INVOCATION
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
672 JERUSALEM THE GOLDEN
1 Jerusalem the golden,
With milk and honey blest—
The promise of salvation,
The place of peace and rest—
We know not, oh, we know not
What joys await us there:
The radiancy of glory,
The bliss beyond compare!
2 Within those walls of Zion
Sounds forth the joyful song,
As saints join with the angels
And all the martyr throng.
The Prince is ever with them;
The daylight is serene;
The city of the blessèd
Shines bright with glorious sheen.
3 Around the throne of David,
The saints, from care released,
Raise loud their songs of triumph
To celebrate the feast.
They sing to Christ their leader,
Who conquered in the fight,
Who won for them forever
Their gleaming robes of white.
4 O sweet and blessèd country,
The home of God’s elect!
O sweet and blessèd country
That faithful hearts expect!
In mercy, Jesus, bring us
To that eternal rest
With You and God the Father
And Spirit, ever blest.
Text: Public domain
COLLECT OF THE DAY
P Let us pray.
O Lord, absolve Your people from their offenses that, from the bonds of our sins which by reason of our frailty we have brought upon ourselves, we may be delivered by Your bountiful goodness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT READING Isaiah 65:17–25
17“Behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
18But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness.
19I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress.
20No more shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for the young man shall die a hundred years old,
and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
21They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23They shall not labor in vain
or bear children for calamity,
for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord,
and their descendants with them.
24Before they call I will answer;
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
25The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
Psalm 149
1Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the godly!
2Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
3Let them praise his name with dancing,
making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
4For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with salvation.
5Let the godly exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their beds.
6Let the high praises of God be in their throats
and two-edged swords in their hands,
7to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishments on the peoples,
8to bind their kings with chains
and their nobles with fetters of iron,
9to execute on them the judgment written!
This is honor for all his godly ones. Praise the Lord!
EPISTLE 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11
1Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 5For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 6So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. 7For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
HOLY GOSPEL
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-fifth chapter.
1[Jesus said:] “The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
APOSTLES’ CREED
SERMON
Isaiah 65:17 For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.
For most of my life I have had one or more aquariums that I would take care of as a hobby. Some little bowls for goldfish or betas. Or the big tank that’s in the parsonage dining room now. I enjoy watching the fish, tending the fish, sometimes raising baby fish. The challenge is always to get the right balance in this little system to keep life going and happy. If there is too little oxygen or too much ammonia, things need to be adjusted and cleaned up. If there’s too little food, that’s not good for the residents, if there’s too much food, that’s even worse.
Now I see that Amazon is selling a Closed Aquatic Ecosystem for $44.56 (free shipping) you can get this glass sphere, completely sealed, with water, plants and live fish. The plants feed the fish. The fish in turn feed the plants. If you get it, you don’t have to remember to feed or to clean. You just look at it.
It’s very common nowadays to think of the universe as being like this ideal orb, a closed system with no outside input of any kind. The late Stephen Hawking was a physicist who did much to show how this universe works without divine intervention. His ideas, like quantum cosmology, were brilliant and imaginative ways of supposing that the universe had no beginning, no end and no help from beyond. Much of his contributions to science have been extremely helpful in describing how matter and energy work. However many of his big ideas were proved dead wrong. When Stephen Hawking went to meet his Maker two and a half years ago, I suppose he learned that God was involved in creation and He is still very much involved in the lives of all His creatures.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1) And He says He’s still at work on it. Things have gotten very much out of balance in this ecosystem we have here. The sins and rebellion of our forefathers have spoiled God’s good creation. The sin in our lives continue to break the perfection that should be.
Believe and be thankful that God is not far removed from the troubles of life in this sphere. We are not sealed off from God’s care and involvement. He wouldn’t let that be. He sends help and blessing. He speaks to His creatures. It would be good for all people to listen to what He says, before it’s too late.
He says, “Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind” (Isaiah 65:17).
“Behold!” We don’t hear that word everyday, do we? So when we hear it, it’s the mark that there’s something important coming, something worth listening to.
“I create new heavens and a new earth.” This is a powerful, saving promise to those who are suffering from the old consequences of sin. The consequences of sin are what has got this universe out of whack and in need of intervention from the Creator. They include guilty burdened consciences, broken relationships and broken hearts, contention and unrest, trauma and diseases, fears and pandemic, and cold, sad death.
So there’s something new coming. God promises. We expect it, and hold on to the hope for it. We see from the example of the wise virgins in Jesus’ parable that the most important thing we can do in life is get ready for what the Lord will bring to us next. And you get ready by hearing what the Lord says, and believing it.
The new heavens and new earth are going to be beyond our imagination and understanding, of course, because our minds and thoughts are part of the old, dirty, broken, creation. The new creation will be perfect and beautiful. When God describes the new creation, He mostly tells us what it’s not going to be like: No more sin; no more death; no more crying; no more pain.
All that is old. It will be obsolete in the new. There so much in our life that we just assume will be forever. Some things in this old world we crave and covet, as if they are gonna last. We need the Lord to teach us what is worth holding onto and what we can let go, because He is making all things new.
The Psalm for today, Psalm 149 says,
”Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,”
We have inspiration to sing a new song. In our worship and on into our lives we sing praises to our God who reigns in highest heaven, yet is willing to stoop down and into this world, to fix our old problems and bring us new blessings.
That’s what He did when sent the prophets and apostles of the Bible, giving us the chance to hear His word of salvation. That’s just what He did when you were baptized and the Spirit of the Lord came into His creation and made you new. That’s what He does daily when He feeds you, cares for you and encourages you by faith.
This is all flowing out from that one greatest event in all the history of this universe when God came down from heaven and was incarnate, in the flesh, made man. The Creator took on the life of a creature, born of his human mother, Mary. That was new. Old creation got a new start with the miraculous birth and life and death and resurrection of Jesus.
You can expect a new creation of a new heaven and a new earth on the day when the Lord will bring it. But you who are with Jesus, already now, are a new creation. He takes away from you your sins, and guilt, fear and death -- all that old stuff, Jesus takes away. He gives new life, new hearts and consciences, new hope and new peace. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
P Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
Almighty and eternal God, worthy to be held in reverence by all people everywhere, we give You humble and sincere thanks for the innumerable blessings that You have bestowed on us without any merit or worthiness on our part. We praise You especially for preserving for us Your saving Word and Holy Sacraments. Grant and preserve to Your Holy Church throughout the world purity of doctrine, and provide faithful pastors to preach Your Word with power. Help all who hear the Word rightly to understand and truly to believe it. Send laborers into Your harvest, and open the door of faith to those who do not know You. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Heavenly Father, in mercy bring to repentance the enemies of Your Church, and grant them amendment of life. Protect and defend Your Church in all tribulation and danger, and sustain with Your Spirit our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world who experience persecution. Strengthen us and all fellow Christians to set our hope fully on the grace revealed in Christ, and help us to fight the good fight of faith, that in the end we may receive the salvation of our souls. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Loving God, bestow Your grace on all nations of the earth. Bless especially our country, its inhabitants and all who are in authority. Let Your glory dwell in our land, that mercy and truth, righteousness and peace may abound in all places. Bless also all who serve in our armed forces, that they may serve with integrity and honor. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer.
P Compassionate Lord, graciously defend us from all calamity by fire and water, from war and pestilence, from scarcity and famine, and from every other evil. Protect and prosper all who labor in their rightful callings, and let all useful arts flourish among us. Be the God and Father of the lonely and the forsaken, the helper of the sick and needy, the comforter of the distressed and those who sorrow. Lord, in Your mercy,
C hear our prayer
P Father, as we are strangers and pilgrims on earth, help us by true faith and a godly life to prepare for the world to come, doing the work You have given us to do while it is day, before the night comes when no one can work. And when our last hour comes, support us by Your power and receive us into Your heavenly Kingdom; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
BENEDICTION
895 NOW THANK WE ALL OUR GOD
1 Now thank we all our God
With hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done,
In whom His world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms
Has blest us on our way
With countless gifts of love
And still is ours today.
2 Oh, may this bounteous God
Through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts
And blessèd peace to cheer us
And keep us in His grace
And guide us when perplexed
And free us from all ills
In this world and the next!
D 3 All praise and thanks to God
The Father now be given,
The Son, and Him who reigns
With them in highest heaven,
The one eternal God,
Whom earth and heav’n adore;
For thus it was, is now,
And shall be evermore.
Text: Public domain
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