FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS December 28, 2025
Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church
Wisconsin Synod
Pastor Rev. Christopher Oehlke Pastor’s Phone: 1-262-909-7827
Organist Karen Davis, Mindy Kane, Church Telephone 763-682-4573
Lorraine Roush Email pastor@myimmanuel.org
WELCOME, VISITORS: We are glad you could be with us and we welcome you back any time. Please sign our “Welcome” card found in the pew holders or sign the guest book in the narthex/entry.
Prayer Before Worship
O Lord, my creator, redeemer and comforter, as I come to worship you in spirit and in truth, I humbly pray that you would open my heart to the preaching of your Word so that I may repent of my sins, believe in Jesus Christ as my only Savior and grow in grace and holiness. Hear me for the sake of His name. Amen.
SERVICE OF THE WORD
HYMN (#80) “Angels from the Realms of Glory”
M: The grace of our Lord (+) Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.
C: And also with you.
CONFESSION OF SINS
M: We have come into the presence of God, who created us to love and serve him as his dear children. But we have disobeyed him and deserve only his wrath and punishment. Therefore, let us confess our sins to him and plead for his mercy.
C: Merciful Father in heaven, I am altogether sinful from birth.
In countless ways I have sinned against you and do not deserve to be called your child. But trusting in Jesus, my Savior, I pray: Have mercy on me according to your unfailing love. Cleanse me from my sin, and take away
my guilt.
M: God, our heavenly Father, has forgiven all your sins. By the perfect life and innocent death of our Lord Jesus Christ, he has removed your guilt forever. You are his own dear child. May God give you strength to live according to his will.
C: Amen.
PRAYER AND PRAISE
M: In the peace of forgiveness, let us praise the Lord.
C: (Sung) Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed are they who take refuge in him.
Your Word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.
Your faithfulness continues forever.
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed are they who take refuge in him.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
M: Let us pray: Almighty God, the martyred innocents of Bethlehem showed forth your praise not by speaking but by dying. Put to death in us all that is in conflict with your will that our lives may bear witness to the faith we profess with our lips; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: (Sung) Amen.
THE WORD
FIRST LESSON Isaiah 63:7-9
7 I will tell about the Lord’s mercies, about the praises of the Lord, about all that the Lord has done for us, about his great goodness to the house of Israel, which he performed for them according to his abundant compassion, and according to his great mercy. 8 He said, “Surely they are my people, children who will not deal falsely,” so he became their Savior. 9 In all their anguish he felt anguish, and the Angel of his Presence saved them. In his love and in his pity he himself redeemed them, and he took them up and carried them all the days of old. (EHV)
M: The Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
PSALM OF THE DAY (Sung) Psalm 2 (page 65)
SECOND LESSON Galatians 4:4-7
4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son to be born of a woman, so that he would be born under the law, 5 in order to redeem those under the law, so that we would be adopted as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts to shout, “Abba, Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if you are a son, then you are also an heir of God through Christ. (EHV)
M: The Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
VERSE OF THE DAY
M: Alleluia. Sing to the Lord a new song; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. Alleluia. (Psalm 98:1)
C: (Sung) Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
These words are written that we may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
GOSPEL Matthew 2:13-23
13 After the Wise Men were gone, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream. He said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, because Herod will search for the child in order to kill him.” 14 Joseph got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and left for Egypt. 15 He stayed there until the death of Herod. This happened to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Wise Men, he was furious. He issued orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under. This was in keeping with the exact time he had learned from the Wise Men. 17 Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: 18 A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. The angel said, 20 “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to kill the child are dead.” 21 Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus, Herod’s son, had succeeded his father as ruler in Judea, he was afraid to go there. Since he had been warned in a dream, he went to the region of Galilee. 23 When he arrived there, he settled in a city called Nazareth. So what was spoken through the prophets was fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.” (EHV)
M: The Gospel of the Lord.
C: (Sung) Praise be to you, O Christ!
HYMN (#41) “Let All Together Praise Our God”
SERMON TEXT Matthew 2:13-23
SERMON THEME “The Darker Side of Christmas”
APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
I believe 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 is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there 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 everlasting. Amen.
THANKSGIVING
OFFERING – Please leave offering in the plate as you depart.
HYMN (#552 v. 1, 8, 27, 3) “By All Your Saints Still Striving”
ADULT CONFIRMATION RITE for Leyton Hetland
LORD’S PRAYER
C: 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.
M: O Lord God, our heavenly Father, pour out the Holy Spirit on your faithful people. Keep us strong in your grace and truth, protect and comfort us in all temptation, and bestow on us your saving peace, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: (Sung) Amen.
M: Brothers and sisters, go in peace. Live in harmony with one another. Serve the Lord with gladness.
The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look on you with favor and (+) give you peace.
C: (Sung) Amen. Amen. Amen.
HYMN (#61) “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
VERSE OF THE DAY:
During the week memorize and think about this verse of the day:
Sing to the Lord a new song;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
(Psalm 98:1)
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS December 28, 2025
Immanuel Ev. Lutheran Church
THE SCHEDULE
Next Sunday, Jan. 4, Greeters: Aydt Family
OUR FATHER’S BUSINESS
ADULT CONFIRMATION: We welcome Leyton Hetland as a communicant member of Immanuel. “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Rev. 2:10b). We pray that God keep him faithful all his life.
AREA NEW YEAR’S EVE SERVICE: Anchored in Christ (Cross-Rockford), 6 p.m., New Year’s Eve Service.
ANNUAL VOTERS’ MEETING is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 1 after the worship service. Give prayerful consideration to becoming a voting member and, if asked, to serving your church family in any capacity. Please have all your reports for the annual report to Julie Gutknecht or Pastor Oehlke by Jan. 18.
ENVELOPES: Offering envelopes for 2026 are available in the narthex. If you don’t see yours, ask Julie Gutknecht or Pastor Oehlke.
ANGEL TREE: We received a thank you, posted on the west bulletin board, from the Buffalo Rotary for our participation in the Angel Tree program (Adopt-A-Family).
FOOD SHELF: The most recent donations made to benefit the Buffalo Food Shelf totaled 31 pounds plus $40 in cash/checks.
ATTENDANCE AT THE LORD’S HOUSE:
Sunday, Dec.21 68
FOR THE LORD’S WORK: Dec. 21: General Fund-$3,053; Salem-$2; Cemetery-$100. (Note to consider: General Fund needs about $2,600 per week.) Mission Report: Dec. 7-$25; Dec. 14-$40; Dec. 21-$315; Year-to-Date-$20,825.15.
