The Bulletin is at: 11-27-2016-bulletin
The Service in PDF format is at: 11-27-2016-first-sunday-of-advent
or the service is also as follows:
FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT
November 27, 2016
PRE-SERVICE MUSIC
AS WE GATHER……………….What do we do when an important guest is coming over to visit? We clean the house, prepare the dinner menu, put on nice clothes, and do many other things in anticipation. Beginning a new Church Year is also a time of getting ready. We prepare ourselves not to welcome just any important guest though, but once again to welcome the King—our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who comes in the flesh to His people. No matter our housecleaning, dinner plans, wardrobe, or anything else, the most important preparation we are called to is a readiness of our hearts and minds. This Advent season is a time of preparation—to prepare ourselves to welcome Him who came humbly as a king by earthly standards, yet the King we welcome by faith as Savior and Lord. More than that, we continually prepare ourselves in repentant joy to receive Him who humbly yet powerfully still comes to us in Word and Sacrament by His Holy Spirit.
P: We begin this season of Advent, this time of worship, and recall our baptismal grace. 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, as we begin this season of Advent, let this wreath and the candles progressively lit each week remind us that Jesus came to conquer the darkness of sin and lead us into the light of His glorious kingdom.
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 candle is 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, Oh, come, great Lord of might,
Who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud, and majesty, and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel.
P: This is a season of busyness as we draw closer to Christmas. Our thoughts quickly turn to the buying of presents, writing Christmas cards and the preparing desserts. As we begin to do all of these activities, we set aside just a few moments this morning to quiet our hearts and ponder the meaning of Advent. We begin our Advent walk together by confessing our sins.
P: Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and give appropriate praise to your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
C: Amen.
P: We confess together: Most merciful God,
C: for the sake of Jesus, forgive us, renew us, and lead us that we may walk in Your will and follow Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Bring forth new life and lasting light in us today and in this Advent season, that we may honor and serve You as our true King in and above all things.
HEARING GOD’S FORGIVENESS
P: Almighty God in His mercy has given His Son to die for you and for His sake forgives you all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I announce God’s forgiveness to you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
ADVENT SONG Savior of the Nations, Come
Savior of the nations, come;
Show the glory of the Son!
Ev’ry people, stand in awe;
Praise the perfect Son of God.
Not of human seed or worth,
But from God’s own mystic breath,
Fruit in Mary’s womb begun
When God breathed the Word, his Son.
Shining stable in the night,
Breathing vict’ry with your light;
Darkness cannot hide your flame,
Shining bright as Jesus’ name.
SERVICE OF THE WORD
P: We pray together.
C: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
THE SCRIPTURE LESSONS
The First Lesson: Isaiah 2:1-5
Isaiah delivers good news that the “Lord is coming to teach us his ways.”
The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.
The Second Lesson: Romans 13:11-14
Our time is short. “Making no provision for the flesh,” we prepare for the Lord.
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
CHOIR ANTHEM “Prepare the Way” By Joseph Martin
The Gospel Lesson: Matthew 21:1-11
The crowd shouts, “Hosanna! Come, Lord Jesus!” as Jesus enters the city.
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
“Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
SERMON SONG “Green Book” 35 Hark The Glad Sound
Hark, the glad sound! The Savior comes, The Savior promised long;
Let ev’ry heart prepare a throne And ev’ry voice a song.
He comes the pris’ners to release, In Satan’s bondage held.
The gates of brass before him burst, The iron fetters yield.
He comes the broken heart to bind, The bleeding soul to cure,
And with the treasures of his grace To enrich the humble poor.
Our glad hosannas, Prince of Peace, Your welcome shall proclaim,
And heav’n’s eternal arches ring With your beloved name.
SERMON “Living in the Light of Day”
C: We believe in God, the Creator of all things, the source of all goodness and love……………. We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, true God yet true man……………. He was crucified, died and was buried for our sin that we might be free and know the joy of life………..He was raised on the third day and ascended to heaven…………and will come again in power and glory to judge both the living and the dead…………We believe in the Holy Spirit, the power of God at work inside of us…………….We believe in the church of God, the people of faith throughout the world…………….We believe that our sin is forgiven and that we will live together with God for now and throughout eternity. Amen
WE OFFER OUR GIFTS
P: Merciful Father,
C: we offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us—our selves, our time, and our possessions, signs of your gracious love. Receive them for the sake of him who offered himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE PRAYERS OF GOD’S PEOPLE
P: Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and for all people according to their needs.
P: In this season of Advent and as we begin this new Church Year, may we, Your people, continue to be a beacon of Your light and a model of Your love, speaking the truth of Your Word in love and calling the world to repentance and new life in Your name. Lord and King, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Lord Jesus, as Your servant kingship was one of humbleness and mercy as You came to Your people—from Your human birth to Your entry into Jerusalem to Your death on the cross—we give thanks that You still humbly yet mightily come to us today. Come to those we lift up to You now, (especially), and all who have various needs. Lord and King, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Come to the wayward and erring, those who have rejected Your Word, those apathetic to Your grace, or those who have yet to hear the saving good news of Advent hope and Christmas joy. Lord and King, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Come to the nations of the world that war and conflict may cease and instead have peace. Come to the poor and outcast that hope and joy may be found in You. Come, Lord Jesus, Savior and King, to Your Church. Lord, in Your mercy,
C: hear our prayer.
P: Come, Lord Jesus, to Your world. Bless all missionaries, pastors, teachers, and laypeople who shine the light of the Gospel that we may be a sign of Your everlasting love for those in darkness. All these things we pray in the name of our one true King, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C: Amen.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
CLOSING BLESSING
I wandered so aimless life filed with sin
I wouldn’t let my dear savior in
Then Jesus came like a stranger in the night
Praise the Lord I saw the light
I saw the light, I saw the light
No more darkness, no more night
Now I’m so happy no sorrow in sight
Praise the Lord I saw the light
Just like a blind man I wandered along
Worries and fears I claimed for my own
Then like the blind man that God gave back his sight
Praise the Lord I saw the light
I saw the light, I saw the light
No more darkness, no more night
Now I’m so happy no sorrow in sight
Praise the Lord I saw the light
I was a fool to wander and stray
Straight is the gate and narrow’s the way
Now I have traded the wrong for the right
Praise the Lord I saw the light
I saw the light, I saw the light
No more darkness, no more night
Now I’m so happy no sorrow in sight
Praise the Lord I saw the light
P: Go in peace! Serve the Lord!
C: Thanks be to God!
POST-SERVICE MUSIC