February 5, 2023

St Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

313 4th St, Manistee, MI 49660-2901

website: stpaulsmanistee.com

facebook.com/SPLCManistee

Telephone: 231-299-1022

February 5, 2023–Epiphany 5: Salt and Light

Welcome to our visitors.

May the Lord bless you through His Word together with us today.

Prayer Before Worship - Lord Jesus, thank You for showing me that You are my Savior. Help me to show You to other people by the way I live.

Hymn 394 (Vs 3 cites Matt 5:14 from Gospel lesson)

Service of the Word & Sacrament, front of hymnal page 26

Prayer: Almighty God, /You sent Your One and Only Son/ as the Word of Life for our eyes to see and ours ears to hear. Help us believe what the Scriptures proclaim about Him/ and do the things that are pleasing in Your sight; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, / who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,/ one God, now and forever. (Sing) Amen.

Epistle: 1 Peter 2:9-12

Jesus’ followers let their good deeds point to their LORD

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Verse: Alleluia! Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12NIV) Alleluia. (Sing) Alleluia……. front of hymnal.

Gospel: Matt 5:13-20

Jesus’ followers let their good deeds shine a light on the Father in heaven.

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Hymn 279 (Vs 3 quotes Matt 5:16 from Gospel lesson)

Sermon Text: Old Testament Lesson: Joshua 24:14-24

The LORD’s followers undivided loyalty points others to their LORD.

14 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” 16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! 17 It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. 18 And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God.” 19 Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.” 21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the LORD.” 22 Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.” “Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied. 23 “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” 24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.”

Theme: Is your family an epiphany of Jesus?

1 Who is your God?

Matt 5:14 “You are the light of the world.

2 Why is Jesus our god?

3 How can people tell Jesus is our God

1 Tim 2:4 God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Prayer : LORD JESUS, thank You for giving me my family. Please help us as a family to be an epiphany of You to anybody who visits us.

Nicene Creed, front of hymnal, page 31

Thankoffering

The members of St Paul's have joined together to do the Lord’s work in this area & around the world. Visitors need not feel obligated to participate in this offering which supports our church’s ministry.

Prayer of the church, pg 32, Special Prayers, Lord’s Prayer, then pg 33

Distribution of Lord’s Supper to the members of St Paul's & other WELS or ELS congregations who by their membership have indicated they are qualified to examine themselves (1 Cor 11:27-29) & to express oneness in faith ( 1 Cor 10:17). If you are a guest today & haven’t yet had the chance to express your agreement with us & would like to receive the Lord’s Supper together with us in the future, please speak with the usher. We would be delighted to help you come to appreciate a “close” relationship with your Lord, with us and with our congregation.

Hymn 491:1-3 during distribution

Continue page 36, front of hymnal

Hymn 491:4 (cites Matt 5:16 from the Gospel lesson)