The Bulletin is at: 12-04-2016-bulletin
The Service in PDF format is at: 12-04-2016-second-sunday-of-advent
or the service is also as follows:
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
December 4, 2016
PRE-SERVICE MUSIC
AS WE GATHER …………”Say you’re sorry!” Such words are often said by a parent to a child when a wrong has occurred, usually intended to be a lesson for the child in teaching that actions have consequences. As we hear the Word of God today from Matthew 3, we also come to realize that our actions have consequences. Yet it is not just actions, but also thoughts and inactions, and the consequences of our sinful nature. The Lord doesn’t tell us to just, “Say you’re sorry!” Through His Word and through His servants like John the Baptist, He calls us to repent—to not just speak an apology, but to turn away from sin and turn to Him. In this Advent season of preparation to receive our Savior born for us, we also prepare like the people of John the Baptist’s time through this ongoing and continuing action of repentance. Moved to repentance by faith, we are then able to live as His people, bear fruit in His name, and continue to be united as one and “together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
P: In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen!
LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT WREATH
P: Beloved in the Lord, this wreath and the candles progressively lit each week remind us that Jesus Christ came to conquer the darkness of sin and lead us into the light of His glorious kingdom. In this season of preparing our hearts and minds to receive the promised Savior given and born for us, we hear today John the Baptist fulfilling Scripture as he prepared the people, called many to repentance, and pointed to the Word of God made flesh.
P: Let us pray. Lord Jesus, Savior and King, the true light who comes into this world, bless us as we light this candle in the beginning of our preparation for Your coming. Enter our hearts and minds with the light of Your love that we may welcome and receive You with joy as our true and eternal King; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
The first and second candles are lit during the Advent Song
ADVENT SONG Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel
Oh, Come, Oh, Come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel.
Oh, come, strong Branch of Jesse,
Free Your own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell your people save
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel.
P: If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
C: But with You there is forgiveness, that You may be feared.
P: Let us heed the call of the Lord through John the Baptist to repent—to turn from our sins and turn to Jesus, our Savior, through whom we find true and lasting hope.
C: Merciful Father, we have turned away from You and sinned against You in our thoughts, words, and actions. We have not loved You above all things, and have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. By the power of Your Holy Spirit, turn us away from sin and to you, that we may love and serve You and Your ways of righteousness, justice and peace.
…HEARING GOD’S FORGIVENESS
P: God has heard our plea for forgiveness and for the sake of Jesus, He answers our prayer. As a called and ordained servant of the Word, and in the stead and by the command of our Lord Jesus, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
SERVICE OF THE WORD
PRAYER OF THE DAY
P: Let us all pray together these words:
C: Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
THE SCRIPTURE LESSONS
The First Lesson: Isaiah 11:1-10 The Savior will bring peace and righteousness for all
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountains; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
The Second Lesson: Romans 15:4-13 Paul encourages unity and hope through Christ
Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”
And again it is said,
“Rejoice O Gentiles, with his people.”
And again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.”
And again Isaiah says,
“The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.”
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
CHOIR ANTHEM Carols for Advent By Patrick Liebergen
The Gospel Lesson: Matthew 3:1-12 John the Baptist prepares the way of the Lord
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord’ make his paths straight.’”
Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children of Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
SERMON SONG “Green Book” 36 On Jordan’s Banks the Baptist’s Cry
On Jordan’s banks the Baptist’s cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Awake and harken, for he brings Glad
tidings of the King of kings!
We hail you as our Savior, Lord,
Our refuge and our great reward;
Without your grace we waste away
Like flow’rs that wither and decay.
All praise to you, eternal Son,
Whose advent has our freedom won,
Whom with the Father we adore,
And Holy Spirit, evermore.
SERMON “Preparing by Rearranging”
C: We believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.
We believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
And born of the virgin Mary.
He 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,
And is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
The Christian Church
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting. Amen
OFFERINGS
We give our offerings as signs of our lives offered to God in humble thanks and service.
OFFERING SONG “Green Book” 410 We Give Thee but Thine Own
We give Thee but thine own……………whate’er the gift may be,
All that we have is thine alone…………a trust O Lord from thee.
May we thy bounties thus…………as stewards true receive,
And gladly, as thou blesses us…………to thee our first fruits give.
P: Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs in the name of Jesus, clinging to the comfort of His grace.
P: As You raised up a voice in the wilderness, O Lord, continue to equip Your people to speak to those in darkness and to call them forth into Your light. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: Comfort us in our need and hear our prayer.
P: Make our leaders wise and selfless, Lord, that our nation may faithfully use all that You have entrusted to us and that we may act with mercy and justice for all people; lead all nations in the path of peace and bless our armed forces here and abroad. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: Comfort us in our need and hear our prayer.
P: Lord, open our eyes to the wounded in body and spirit, give healing to the sick, give relief to the suffering, and sustain the dying in Your peace, (especially……). Lord, in Your mercy,
C: Comfort us in our need and hear our prayer. Amen.
THE INVITATION
P: Welcome to the celebration! God who supplies our every need has given us this meal to share.
C: Lord, we thank You for the bread of eternal life.
P: We come to the table, acknowledging our shortcomings and our need to experience Your presence in bread and wine.
C: Lord, we thank You for the bread of eternal life.
THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION
THE LORD’S PRAYER
DISTRIBUTION
“Red Book” 246 What a Friend
What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations, is there trouble any where?
We should never be discouraged, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who with all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Saviour, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer;
In his arms he’ll take and shield thee, thou wilt find a solace there.
“Red Book” 108 I’ve Got Peace Like a River
I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a
River, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.
I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a
River, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.
I’ve got love like an ocean, I’ve got love like an
Ocean, I’ve got love like an ocean in my soul.
I’ve got love like an ocean, I’ve got love like an
Ocean, I’ve got love like an ocean in my soul.
I’ve got joy like a fountain, I’ve got joy like a
Fountain, I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul.
I’ve got joy like a fountain, I’ve got joy like a
Fountain, I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul.
CLOSING SONG “Red Book” 17 Heavenly Sunshine
Heavenly sunshine, heavenly sunshine, flooding my
soul with glory divine, heavenly sunshine, heavenly
sunshine, Halleluja! Jesus is mine!
P: Go in peace! Serve the Lord!
C: Thanks be to God!
POST-SERVICE MUSIC