him and give Him your praise and worship? Or, like the wise men of old, do you follow the star (seeking the guidance of Holy Scripture) to find Messiah Jesus and worship your God and Savior, presenting Him with the costliest of gifts — your very lives?
O dearest Jesus, You are the Almighty God and our Maker. We thank You for taking on flesh and blood and coming into this world to redeem us from sin and death. We praise You and give to You our treasures and our lives. Amen.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, God of all mercy and grace, we approach Your throne through the perfect sacrifice and shed blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ. We confess our failures to walk by faith in the glorious promises of Your Word. Forgive our lack of trust and our sinful inclinations, which so easily overcome us.
By Your Holy Spirit, move us daily to read and study our Bibles and to approach You with our petitions and heartfelt praises. Be patient with us in our weakness and disobedience, move us to turn from our sins and look to Jesus, our Savior, for mercy and pardon. Preserve us in the true and saving faith unto life everlasting.
O Christ Jesus, eternal Son of God and our Savior, You gave Your life for ours and made full atonement for our sins on the cross. Bless the tireless work of faithful pastors, missionaries, and congregations everywhere, so that Your life-giving Word might be proclaimed and all who hear may repent and look to You for forgiveness.
O loving and merciful God, our nation and people are living in darkness and under Your just wrath and judgment. We pray that You would open the eyes and ears of our citizens and rulers that they might see and hear the truth of Your Word. Move them to repent of their evil deeds and fall down at the feet of Jesus, pleading for pardon.
You are the great Healer and Preserver of our bodies and souls. We humbly ask You to provide for all our needs and preserve us from all harm and danger in this life. We lift up those among us who are afflicted — especially Harley, John, Karen, Renne, and all we name in our hearts. Have mercy on us all, grant healing to the sick, comfort to the oppressed, and strength for everyone to endure the troubles of this life in the sure hope of everlasting glory, for the sake of Christ Jesus, our Redeemer.
Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer. Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
“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 debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” (Matt. 6:9-13)
Benediction (Num. 6:24-26)
“The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious to thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the Revised 1883 Webster Version of the Bible.]
ANNOUNCEMENTS
For pastoral care, please call Pastor Moll at 479-233-0081 or email him at randy@mercifulsavior.net.
Our next Business Meeting will be held following our worship service on Sunday, January 18.