First Trinity Lutheran Church

9 February 2025

Fifth Sunday After the Epiphany

Ringing of the Bell

– The bell rings as the call to worship, reminding us to discontinue conversation and reverently prepare for worship.

Prelude

Welcome and Announcements

Lutheran Service Book Divine Service Setting Three

Stand

507 Holy, Holy, Holy LSB 507 sts. 1–4

1 Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessèd Trinity!

2 Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Which wert and art and evermore shalt be.

3 Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see,
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.

4 Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three persons, blessèd Trinity!

Text: Reginald Heber, 1783–1826
Text: Public domain

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.

Invocation

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

C Amen.

Exhortation

P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.

P Our help is in the name of the Lord,

C who made heaven and earth.

P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,

C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Silence for reflection on God's Word and for self-examination.

Confession of Sins

P O almighty God, merciful Father,

C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.

Absolution

P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the TSon and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

Gloria in Excelsis 154

P Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on earth.

C Lord God, heavenly king, almighty God and Father:

We worship You, we give You thanks, we praise You for Your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God:

You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.

You are seated at the right hand of the Father; receive our prayer.

For You alone are the Holy One, You alone are the Lord,

You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit,

in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

SERVICE OF THE WORD

Salutation and Collect of the Day

P The Lord be with you.

C And with thy spirit.

P Let us pray.

O Lord, keep Your family the Church continually in the true faith that, relying on the hope of Your heavenly grace, we may ever be defended by Your mighty power; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C Amen.

Sit

Psalm Psalm 138

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise;
I bow down toward your holy temple

and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
On the day I called, you answered me;
my strength of soul you increased.

All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth,
and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he knows from afar.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and your right hand delivers me.

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Old Testament Reading Isaiah 6:1–8

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

 

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

Epistle 1 Corinthians 14:12b–20

Since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

Stand

Alleluia and Verse

C Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

Holy Gospel Luke 5:1–11

P The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the fifth chapter.

C Glory be to Thee, O Lord.

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on [Jesus] to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

P This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C Praise be to Thee, O Christ.

Sit

621 Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence LSB 621

1 Let all mortal flesh keep silence
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly-minded,
For with blessing in His hand
Christ our God to earth descending
Comes our homage to demand.

2 King of kings yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords in human vesture,
In the body and the blood,
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heav’nly food.

3 Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way
As the Light of Light, descending
From the realms of endless day,
Comes the pow’rs of hell to vanquish
As the darkness clears away.

4 At His feet the six-winged seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
“Alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia, Lord Most High!”

Text: Liturgy of St. James, 5th cent.; tr. Gerard Moultrie, 1829–85, alt.
Text: Public domain

Sermon - Pastor Eric Ash

Epi 5 C February 9, 2025 Luke 5: 10b

Evangelism: Fishers of Men

My opening illustration this morning is fictional, parts are borrowed and some is my imagination. The church in my story is a composite of many different churches. The places and events are not real in the historical sense. But there is a lot of truth in them.

There once was a church called St. John’s by the Gas Station Evangelical Lutheran Church, in the town of Wegovy. The people of St. John’s were good, faithful, committed Christians. From Bible passages, such as our gospel reading today where Jesus says to the disciples, “I will make you fishers of men,” they sincerely wanted to reach out to others with the Good News of Jesus Christ. But that was not going to be easy in their town.

Due to the economy and population demographics, Wegovy was not growing. Actually, they were losing population. The people in town who belonged to churches were usually people whose families had belonged to their churches for generations. Those who didn’t go to church weren’t going to suddenly start attending, they were militantly opposed to anyone who wanted to share their faith with them. Most evangelism efforts were “dead in the water.”

Still, the people of St. John’s by the Gas Station were hopeful and optimistic, as Christians should be. As astute business people, and believing Yogi Berra’s saying that “If you don’t set goals, you’ll never reach them,” they set a goal of a 10% increase in both church membership and worship attendance for the coming year. That year, a few new people did join and some people who hadn’t attended in years came back to worship. However, as always happens, a few people moved away and some died, so the net gain was zero.

Undeterred, the people of St. John’s set the goal at 20% increases in membership and attendance for the next year. To help reach that goal, they pulled some dusty evangelism books off the church library shelves, did some research on the internet, and engaged a professional church evangelism consultant. That year St, John’s had a Friendship Sunday where all the members were encouraged to invite a friend to worship. A postcard was mailed to every household in the zip code, talking about St. John’s as a great place for food, fun, and family. A commercial for St. John’s ran on late night cable TV featuring the pastor in a sweat suit saying nice things.

But the people of St. John’s, though faithful, were shy about inviting people to church and there were few visitors on Friendship Sunday. The postcard mostly wound up in the trash can, never even read. That may have been for the best because the postcard didn’t say anything about Jesus, the Word and the sacraments, the essentials of the church. And there is no evidence that anyone who saw the TV commercial except the members of St. John’s who stayed up late to watch it.

Now, half a world away, was the country of Old Catawba. The United Staes military had a strategic interest in Old Catawba and worked with many of the people there. When Old Catawba fell to a Communist dictator, the US brought the Catawbans who were loyal to them to our country. Whereas there were many vacant houses, apartments, and storefronts in Wegovy, the government brought several hundred Catawbans there.

St. John’s immediately saw an evangelism opportunity with the influx of Catawbans. But how could they attract them to church? As everyone knows, the favorite food in Old Catawba is rutabagas. The religion most people in Old Catawba follow is Bokononism. The people of

St. John’s decided they would have their first annual Rutabaga Festival. All the Old Catawban immigrants were invited. Everyone attending would receive a free bag of rutabagas. Then there would be a dinner, featuring rutabagas cooked in several different ways. After that there would be an evangelistic worship service which would include elements of both Christianity and Bokononism.

Many Catawbans showed up for the free rutabagas. They thought it was a neighborly gesture, and they appreciated it. Some of them didn’t understand that they were expected to stay for dinner. When the St. John’s members gently insisted, some stayed, but some angrily took their rutabagas and went home. The dinner didn’t go so well. The Americans made the rutabaga entrée with red curry not green curry, which to the Catawbans was like putting ketchup on cottage cheese. They politely choked it down and then many went home to brush their teeth and take Pepto-Bismol. The worship service was a bigger disaster.

It began as a typical service of prayer and praise. Much of Bokononist belief and ritual is shrouded in mystery, but the one thing everyone knows about a Bokononist service is that it ends with the sacrifice of a chicken on the altar. That is how that service ended and it was not good. The orthodox Bokononists were offended that anyone other than a properly ordained Bokonon priest was leading the chicken ceremony. The progressive Bokononists felt their heritage had been parodied. The reaction among the Christians was even more angry.

The good faithful people of St. John’s objected to their injecting pagan elements into Christian worship for the sake of “evangelism.” Their altar had been descreated. Especially stinging was that every Christian knows that animal sacrifice in the Old Testament was merely a foreshadowing of the great once and for all Sacrifice of Christ on the cross, He is the Lamb of God who takes a way the sin of the world. No other sacrifices are necessary. The Elders met. The District President visited. Peace was restored. And lessons were learned. What were those lessons?

People know when they are being pandered to. People also know when they are being lured in with the old “bait and switch.” So often churches offer some products or services, and ask people to sit through an evangelistic service, which probably strikes them as a sales pitch. Some will do it, especially the needy, for the rutabagas or whatever it is. They know how to play the game. It often appears to them like some Christians just want them to be another notch cut on their Bible, a trophy of every soul they saved. The truth is they never saved any souls – the Holy Spirit did. Only He creates faith.

My cultural references might be a little dated – I’m old – but I’ve never heard a praise band as good as the Beatles. I’ve never heard a Christian comedian as funny as Robin Williams. I’ve never seen a Christian magic act as good as Penn and Teller. If we compete with the world, on the world’s terms, we lose every time. If the church offers what the world offers, with a little twist of Christianity, people will choose the world’s version. It’s better and comes without what they see as spiritual baggage. Why can’t we just be ourselves and trust the Holy Spirit to send us people, to put people in our path for us to witness to? Do we think God can’t do that without our help?

I don’t see Christ and the Apostles in the Bible creating a marketing strategy geared toward a target audience. When the fishers throw out their nets, they don’t know if they are going to get tilapia or carp, or atheists or Bokononists. They accept whatever they get. When the crowds came out to hear Jesus, whoever showed up got the Word. His message was so powerful people sought him out. People know where to find the church when they need us, and they usually don’t come until they need us, no matter what we do. A.A. talks about people “hitting rock bottom.” For many that is the starting point of faith. A big part of evangelism is just being available.

There is always pressure for the Christian church to change and be more like the world or other religions. Last week the sermon talked about love. If someone says they will only love you if you change for them, that’s not really love, is it? And you’re no longer really yourself, are you? If the church changes to fit the culture, if we change our beliefs to make ourselves more attractive to the world, we’re really not the church anymore, are we? God does not change. The Word of God endures forever. We should not be blown about by every cultural whim. Luther said, “Just because the birds fly over our heads, we don’t have to let them nest in our hair.”

A few years back there was a book called “Why Christianity Must Change or Die.” The author of that book obviously does not know what Jesus said about His church. Jesus said not even the gates of hell would prevail against the church. It will endure, no matter how big or how small, no matter how strong or weak in the world’s estimation we are… the church will still be here until Jesus comes again. We can be sure of that.

Now, there is one thing that the Bokononists got at least partially right.

This is a part of one of their prayers that refers to Creation and our relationship with God: God made mud… God said to some of the mud, "Sit up!" "See all I've made," said God, "the hills, the sea, the sky, the stars." And I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around.
Lucky me, lucky mud. I, mud, sat up and saw what a nice job God had done.

And may the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Votum

P The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

C Amen.

Stand

Apostles' Creed

C I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died and was buried.

He descended into hell.

The third day He rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven

and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy Christian Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life T everlasting. Amen.

PRAYERS

In peace, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For faith to proclaim God’s Word, that having learned to believe in God’s righteous acts and deeds of salvation from their youth, His people would tell of His might to the next generation so that all may rejoice in the Lord, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For faith to let down the nets of the Lord’s Word in our daily vocations, trusting that His Son will do His gracious work through poor sinners like us, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For wisdom, knowledge and every manifestation of the Holy Spirit, that our words may be measured and intelligible to our fellow Christians and those outside the Church, and our “Amens” uttered confidently in Christ, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For the sick, the weak and the afflicted, [especially _____________,] that God would not be far from us nor forsake us, but make haste to help us for Christ’s sake, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

O Lord, never depart from us. Though we are unworthy of You and Your bounty, You are pleased to receive our meager thanks and reluctant obedience for the sake of Christ’s perfect obedience. Let Your Word rule us and Your Spirit revive us to leave behind pride and anxiety alike, that we may follow You in all we do; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the same Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Pax Domini LSB 197

P The peace of the Lord be with you always.

Sit

Offertory Invitation

Scripture tells us "God loves a cheerful giver." Let us with gladness, then, now give our tithes and offerings to the Lord.

The organist plays as the offerings are being collected.

Stand

955 Let the Vineyards Be Fruitful LSB 955

1 Let the vineyards be fruitful, Lord,
And fill to the brim our cup of blessing.
Gather a harvest from the seeds that were sown,
That we may be fed with the bread of life.
Gather the hopes and the dreams of all;
Unite them with the prayers we offer now.
Grace our table with Your presence, and give us
A foretaste of the feast to come.

Text: John W. Arthur, 1922–80
Text: © 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110004199

Offertory Prayer

Lord God, as you accepted the gifts of the Magi, receive and bless these gifts which we offer in praise of the bright Morning Star, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT

Preface LSB 194

P The Lord be with you.

C And with thy spirit.

P Lift up your hearts.

C We lift them up unto the Lord.

P Let us give thanks unto the Lord, our God.

C It is meet and right so to do.

Proper Preface

P It is truly meet, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord; for what had been hidden from before the foundation of the world You have made known to the nations in Your Son. In Him, being found in the substance of our mortal nature, You have manifested the fullness of Your glory. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:

Sanctus

C Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth;

heav’n and earth are full of Thy glory.

Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is He, blessed is He, blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.

The Words of Our Lord

P On the night, in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples saying, take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same also, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, this cup is the New Testament in my blood, shed for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.

Lord's Prayer Invitation

As God's children we pray with confidence the words our Savior gave us. . .

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 trespasses

as we forgive those

who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom

and the power and the glory

forever and ever. Amen.

Fraction

P Come for all things are now ready, the gifts of God for the people of God.

C Amen.

Agnus Dei

C O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.

O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.

O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world, grant us Thy peace. Amen.

Sit

Distribution

The pastor and those who assist him receive the body and blood of Christ first and then distribute them to those who come to receive, saying:

The body of Christ, given for you.

Amen.

The blood of Christ, shed for you.

Amen.

Stand

The Dismissal

In dismissing the communicants, the following is said:

P The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen and preserve you in body and soul to life everlasting. Depart Tin peace.

C Amen.

Nunc Dimittis

C Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word,

for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people,

a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Thanksgiving

P O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good,

C and His mercy endureth forever.

Post-Communion Collect

P The Lord be with you.

C And with thy spirit.

Post Communion Prayer

P We give you thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us through the healing power of this gift of life; and we pray that in your mercy you would strengthen us, through this gift in faith toward you and in fervent love toward one another; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.

C Amen.

Benediction

P The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you.

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and Tgive you peace.

C Amen, amen, amen.

940 Holy God, We Praise Thy Name LSB 940 sts. 1–5

1 Holy God, we praise Thy name;
Lord of all, we bow before Thee.
All on earth Thy scepter claim,
All in heav’n above adore Thee.
Infinite Thy vast domain,
Everlasting is Thy reign.

2 Hark! The glad celestial hymn
Angel choirs above are raising;
Cherubim and seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising,
Fill the heav’ns with sweet accord:
Holy, holy, holy Lord!

3 Lo, the_apostles’ holy train
Join Thy sacred name to hallow;
Prophets swell the glad refrain,
And the white-robed martyrs follow,
And from morn to set of sun
Through the Church the song goes on.

4 Thou art King of Glory, Christ;
Son of God, yet born of Mary.
For us sinners sacrificed,
As to death a Tributary,
First to break the bars of death,
Thou hast opened heav’n to faith.

D 5 Holy Father, holy Son,
Holy Spirit, three we name Thee;
Though in essence only one,
Undivided God we claim Thee
And, adoring, bend the knee
While we own the mystery.

Text: Latin, c. 4th cent.; German version Katholisches Gesangbuch, 1774, Vienna; tr. Clarence A. Walworth, 1820–1900, alt.

CLOSING RESPONSE

P Go in Peace! Serve the Lord!

C Praise be to God!

AcknowledgmentsUnless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2025 Concordia Publishing House.