Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Date
January 31, 2021
Author
Don Bennett
Category
Bulletins

CREATED, SAVED AND GIFTED BY GOD, WE SEEK, SERVE AND SHARE JESUS CHRIST.

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
January 31, 2021
10:30 am

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
901 East Stroop Road
Kettering, OH 45429-4688
(937) 298-0136

Introduction

In Deuteronomy God promises to raise up a prophet like Moses, who will speak for God; in Psalm 111 God shows the people the power of God’s works. For the church these are ways of pointing to the unique authority people sensed in Jesus’ actions and words. We encounter that authority in God’s word, around which we gather, the word that trumps any lesser spirit that would claim power over us, freeing us to follow Jesus.
Could He Be the Only One?
Who: Jesus, disciples, observant go-to-worship folks honoring the sabbath. And, yes, a man with an unclean spirit. (Could he be the only such soul in the congregation?)
What: Reading holy words, the domain of scribes and scholars, and a shocking teaching given “with authority.”
Where: In the synagogue.
When: On the sabbath.
Who is this one who cried out in the congregation? Was he a scared thief creeping from his hiding place? A lanky kid exhausted from bawling outside locked doors? An old man gasping beneath piles of ill-gotten wealth? A young woman cursing heaven by day and hell by night for reasons no one dares to name? A stumbling fugitive worn down by a lifetime of running? A robust profiteer, master of deception? An unjust judge solemnly wearing a robe woven from threads of secret favors? A miser in a mansion perched above slums? A hoarder of vengeance nursing metastasized hatreds? Have you seen, met, or known any of these among the congregation?
The one with an unclean spirit cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” (Mark 1:24). Jesus silences the unclean spirit. But Jesus will not be the destroyer. The crucified one does not crucify. He does not build and fill prisons; he sets free. He does not shun, avoid, and send away; he calls the accursed to himself. He does not condemn the sinner; he rescues and saves.
Yes, they in the synagogue that day and we in the church this day are amazed. Jesus’ teaching with authority contradicts all the rules that anchor us to a spirit of despair. Good news, indeed.

WELCOME

The Holy Spirit calls us together as the people of God.

GATHERING

ANNOUNCEMENTS

CONFESSION & FORGIVENESS

All may make the sign of the cross, the sign that is marked at baptism, as the presiding minister begins.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another.

Most merciful God, we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.

God, who is rich in mercy, loved us even when we were dead in sin, and made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. In the name of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Almighty God strengthen you with power through the Holy Spirit, that Christ may live in your hearts through faith.
Amen.

GATHERING SONG – God, Whose Almighty Word

God, whose almighty word
chaos and darkness heard
and took their flight:

hear us, we humbly pray,
and where the gospel day
sheds not its glorious ray,
let there be light.

Christ, who once came to bring,
on your redeeming wing,
healing and sight;

health to the troubled mind,
sight where illusions blind;
oh, now to humankind
let there be light.

Spirit of truth and love,
life-giving, holy dove,
speed forth your flight;

move on the water’s face
bearing the lamp of grace,
and in earth’s darkest place
let there be light.

Holy and blessed three,
glorious Trinity,
Wisdom, Love, Might:

boundless as ocean’s tide,
rolling in fullest pride,
through the earth, far and wide,
let there be light.

GREETING

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And also with you.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Compassionate God, you gather the whole universe into your radiant presence and con- tinually reveal your Son as our Savior. Bring wholeness to all that is broken and speak truth to us in our confusion, that all creation will see and know your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

WORD

God speaks to us in scripture reading, preaching, and song.

FIRST READING Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Today’s reading is part of a longer discourse in Deuteronomy, an updating of the law for the Israelite community as the people wait to enter the promised land. Here Moses assures the people that God will continue to guide them through prophets who will proclaim the divine word.

A reading from the book of Deuteronomy.
[Moses said:] The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. This is what you requested of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: “If I hear the voice of the LORD my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die.”
Then the LORD replied to me: “They are right in what they have said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not com- manded the prophet to speak—that prophet shall die.”
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.

SECOND READING 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Paul is concerned about how some Corinthian Christians use their freedom in Christ as license to engage in non-Christian behavior that sets a damaging example to other, impressionable, believers. Christians have a responsibility to each other that their behavior does not cause a sister or brother to sin.

A reading from the book of 1 Corinthians.

Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by him.
Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. “Food will not bring us close to God.” We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.
But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall..
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL Mark 1:21-28

The story has barely begun, and already the battle is joined. Jesus sides with humanity against every force that would bring death and disease. These forces recognize Jesus and know what his power means for them. This, however, is only the first fight. The war will go on much longer.”

The holy gospel according to Mark.
Glory to you, O Lord.
[Jesus and his disciples] went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.
They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.