12/10/23

Advent is the season of waiting! As we await Christ’s coming again in power and glory, we know that the time we are given before that great Day is due to the Lord’s patience. “The Lord . . . is patient toward you,” says Peter (2 Peter 3:9). Why? More time before Christ’s return as King and Judge means more opportunities for us to share the life-giving Gospel with all the world. As people hear the message of Christ, repenting of their sin and turning to Him in faith, more souls will be brought into God’s eternal kingdom. And because He is working His wonders of salvation, we rejoice in Him and receive from Him all He seeks to give!

Activity Bags We value children in our worship services. If needed, there is a family room available for families with children. The family room has a diaper changing table, a closed-circuit TV to watch the worship service, toys and books for children. The family room is located across from the kitchen in the long hallway, the first door on the right, just past the bathrooms. There are “King’s Kids” bags with activities for children to help them worship. They are near the usher’s station on a small rack. Please return the bag to the rack after the service.

Holy Communion The Scripture teaches the Lord’s Supper is a precious gift of God in which Christ gives us His true body and blood (in a miraculous way), together with the bread and wine, for the forgiveness of our sins and the strengthening of our faith. Because the Bible teaches that this Sacrament may also be spiritually harmful if misused ( 1 Cor: 11:27), and that participation in the Lord’s Supper is an act of confession of faith, we ordinarily commune those who have been instructed in the teachings of our church and who have confessed their faith in these teachings. If you have a question, please speak to Pastor Ralph before the service. For those who prefer a non-alcoholic alternative, there is grape juice at the center of each tray. Those not receiving the Sacrament, including children, are invited to come to the altar, cross their arms over their chest, and receive a special blessing.

Both Hate and Love of Human Nature Are Corrupt  By nature all of us are liars, born of original sin and blindness. Therefore, we do not know in what way we are to be angry, and we do not see that nature is so evil that it can neither be angry nor love aright but, in both cases, see nothing except its own advantage. Since then, nature is so corrupt, both human love and anger – in which nature seeks its own interests – are prohibited and abolished. In the other hand, divine love – which does not seek its own interests but those of its neighbor – is commanded and the anger that is incensed, not for its own sake, but for the sake of God, whose province is to punish and avenge what is done against His command. And also, the love of the anger that flows from the love of the neighbor’s welfare is commanded. What Luther Says #3112 

Advent 2

December 10, 2023

Welcome 

Opening Hymn                             Prepare the Royal Highway                         LSB 343

Invocation, Confession and Absolution     (Psalm 27:13–14; 130:5)

P:   We gather in the name and at the invitation of our great and gracious triune God:

C:   In the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

P:   I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!

C:   Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

P:   I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

C:   and in His word I hope.

P:   With hope in the Lord’s promises, let us together confess our sins to Him.

C:   Out of the depths I cry to You, Lord!

P:   Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to my pleas for mercy!

C:   If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities, I would have no hope.

P:   But with You there is forgiveness, therefore we place our trust in You.

C:   Restore us, Lord God, and set us free from our sins.

P:   Renew us in Your hope, that we may wait for Your salvation.

C:   Because of Your steadfast love for us in Christ, redeem us from all our iniquities. Amen.

( A moment of silence for prayer and confession)

P:   As we wait for Jesus’ final coming, we place our hope and our confidence in the promises of His Word and find our home in the presence of His Spirit. Confessing our sins and turning away from them through lives of repentance, we are assured again this day of the Lord’s steadfast love and plentiful redemption for us. As a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C:   Amen.

Hymn of Praise                         On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry                         LSB 344

Prayer of the Day

All:  Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may rejoice in our eternal home; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

OT Lesson                  (The Lord comes to comfort and pardon His people.)   Isaiah 40:1–11

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. ² Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. ³ A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.⁴ Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. ⁵ And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” ⁶ A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. ⁷ The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. ⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” ⁹ You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” ¹⁰ See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. ¹¹ He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

NT Lesson                       (The Lord is patient toward you.)                      2 Peter 3:8–14

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. ¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹² as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³ But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. ¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 

Gospel Lesson              (The messenger prepares the way of the Lord.)              Mark 1:1–8

The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ² It is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”— ³“a voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ” ⁴ And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁶ John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ And this was his message: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ⁸ I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Message Song                                     Mighty to Save 

Everyone needs compassion Love that’s never failing

Let mercy fall on me  Everyone needs forgiveness

Kindness of a Savior  The hope of nations

Savior, He can move the mountains   My God is mighty to save

He is mighty to save  Forever, Author of salvation

He rose and conquered the grave   Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as You find me  All my fears and failures

Fill my life again    I give my life to follow

Everything I believe in   Now I surrender

Shine your light   And let the whole world see

We’re singing for the glory  Of the risen King, Jesus

Shine your light  And let the whole world see

We’re singing for the glory  Of the risen King

Written by Reuben Morgan and Ben Flielding ©2006 Hillsong Publishing

CCLI License #594388 Song Select  11390779

Message                                 God’s Comfort Means Our Salvation              

1. Repentance is the ________     _________________    of our need before the Lord God and the ____________        that follow His ______         for our lives.

2. The Church is to offer the _______________    _______  that leads to God’s mercy and grace; that path is _____________ and the forgiveness He gained for _______________    in His death on the cross.

3. The Lord shepherds His flock in ways that ______________   us of His    _________   and eternal ___________________                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Notes:

The Apostle’s Creed                                      

C:   I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.  

And 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 from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence 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.

Offering

Offertory                                     We Praise You, O God                                       LSB 785 vs 1

Prayers of the Church  

After each petition:

 P:  Lord, in your mercy,

 C:  hear our prayer.   

The Lord’s Prayer

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.

The Lord’s Supper

Preface                                                                      page 194 in the hymnal

P:  The Lord be with you.

C:  ♪ And with thy spirit.

P:  Lift up your hearts.

C:  ♪ We lift them up unto the Lord.

P:  Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

C:  ♪ It is meet and right so to do.

P:  It is truly good, right, and salutary …. And with the host of heaven we sing:

Sanctus — Holy, Holy, Holy                                          page 195 in the hymnal

C:  ♪ Ho -ly, ho-ly, ho-ly Lord God of Sa – ba – oth. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.   

          Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He, blessed is He, blessed is

          He who cometh in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest.

The Words of Institution (Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper)

Pax Domini—The Peace of the Lord                    page 197 in the hymnal

P:  The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C:  ♪ Amen.

Agnus Dei – Lamb of God                                                             page 198 in the hymnal                                      

C:  ♪ O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world; have mercy upon us.

         O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takest away the sin of the world; have mercy upon us.

         O Christ, Thou Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world; 

         grant us Thy peace.  A – men.

Distribution Hymn                                All People That on Earth Do Dwell          LSB 791

Nunc Dimittis                                                                                  page 199 in the hymnal        

C: ♪ Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy Word, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.                                                                                                                                          

 Post Communion Collect

All:  O God the Father, the fountain and source of all goodness, who in steadfast love sent Your only-begotten Son into this world of sin, we thank You that for His sake You look upon us “without spot or blemish, and at peace.” We praise You for the lasting home You give us as we trust in You. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Benediction                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

P:   I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

C:   and in His word I hope.

P:   The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and ✠ give you peace.

C:   Amen.

Sending Hymn                    Hark! A Thrilling Voice is Sounding        LSB 345 Tune 427

Announcements 

Dismissal

L:   Go in peace as you serve the Lord.

C:   Thanks be to God! 

Postlude