First Service
THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD
The Spirit-Marked Servant
January 11, 2026
AS WE GATHER
All people are descendants of the first man, Adam. After the worldwide flood of God’s judgment of sin, Noah and his sons became the progenitors of all mankind. It was of the lineage of Shem (Genesis 11) that the man Abram was born. The descendants of Abram/Abraham were named Hebrews or Jews, after Judah, one of Jacob’s sons; this naming pertained to all of Israel after the Babylonian exile. To this day, they are referred to as God’s “chosen people” after the words of Moses: “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6). They were chosen to be the lineage of the Messiah, the deliverer, the Christ. Faithful to His promise, God took on flesh “of the house and lineage of David” (Luke 2:4) as the incarnate Son of God and Son of Mary of Nazareth.
Today we hear that divine promise in Isaiah 42, identifying Jesus as God’s chosen servant. From the beginning, however, we are told He is not only to be King of the Jews alone but a light to lighten the Gentiles also. The great news is that He is the Savior of and for all people, the descendants not only of Abraham but also of Adam and Noah! By repentance of sin and faith in Christ, worked by the same Spirit that marked Jesus as the chosen one at His Baptism, now all who are baptized into Christ—Jew or Gentile—are the chosen people of God. Praising and thanking God for calling and saving us, we echo the Gospel to all people in the words of the Psalm: “Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol Him, all peoples!” (Psalm 117:1).
+ PREPARATION +
HYMN Father Welcomes LSB 605
Refrain: Father welcomes all His children To His fam’ly through His Son.
Father giving His salvation, Life forever has been won.
Little children, come to Me, For My kingdom is of these,
Life and love I have to give, Mercy for your sin. (Refrain)
In the water, in the Word, In His promise, be assured;
Those who are baptized and believe Shall be born again. (Refrain)
Let us daily die to sin; Let us daily rise with Him,
Walk in the love of Christ our Lord, Live in the peace of God. (Refrain)
INVOCATION
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
OPENING SENTENCES Psalm 43:4; Psalm 117
Pastor: I will go to the altar of God,
People: to God my exceeding joy.
Pastor: Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol Him, all peoples!
People: For great is His steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
Pastor: Jesus Christ is God’s chosen one, who came and who comes again today to call everyone to salvation from sin and death and who makes all who are baptized in His name to be the chosen sons and daughters of God. Marked by the sacred waters of Holy Baptism, let us receive God’s assurance and promise of forgiveness.
People: Almighty God, our dear Father in heaven, in Holy Baptism You have marked us with the sign of the holy cross upon our foreheads and upon our hearts to mark us as people of Your choosing to be redeemed by Christ the crucified. Open our eyes to Your light of freedom and forgiveness and to Your calling of us to be Your own chosen people of Your eternal kingdom.
Pastor: Upon this your confession, the almighty God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given you the new birth of water and of the Spirit, has forgiven you all your sins. God strengthen you with His grace to life + everlasting.
People: Amen.
+ WORD +
HYMN OF PRAISE Songs of Thankfulness and Praise TLH 134 vs 1, 2 & 5
Songs of thankfulness and praise, Jesus, Lord, to Thee we raise,
Manifested by the star To the sages from afar,
Branch of royal David's stem, In Thy birth at Bethlehem.
Anthems be to Thee addressed God in man made manifest.
Manifest at Jordan's stream, Prophet, Priest, and King supreme,
And at Cana, Wedding-guest, In Thy Godhead manifest;
Manifest in power divine, Changing water into wine.
Anthems be to Thee addressed God in man made manifest.
Grant us grace to see Thee, Lord, Mirrored in Thy holy Word;
May we imitate Thee now And be pure as pure art Thou
That we like to Thee may be At Thy great Epiphany
And may praise Thee, ever blest, God in man made manifest.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Pastor: Let us pray. Father in heaven, at the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River You proclaimed Him Your beloved Son and anointed Him with the Holy Spirit. Make all who are baptized in His name faithful in their calling as Your children and inheritors with Him of everlasting life; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT READING Isaiah 42:1–9 (The Lord’s chosen servant)
Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; 3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. 5 Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: 6 “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, 7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. 8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. 9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
EPISTLE Romans 6:1–11 (Dead to sin, alive to God)
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self[a] was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free[b] from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
HOLY GOSPEL Matthew 3:13–17 (The Baptism of Jesus)
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
HYMN I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light LSB 411
I want to walk as a child of the light I want to follow Jesus
God sent the stars to give light to the world The star of my life is Jesus
Refrain: In Him there is no darkness at all
The night and the day are both alike
The Lamb is the light of the city of God
Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus
I want to see the brightness of God I want to look at Jesus
Clear Sun of Righteousness, shine on my path And show me the way to the Father (Refrain)
I'm looking for the coming of Christ I want to be with Jesus
When we have run with patience the race We shall know the joy of Jesus (Refrain)
SERMON
NICENE CREED
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made: who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried. And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. And he will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe one holy Christian and apostolic Church, I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
GREETING/ANNOUNCEMENTS
OFFERING
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Pastor: All glory and praise to You, O God, for You have created all mankind in Your image to live in Your love and fellowship forever in Your eternal kingdom. By Your design, You have defeated the devil and the power of sin and death by the sacrifice of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. He became Your chosen one in His Baptism in the waters of the Jordan River and by Your Holy Spirit, in order that all who are baptized in His name and by the same Spirit may be restored to newness of life as Your chosen sons and daughters. Help us to extend the same invitation of Your mercy and grace to all people. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Grant that Your church be guided in true faith and worship by faithful pastors and shepherds of Your flock, that we may sing Your praises joyfully now and in eternity. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Help us to live with integrity as people of Your own possession, guarding us from all evil and leading us safely in the ways of Your good and gracious will. Give to all in the authority of government a desire for good order to the promotion of freedom and faithfulness to the ways of peace. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: To all who are yet enslaved by the darkness of sin and separation from You, cause the light of Your salvation to break forth that many may hear of Your deliverance and the hope of life and love by faith in the Savior and be drawn by the Spirit to Your covenant of Holy Baptism. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Grant healing and relief to all who are sick, homebound, or in any need or distress, that they may know the power of Your love. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: We remember all the saints who have gone before us. Give us a heart of wisdom that when our last hour comes, we are granted a blessed end in the life of the world to come. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Pastor: Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
People: Amen.