First Lutheran Church

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24th Sunday after Pentecost

Kurt Christenson

Sunday, November 8, 2026

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Prelude This Is the Day the Lord Hath Made

Nun danket all’ Geneva 1562 Johann Crüger 1653

Children of the Heavenly Father

Tryggare Kan Ingen Vara arr. Diane Bish

Children of the heav'nly Father, safely in his bosom gather;

Nesting bird nor star in Heaven, such a refuge e'er was given.

Welcome & Announcements

*Gathering Hymn "Oh Happy Day When We Shall Stand”

*Prayer of the Day

The Lord be with you. And Also With You.

O God of justice and love, you illumine our way through life with the words of your Son. Give us the light we need, and awaken us to the needs of others, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Old Testament Reading Amos 5:18-24

The Lord’s Challenge to Piety without Justice
Amos lived in a time of deep social divisions and economic disparities. His challenge in God’s name confronts those who would rest secure in their confidence that God is on their side, welcomes their worship, and will soon fulfill their deepest hopes. To their smugness, the prophet announces God’s priorities of justice and right relationships for their society.

Woe to those who crave the Day of the Lord! What good is this Day of the Lord for you?—it is darkness, not light. As when a person flees from the lion and the bear confronts them, or, coming into the house, they lean their hand on the wall and the snake bites it, is not the Day of the Lord darkness and not light, gloom without a glimmer in it? I despise, I reject your festivals and I will not partake of your sacred gatherings. Though you raise up offerings to me, your grain offerings I will not appreciate and your fattened peace offerings I will not regard. Take away from me the clamor of your songs; I will not listen to the lilt of your lutes. But let justice cascade like the waters and righteousness like a perennial stream.

Word of God, Word of Life. Thanks be to God.

Psalm 70 Cantor sings refrain, congregation repeats

To the director, a psalm of David, in commemoration.

O God, you | rescue me,

O Lord, come quickly | to my aid!

May those who seek my life be disgraced and | humiliated.

May those who seek evil against me be driven | back in shame. R

Let them turn back in | their disgrace,

those who say, “A | ha! Aha!”

Let all who seek you rejoice and be hap | py in you!

Let those who love your deliverance continually say, | “Great is

God!”

And as for me - poor and in need - O God, come quick | ly to me!

You are my help and my refuge. O Lord, do | not delay! R

The Epistle Lesson 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Meeting the Lord in the Air

In this passage from their letter to a community in Thessalonica, Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy assert a common belief in a single resurrection of the dead, uniting those who have died with those who are alive. They stress that there will be no disadvantage for those who have already died, because Jesus will gather them and those still living into a single meeting with him beyond this world.

We do not want you to remain ignorant, family, about those who sleep, so that you do not grieve just as those do who have no hope. Because if we believe that Jesus died and arose, so also will God bring with Jesus those who have entered sleep through him. For this we say by a word of the Lord, that we who are alive, remaining for the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have entered sleep. The Lord himself—with a commanding alert, an archangel’s cry, and God’s trumpet—will come down from heaven and the dead in the Anointed will arise first. Then we who remain alive will be snatched away together with them into the air in clouds, meeting the Lord, and so we shall always be with the Lord. For this reason, encourage one another with these words.

Word of God, Word of Life. Thanks be to God.

*Gospel Acclamation the cantor will first sing the “Alleluia;” congregation repeats

Keep awake ^| and be ready,* for you do not know on what day your ^| Lord is coming. (Matt. 24:42, 44)

*Gospel Matthew 25:1-13 Glory to you O Lord

Foolish Contrasted with Prudent Maidens
Readiness is an emphatic theme in Jesus’ discourses concerning final judgment, especially in Matthew’s Gospel. The parable of prudent and foolish maidens, which appears only in Matthew, stresses the overwhelming necessity of being prepared for an encounter with the Lord (the bridegroom of the parable) at a moment whose timing cannot be known in advance.

“The kingdom of heaven will then be likened to ten maidens who, taking their own lanterns, went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five prudent. The foolish ones, taking their lanterns, did not take oil with them, while the prudent ones took oil in containers with their own lanterns. When the bridegroom delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. Yet in the middle of the night came a cry: ‘Look—the bridegroom! Come out—it’s the meeting!’ Then all those maidens were roused and they readied their own lanterns. And the foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us from your oil, because our lanterns are going out.’ Yet the prudent replied, ‘Not at all—there is not enough for us and for you! Rather, go off to those who sell, and buy for yourselves!’ But while they were going away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were prepared entered with him into the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterwards the other maidens also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord! Open to us!’ He replied, ‘Indeed I say to you, I do not know you.’ Be alert, then, because you do not know the day, or the hour.”

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon Pastor Kurt Christenson

*Hymn of the Day "Borning Cry”

Order of Baptism for Henrik Kenneth Nyberg

Presentation & Promises Mother and Godparents

Renunciation and Profession of Faith

We turn to the northern wall, blank for us, like the nothingness and empty promises that Satan offers. We raise our hands in defiance as we, together, renounce him.

I ask you, and all of you, to profess your faith in Christ Jesus, reject sin, and confess the faith of the church.

Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God?

I renounce them.

Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God?

I renounce them.

Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw you from God?

I renounce them.

We return our gaze to the font, the source of life.

Do you believe in God the Father?

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s 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 to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Thanksgiving at the Font

The Lord be with you. And also with you.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Holy God, mighty Lord, gracious Father: We give you thanks, for in the beginning your Spirit moved over the waters and you created heaven and earth. By the gift of water you nourish and sustain us and all living things.

Blessed be God now and forever.

By the waters of the flood you condemned the wicked and saved those whom you had chosen, Noah and his family. You led Israel by the pillar of cloud and fire through the sea, out of slavery into the freedom of the promised land.

Blessed be God now and forever.

In the waters of the Jordan your Son was baptized by John and anointed with the Spirit. By the baptism of his own death and resurrection your beloved Son has set us free from the bondage to sin and death, and has opened the way to the joy and freedom of everlasting life. He made water a sign of the kingdom and of cleansing and rebirth. In obedience to his command, we make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Blessed be God now and forever.

Pour out your Holy Spirit, so that he who is here baptized may be given new life. Wash away the sin of all those who have been cleansed by this water and bring us forth as inheritors of your glorious kingdom.

To you be given praise and honor and worship through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

The Sacrament of Baptism

Henrik Kenneth Nyberg, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. You belong to Christ, in whom you have been baptized.

Alleluia.

Let us pray.

We give you thanks, O God, that through water and the Holy Spirit you give all your daughters and sons new birth, cleanse us from sin, and raise us to eternal life.

Gracious God, sustain Henrik Kenneth with the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever. Amen.

Henrik Kenneth Nyberg, child of God, you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. Amen.

Welcome

Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Let us welcome the newly baptized.

We welcome you into the body of Christ and into the mission we share: join us in giving thanks and praise to God and bearing God's creative and redeeming word to all the world.

*Exchange of Peace

The Peace of Christ be with you always. And also with you.

Prayers of Intercession

Response to each petition: God in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Offering

Give online

Text “Give” to (866) 870-5222

Offertory “God, We Bring This Child You Gave Us” Choir

God, we bring this child you gave us; guide and guard him all his days. Wash him in baptismal water; speak again your Word of grace.

To your keeping we entrust him; hold him in your love's embrace.

Now by Water, Word of Promise, his new life with ours is bound. Here, for him, within your family, may your Spirit's gifts abound.

Flaming candles glow around him, sign of Christ, the world's true Light. Risen Lord, eternal Brightness, shine on him by day, by night.

Mark him with your Cross forever, traced upon his infant brow. Be his life in joy, in sorrow, as you name and claim him now.

Text: Herman G. Stuempfle Jr., 1923-2007

Tune: ALAURA’S TUNE, Randy Sensmeier, b. 1948

GIA pub inc. 2026

*Offering Prayer

Holy God, the earth is yours and everything in it, yet you have chosen to dwell among your creatures. Come among us now in these gifts of bread and wine, and strengthen us to be your body for the world through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

*The Great Thanksgiving

It is indeed right, our duty and our joy, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, almighty and merciful God, through our Savior Jesus Christ; who on this day overcame death and the grave, and by his glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life. And so, with all the choirs of angels, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn:

*Sanctus

Eucharistic Prayer

Holy God, mighty Lord, gracious Father…

For as often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Christ has died.

Christ is risen.

Christ will come again.

Therefore, O God, with this bread and cup we remember the life our Lord offered for us. And, believing the witness of his resurrection, we await his coming in power to share with us the great and promised feast. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Send now, we pray, your Holy Spirit, that we who share in Christ’s body and blood may live to the praise of your glory and receive our inheritance with all your saints in light. Amen. Come, Holy Spirit.

Join our prayers with those of your servants of every time and every place, and unite them with the ceaseless petitions of our great high priest until he comes as victorious Lord of all. Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, now and forever. Amen.

*The Lord’s Prayer

Lord, remember us in your Kingdom and teach us to pray:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.

Agnus Dei

Communion Distribution

Anthem “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning” Choir

*Communion Blessing and Prayer

Now may the body and blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ strengthen and keep you in his grace. Amen.

We thank you, generous God, for the refreshment we have received at your banquet table. Send us now to spread your generosity into all the world, through the one who is our dearest treasure, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

*Sending Hymn “Blessed Assurance”