SECOND SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY January 16, 2022
ORDER OF WORSHIP: LSB — Divine Service Setting Three, pgs. 184ff
HYMNS: 394 - 408 - (602 - 398) - 923
SERMON: The Lord Jesus Blesses Marriage TEXT: John 2:1-11
A PRAYER FOR MARRIAGE, HOME, AND FAMILY:
Unless You build it, Father,
The house is built in vain;
Unless You, Savior, bless it,
The joy will turn to pain.
But nothing breaks the union
Of hearts in You made one;
The love Your Spirit hallows
In endless love begun.
(LSB, #858, stanza 4)
IN OUR PRAYERS THIS WEEK:
“Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways!” (Psalm 128:1).
• Thanks be to God for His gifts of daily bread to all people.
• For the Lord’s healing for Heather Van Slyke after surgery last week and for help and healing for Tim and Tina Tobin, our family members, congregation members, friends and neighbors who suffer illness or injury.
• Thanksgiving for the privilege of being stewards of what God has made and given us to manage, and our prayers for wisdom to do so wisely in service to our neighbor and for our own well-being.
• For safety and protection upon all who defend us from those who would harm us, and upon all whose work leads them into difficulty and danger.
THE COUNCIL OF ST. PAUL will meet this Tuesday evening, January 18th, at 7:00 pm.
THE VOTERS’ ASSEMBLY will meet next Sunday, January 23rd, after worship.
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS of ministry to Christ’s church . . . Rev. Carl Wenck, who served as vacancy pastor at Our Savior’s, Pratt in the early 1980s, is being honored at the time of his retirement on January 30th. For those who would like to join in the surprise celebration for him and his wife, Gwen, cards may be sent to Rev. Carl and Gwen Wenck, c/o Grace Lutheran Church, 811 E. Clark Blvd., Murfreesboro, TN 37130.
THIS MORNING IN THE DIVINE SERVICE we celebrate the Sacrament of the Altar in which the Lord gives the gifts to us of His body and blood for our forgiveness, life, and salvation. With deep love for God’s Word and respect for the fellowship of faith in confessing His Word, we practice closed communion.
As the Scriptures teach, we receive in this Sacrament both the bread and wine and the true body and blood of Jesus Christ given and shed on His cross (1 Cor. 10:16; 11:27). We are also instructed: “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Cor. 11:28).
Visitors to our congregation today who desire to receive the Lord’s Supper should speak with the pastor before the service. To those joining in Holy Communion from a congregation of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, and having visited with the pastor, please fill out an attendance card that we may inform your congregation of your communion with us.
ATTENDANCE/COMMUNION CARDS are located in the hymnal racks on the back of the pews. Please fill out appropriate information on the front and back of the card and leave in the offering plates at the back of the church. Thank you.
KANSAS DISTRICT LIFE CONFERENCE . . . This will be held on Tuesday, January 25th, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Topeka, Kansas, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The keynote speaker will be Rev. Dr. Jim Lamb with the theme “A Time to Speak.” Special guest will be Deaconess Tiffany Manor, Director, LCMS Life Ministry. Within the schedule will be an opportunity to participate in the Topeka Rally for Life for those choosing to do so. Registration, schedules, and other details are available at kslcms.org/life-conference/.
NOTES ON TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READINGS . . . The divine glory is manifested in the signs of Christ. When Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding in Cana, it was “the first of his signs” by which He “manifested his glory” (John 2:11). It pointed to His coming “hour,” when He was lifted up on the cross for the forgiveness of sins and the life of the world (John 2:4; 12:23–32). The glory of the cross is incomprehensible apart from the Word and Spirit of God, but disciples of Jesus recognize that glory in the signs of His Gospel, and so they believe in Him. Jesus does not wait for His disciples to discover Him on their own, but He seeks out the forsaken and the desolate and unites them to Himself. He adorns them with His own beautiful righteousness and delights in them “as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride” (Is. 62:4–5). Purified by the washing of water with His Word in Holy Baptism, His disciples confess that “Jesus is Lord,” and they return thanks to Him “in the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3) as they drink the good wine that He pours out for them, which is the new testament in His blood.
HEAD USHER: Gary McGuire ALTAR COMMITTEE: Donna Tritsch
USHERS: Kathie Thurman Terri Liggett
ST. PAUL LUTHERAN CHURCH EQUIPS, ENABLES, AND ENCOURAGES ITS MEMBERS TO GROW IN FAITH AND SHARE CHRIST’S LOVE WITH ALL PEOPLE.
TODAY - 8:00 am – The Lutheran Hour, KGNO (Dodge City, 1370 AM)
8:00 am – The Lutheran Hour, KCVW (Wichita, Hutch., 94.3
8:25 am – The Lutheran Hour, KMMM (Pratt, 1290 AM)
8:30 am – The Lutheran Hour, KWBW (Hutchinson, 1450 AM)
10:00 am – St. Paul Radio Broadcast, KMMM (Pratt, 1290 AM)
6:00 pm – The Lutheran Hour, KREJ (88.1FM)
MONDAY - 8:00 - 11:00 am – Secretary’s office hours
TUESDAY - 9 am - 2 pm - Ladies Quilt Group
5:00 - 6:30 pm – Bread of Life Community Kitchen open – Pratt
7:00 pm - Church Council
WEDNESDAY - 8:00 - 11:00 am – Secretary’s office hours
6:30 pm - Midweek Classes
7:00 PM - Choir Rehearsal
THURSDAY - 6:30 pm - Ladies and Men’s Bible Study
FRIDAY - 8:00 - 11:00 am - Secretary’s office hours
SUNDAY - 9:00 am - Sunday School and Bible Class
10:00 am - Divine Service
- Voters’ Assembly
THE LUTHERAN HOUR – “Hazed and Confused" (Luke 4:1-37) God is against our pride because He wants to give Himself to us. Speaker: Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler.
ADULT CHOIR REHEARSAL will begin again this Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm.
STEWARDSHIP SENTENCES based on John 2:3 – “When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’” Behold the faith of Mary. She sees a problem and simply lays it before her Son and Lord, saying, “They have no wine.” She does not offer a proposed solution, and she does not demand. She simply states her need and waits for the Lord’s response. She trusts that the Lord is a giver, and she knows that He always provides. May such a faith be ours!
About the Cover: At first glance, Jesus changing water into wine at a wedding hardly seems as important as healing, casting out demons, and raising the dead. However, John tells us that in this first recorded miracle, “Jesus . . . manifested His glory.” It is the signal that the celebration of the Lord’s salvation can begin. This is a sign of the great feast of the Lord’s victory foretold throughout Scripture. We get a foretaste of that victorious and celebratory meal every time we receive Christ’s very body and blood, given and shed for our sins and for the strengthening of our faith. The Lord’s glory has been manifested to us!
OLD TESTAMENT READING - Isaiah 62:1-5
EPISTLE - I Corinthians 12:1-11
HOLY GOSPEL - John 2:1-11