Livestream at 8:30am
Bulletin for the service


Prayer of the Day
Compassionate God, you gather the whole universe into your radiant presence and continually 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.

Scripture readings
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Psalm 111
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Mark 1:21-28

Sermon

"The Word Speaks Silence" 
Mark 1:21-28

The mission of Jesus is clear from the outset. The time is fulfilled; the Kingdom is near. For some, this is a gracious invitation. To the powers that oppose God, however, the coming of Christ is cause for alarm. Jesus is mounting an attack of peace against the forces of sin and evil. The unclean spirit see Jesus for who he is. On behalf of himself and, it seems, the scribes, he asks: “What have you to do with us?” Jesus silences the spirit and the scribes with an unmistakable authority. We, too, are silenced by Jesus. The Word of God is speaking new life out of death, silencing evil that good may flourish. We, too, are commanded to be quiet. To die. Only then, in the face of God’s authority at work in the grace of Christ, can we hear, receive, speak, and sing the life-giving Word who gives himself for us. Evil rages around and within us. But make no mistake; evil knows the game is lost. We are silenced, too, that we may hear the Word and live for good.

 

Hymns

 In our prayers we remember ELCA World Hunger.