SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2026 5th SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
CHRIST THE KING LUTHERAN CHURCH
PASTOR: Rev. Harry M. Krolus
CHURCH: 410-356-3400 CELL: 410-707-7663
Church email: ctklclcms@yahoo.com
Church Web Site: ctklchurch.org
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WELCOME to everyone who is worshiping with us today. We are glad that you are here! We pray that your worship experience here at Christ The King is spiritually uplifting and rewarding. If you are visiting, please sign our guest book and introduce yourself to Pastor Harry.
(Please turn off all electronic devices before worship begins; or, if you are using a Bible app to enhance your worship experience or to use PayPal, please enable the do not disturb function on your phone.)
THE CALL TO WORSHIP
P. Just a taste of something wonderful,
C. Only a glimpse of something magnificent,
P. Just a glimmer of something holy in something so ordinary.
C. Yet, enough to know we are in the presence of God,
P. Enough to cause us to stop and stare in awe,
C. Enough to stir our hearts in wonder,
P. Enough to set our feet to dancing
C. And to prompt our voices to protest and praise.
THE HANDSHAKE OF CHRISTIAN PEACE
OPENING HYMN: 790 “Praise To The Lord, The Almighty”
AN ACT OF ADORATION
P. Let us adore our heavenly Father, who created us, who sustains us, who loves us with an everlasting love and gives us the light of the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ.
C. We praise you, O God; we acknowledge you to be the Lord.
P. Let us glory in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor; who in every respect was tempted as we are, yet without sinning; who went about doing good and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom; who became obedient unto death, even death on a cross; who died and is alive forevermore; who has opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers; who is seated at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father; who will come again, as Judge and King.
C. You are the King of glory, O Christ.
P. Let us rejoice in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, by whom we are born into the family of God, and made members of the body of Christ; whose witness confirms us, whose wisdom teaches us, whose power enables us to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.
C. All praise to you, O Holy Spirit.
AN ACT OF CONFESSION
P. O God our Father, since you have set forth the way of life for us in your beloved Son, we confess with shame our slowness to learn of him, our failure to follow him, our reluctance to bear the cross.
C. Have mercy on us and forgive us, O Lord.
P. Forgive us the poverty of our worship, our neglect of fellowship and of the means of grace, our hesitating witness for Christ, our evasion of responsibility in your service, our imperfect stewardship of your gifts.
C. Have mercy on us and forgive us, O God.
P. Forgive us that so little of your love has reached others through us, that we have been thoughtless in our judgments, hasty in condemnation, grudging in forgiveness, slow to seek reconciliation, unwilling to help our neighbors as we ought.
C. Have mercy on us and forgive us, O Lord.
ALL: Have mercy on us, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out our transgressions. Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity, and cleanse us from our
sin. Create in us clean hearts, O God, and put a new and right spirit within us.
THE PSALM FOR THE DAY: Psalm 112:1-9
P. Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands.
C. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
P. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
C. Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.
P. Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.
C. Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever.
P. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
C. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.
P. He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor,
C. his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.
THE LESSONS
The First Lesson: Isaiah 58:3-9
‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call
a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
The Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 2:1-12
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but onGod’s power.
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” — but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
THE CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
The Gospel Lesson: Matthew 5:13-20
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
THE APOSTOLIC CREED
I believe in God the Father, the Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered and was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He died and was buried. He descended into hell, and the third day he rose again. He entered into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Almighty Father. He will come again 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 eternal. Amen.
HYMN: 698 “May We Thy Precepts, Lord Fulfill”
THE SERMON: “Going Through The Motions”
text: Isaiah 58:3
THE OFFERING
AN OFFERING SONG (783)
Take my life, that I may be consecrated, Lord, to thee;
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect, and use every pow’r as thou shalt choose.
THE PRAYERS
P. O God, we thank you for your gift of light,
C. but above all, for the light of your glory that shines in the face of your Son.
P. You said, long ago, "Let there be light!" and there was light.
C. You saw the light, and it was good.
P. You chose for yourself a people and gave them, through Moses, the Law
C. that their path might be lighted by its wisdom and truth.
P. And when they preferred to walk in darkness, in the deceptive comfort of darkness,
C. you sent them prophets like Elijah to rebuke them, recall them, save them.
P. Gracious God, we thank you for moments of special illumination granted to whomever you single out for revelation.
C. We thank you for allowing Moses a vision of yourself that made his face shine like the sun.
P. We thank you for letting faithful Elisha witness "the homebound Elijah" in that chariot of fire,
C. confirming him as Elijah's successor, fit to wear the great prophet's mantle.
P. Sovereign God, Creator, Author of Light, we marvel at your graciousness.
C. You allowed your servant John to baptize your Son and to participate in the pleasure you took in him.
P. You permitted Peter, James and John to accompany our Lord to that mountaintop,
C. and to witness his transfiguration -- awed, dazed, but unharmed.
P. Like Moses or Elijah or Peter, powerful witnesses, but mortal humans,
C. we long to bask in his light, to be transformed in his likeness.
P. Help us to recall that, in your divine wisdom, you grant such moments of ecstasy only rarely,
C. and that even Peter, James and John may not remain on the mountaintop with the Lord.
P. Make us thankful for Moses on Sinai, for Elijah's faithfulness, for the witness to your Son's glory shared with us by Peter, James and John,
C. but let us not forget that our mission is not to sun ourselves in your light high above this earth.
P. Confirm us rather in our mission on this planet so much in need of your redemption:
C. our mission to preach the Good News of your reconciling love, to do justice, to show mercy and to walk humbly with you by the light of your glory shining in the face of your Son.
P. And now, O Lord, we bring before your throne of grace those prayers of concern, thanksgiving, and praise that are on our hearts.
(There are now a few moments of personal prayer.)
P. As we have brought these prayers before you, we do so with confidence, knowing that they will be answered according to your good and gracious will. In Jesus’ name we pray.
C. Amen.
CELEBRATING THE LORD’S SUPPER
We invite to the Lord’s Table all who have been baptized, accept the Bible as God’s authoritative Word, and believe that the body and blood of the risen Christ are really present in the bread and wine; given for the forgiveness of our sins. If you prefer the individual cup, please extend one index finger as your hands are folded on the altar railing. This will alert the communion assistants of your preference. Also, if for some medical reason you are not able to consume alcohol, grape juice is available in the individual cups. The grape juice is “red” while the wine is “white”
P. Our Lord Jesus has given us a holy supper in which we receive his true body and blood for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of our faith. In this supper, we celebrate the gift of his redemption, we bear witness to the fellowship we share as confessors of the truth, and we proclaim his death until he returns.
C. Praise to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In love, he has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.
THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION
THE WORDS OF INVITATION
P. The gifts of God for the people of God.
C. Amen.
THE DISTRIBUTION
Hymns: 623 “Lord Jesus Christ, We Humbly Pray”
773 “Hear Us Father, When We Pray”
698 “May We Thy Precepts, Lord, Fulfill”
A COMMUNION PRAYER
We give thanks, Almighty God, that you have refreshed us with this holy supper. We pray that through it you will strengthen our faith in you and increase our love for one another. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
THE BLESSING
P. The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always.
C. Amen.
CLOSING HYMN: 919 “Abide, O Dearest Jesus”
