First Service
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
Blessed Indeed
February 1, 2026
AS WE GATHER
Many of the words that we use on a regular basis in our worship have a rich and meaningful history that is often not well known. The word blessed or blessing used in the liturgy and hymns of the church is derived from the Old English word bloedsian, “to make something sacred.” This word, traced further back to an ancient Germanic dialect, originally meant “to make sacred in marking with blood.” That meaningful linkage is well reflected in the eighteenth-century hymn text by English clergyman Joseph Humphreys, which begins: “Blest the children of our God, They are bought with Christ’s own blood; They are ransomed from the grave, Life eternal they will have” (LW 370:1). In his poetic text, Humphreys echoes 1 John, where we read: “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1:7). We are blessed though the blood of Jesus to be the children of God! As we pray with hymnwriter Humphreys: “With them numbered may we be here and in eternity!” (LW 370:1).
+ PREPARATION +
HYMN Oh, Bless the Lord, My Soul TLH 27
Oh, bless the Lord, my soul! Let all within me join
And aid my tongue to bless His name Whose favors are divine.
Oh, bless the Lord, my soul, Nor let His mercies lie
Forgotten in unthankfulness And without praises die!
'Tis He forgives thy sins; 'Tis He relieves thy pain;
'Tis He that heals thy sicknesses And makes thee young again.
He crowns thy life with love When ransomed from the grave;
He that redeemed my soul from hell Hath sovereign power to save.
He fills the poor with good; He gives the sufferers rest:
The Lord hath judgments for the proud And justice for th' opprest.
His wondrous works and ways He made by Moses known,
But sent the world His truth and grace By His beloved Son.
INVOCATION
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
OPENING SENTENCES Psalm 89:1–2, 5, 8, 52; Isaiah 2:5b
Pastor: I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever;
People: with my mouth I will make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
Pastor: For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens You will establish Your faithfulness.”
People: Let the heavens praise Your wonders, O Lord, Your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
Pastor: O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty as You are, O Lord, with Your faithfulness all around You?
People: Blessed be the Lord forever! Amen and Amen. Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
Pastor: Let us now make confession of our sins to God, our gracious heavenly Father.
People: Eternal God, we confess that by nature we are sinful people. We are given to sinful thoughts, sinful words, and sinful deeds. We have transgressed Your law in many ways, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have often been heedless of our calling to follow in Your ways. Because of our sins and our sinfulness, we deserve Your punishment now and for eternity. Gracious God, in Your mercy, forgive our sin and restore us to a full and joyful relationship with You through the merits of Jesus, our Lord. Direct our days by Your Holy Spirit that we may joyfully follow Your will and gladly obey Your commandments as Your redeemed people, bringing the brightness of Your light to the darkened world.
Pastor: 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 + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it. Be at peace.
People: Thanks be to God. Amen.
+ WORD +
HYMN OF PRAISE From All That Dwell Below the Skies TLH 15
From all that dwell below the skies
Let the Creator's praise arise; Alleluia! Alleluia!
Let the Redeemer's name be sung
Through every land, by every tongue.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Eternal are Thy mercies, Lord;
Eternal truth attends Thy Word: Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore
Till suns shall rise and set no more.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Pastor: Let us pray. Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we cannot stand upright. Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT READING Micah 6:1–8 (God’s people are to come before Him in humility.)
Hear what the Lord says: Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. 2 Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against his people, 4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5 O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.” 6 “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” 8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
EPISTLE 1 Corinthians 1:18–31 (Christ is the wisdom and the power of God.)
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
HOLY GOSPEL Matthew 5:1–12
(Jesus teaches about blessed living.)
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
HYMN Son of God, Eternal Savior LSB 842
Son of God, eternal Savior, Source of life and truth and grace,
Word made flesh, whose birth among us Hallows all our human race,
You our Head, who, throned in glory, For Your own will ever plead:
Fill us with Your love and pity, Heal our wrongs, and help our need.
As You, Lord, have lived for others, So may we for others live.
Freely have Your gifts been granted; Freely may Your servants give.
Yours the gold and Yours the silver, Yours the wealth of land and sea;
We but stewards of Your bounty Held in solemn trust will be.
Come, O Christ, and reign among us, King of Love and Prince of Peace;
Hush the storm of strife and passion, Bid its cruel discords cease.
By Your patient years of toiling, By Your silent hours of pain,
Quench our fevered thirst of pleasure, Stem our selfish greed of gain.
Son of God, eternal Savior, Source of life and truth and grace,
Word made flesh, whose birth among us Hallows all our human race:
By your praying, by Your willing, That Your people should be one,
Grant, O grant our hope’s fruition; Here on earth Your will be done.
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: Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs:
We pray for the church, the Bride of Christ, that through her the message of salvation be proclaimed and the gifts of God be shared. We pray this day for all nations of the world, that there be an end to hostilities and that times of peacefulness prevail everywhere.
We pray for our families and our neighbors. Move us to reach out in every direction with the joyful news of the Gospel, that people may become part of the kingdom of God now and forever. We pray for all people in various conditions, especially for the hospitalized and those who are homebound during this season. We pray for the unemployed, those who are downcast or grieving, and for all those for whom our petitions are desired, [including . . .].
We remember those who have shared the faith with us and now have departed this life in joyful hope. Confidently, we await the time when we shall rejoice together with them eternally along with saints and angels and all the company of heaven. Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
People: Amen