December 28, 2025

THE SERVICE

FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

Christmas holidays mean family time, often with extended family travel and visits. Meals are prepared, gifts are given, memories are made. But the memories might not all be good. Sometimes there are Christmas hurts or even tragedies. We live in a world still affected by sin.

The sinfulness of the world cannot rob us of the peace God intends to bring through his Son. Christ the Savior is born, and through his life, God brings us into the family. He gives us the rights of redeemed sons and daughters, the privileges of inheritance.

OPENING HYMN 354 O Come, All Ye Faithful

1 O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant!
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem!
Come and behold him, born the King of angels: (Refrain)

Ref O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord!

2 God from true God, and Light from Light eternal,
born of a virgin, to earth he comes!
Only-begotten Son of God the Father: (Refrain)

3 Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation,
sing, all ye citizens of heav’n above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest: (Refrain)

4 Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to thee be all glory giv’n!
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing: (Refrain)

Text: John F. Wade, c. 1711–1786; tr. Frederick Oakeley, 1802–1880, alt.
Text: Public domain

Please Stand

INVOCATION 154 Setting One

In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

CONFESSION

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just
and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Let us confess our sins to the Lord.
Holy God, gracious Father,
    I am sinful by nature
        and have sinned against you in my thoughts, words, and actions.
    I have not loved you with my whole heart;
    I have not loved others as I should.
        I deserve your punishment both now and forever.
    But Jesus, my Savior, paid for my sins
        with his innocent suffering and death.
    Trusting in him, I pray: God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Silence for meditation and reflection

ABSOLUTION 154

Our gracious Father in heaven has been merciful to us. He sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, who gave his life as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Therefore, as a called servant of Christ and by his authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

THE WORD

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Let us pray.

Almighty God, the martyred innocents of Bethlehem showed forth your praise not by speaking but by dying. Put to death in us all that is in conflict with your will that our lives may bear witness to the faith we profess with our lips; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

Be seated

FIRST READING Isaiah 63:7–9

The kindness of the Lord is seen in sending a Savior to redeem those who turn away from him.

7I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord,
the deeds for which he is to be praised,
according to all the Lord has done for us—
yes, the many good things
he has done for Israel,
according to his compassion and many kindnesses.
8He said, “Surely they are my people,
children who will be true to me”;
and so he became their Savior.
9In all their distress he too was distressed,
and the angel of his presence saved them.
In his love and mercy he redeemed them;
he lifted them up and carried them
all the days of old.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

PSALM OF THE DAY Psalm 2

1Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
2The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
3“Let us break their chains
and throw off their shackles.”

4The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
5He rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6“I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”

7I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have become your father.
8Ask me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
9You will break them with a rod of iron;
you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

10Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11Serve the Lord with fear
and celebrate his rule with trembling.
12Kiss his son, or he will be angry
and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

SECOND READING Galatians 4:4–7

Redeemed by God’s true Son, we can call God our “Father.”

4But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. 6Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Please Stand

GOSPEL (in English and Karen) Matthew 2:13–23

God saves his Son from an early death. God’s plan was to save the world by having his Son die on the cross when the time had fully come.

13When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

18“A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”

19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

21So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise be to you, O Christ!

Be seated

CHILDREN'S MESSAGE

HYMN OF THE DAY 345 Where Shepherds Lately Knelt

1 Where shepherds lately knelt and kept the angel’s word,
I come in half-belief, a pilgrim strangely stirred;
but there is room and welcome there for me,
but there is room and welcome there for me.

2 In that unlikely place I find him as they said:
sweet newborn babe, how frail! And in a manger bed:
a still, small voice to cry one day for me,
a still, small voice to cry one day for me.

3 How should I not have known Isaiah would be there,
his prophecies fulfilled? With pounding heart I stare:
a child, a son, the Prince of Peace for me,
a child, a son, the Prince of Peace for me.

4 Can I, will I forget how Love was born, and burned
its way into my heart—unasked, unforced, unearned,
to die, to live, and not alone for me,
to die, to live, and not alone for me?

Text: Jaroslav J. Vajda, 1919–2008
Text: © 1986 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: OneLicense no. 717826

SERMON

Please Stand

CONFESSION OF FAITH Nicene Creed 325 & 381 AD

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who in unity with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Be seated

OFFERING PRESENTED BEFORE THE ALTAR

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

We praise you for your deeds, O Lord. In your love and mercy you redeemed us.