Welcome! Thank you for joining us for worship today. In our services we gather before our almighty God to receive his gifts and to offer him our worship and praise. Through God’s powerful Word and Sacraments he renews our faith and strengthens us to serve in joy.

You are going about your daily business. There is a crowd. You are easily distracted by all the activity. It’s a holiday, and there are extra things to prepare. It is easy to focus on your personal task at hand and lose sight of the bigger picture.

Focus! Look up! There is a King who presents himself so humbly that you might miss the importance of his arrival. Hail the King who humbly comes to save us!

In the world’s first week, God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. The pattern was set. In the world’s greatest week, God redeemed the world in six days. And on the seventh day, the Son of God rested in the tomb, the Sabbath of all Sabbaths.

When we see the suffering of our Savior on our behalf this week, we may be tempted to look down, hanging our heads in shame. We may be tempted to look around at everything disappointing in this world and shake our heads. But God encourages us to look up. Our redemption is near!