The Service in PDF format is at: December 4, 2022 Service
Video of service is at: YouTube
Peace Lutheran Church
We welcome you in the name of the Lord Jesus. We are honored with your presence. If you do not have a church home, you are invited to join us regularly. Please introduce yourself to Pastor Jeremy Lucke or one of the Ushers as you leave today and sign the guest book in the entryway. We continue to observe the guidelines for health safety. If you have any questions, please see an usher. Everyone is welcome.
The ringing of the bell and the lighting of the Christ candle mark the beginning of our service and a time for quiet meditation, prayer and inward reflection as we begin our worship.
Children are welcome at our worship services. If you prefer, Peace Lutheran has a playroom equipped for children three years old and younger. The room is unstaffed and can be accessed in the fellowship hall where the service is also being live streamed for your convenience and enjoyment.
Holy Communion is celebrated every first and third Sunday and will follow the order of service in the bulletin. If you are a baptized Christian and share our faith in Jesus as Savior and have been instructed in the meaning and use of the Lord’s Supper, you are invited to partake. We have pre-wrapped communion wine or juice and wafers. We also have gluten-free wafers available. If you desire a gluten-free wafer, ask the server. May the body and blood of Jesus, present in the bread and wine, be a blessing to you.
There are times during the service when you will be asked to stand if you are able. Please feel free to remain seated if standing is difficult.
Offering. Peace Lutheran Church understands and teaches that Offerings are voluntary and to be from the heart. Whether we give or do not give does not determine our salvation. Whether we give much or little does not determine our standing before God. Sharing an Offering is an opportunity to quietly practice generosity with our neighbors. Offerings may be placed in the plates by the doors as we exit the sanctuary.
Serving You
Pastor Pastor Jeremy Lucke
Music Director Colleen Schulze
Choir Director Diane Crocker
Supt. Of Sunday School Brandy Stokes & Karyn Stanley
Admin Assistant Daniel Dusek
Parish Nurse Kathy Durling
Webmaster Jim Holroyd
Audio-Visual Johnathon Holroyd, George Abele, Nicholas Abele, Merv Munster, Callie Santora, Caleb Santora, Joyce Long, Oscar Gutbrod, Sam Worth, Rick Durling, Jim Holroyd, Nora Stanley, Debbi Weiler, Daniel Dusek
Today, December 4, 2022
Musician Colleen Schulze
Reader Kay Glathar
Flowers Joan McDonald
THEME: Welcome to Peace Lutheran Church and our worship in the season of Advent. The purpose of Advent is to better prepare us for the gift of Jesus on Christmas. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.” In our worship today we are encouraged to recognize the value of worship in our lives and how it points us to Jesus.
RINGING OF THE BELL
INVOCATION AND CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
People: Amen.
LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT WREATH
Leader: On the four Sundays in Advent, we light a new candle each week. We mark the four candles with these four words: hope, peace, joy, and love. Jesus Christ is the hope of all nations.
People: We wait for the Lord, and in His Word do we hope.
Leader: Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace,
People: We wait for the Lord, and in His Word we find rest.
The first and second candles are lit during
the Advent Song.
ADVENT SONG: “My Soul in Stillness Waits”
♪ People: For you, O Lord, my soul in stillness waits, truly my hope is in you.
♪Leader: O Root of Life, implant your seed within us, and in your advent, draw us all to you, our hope reborn in dying and in rising.
♪ People: For you, O Lord, my soul in stillness waits, truly my hope is in you.
Leader: Holy Lord, merciful God, You sent John the Baptist to be a burning and shining light.
People: Forgive us, Father,
Leader: for too often, we fail to reflect Your burning light.
People: Our hearts become hard and our words harsh.
Leader: Forgive us, Father,
People: for too often we fail to embrace Your shining light.
Leader: Then our thoughts become selfish and our judgments sinful.
People: Forgive us, Father,
Leader: for too often, we fail to shine with Your marvelous light.
People: Our minds become darkened and our motives deceitful. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
~~~~~ Silence for reflection ~~~~~
…HEARING GOD’S FORGIVENESS
Leader: Though God sees all of our sin, He also sees Jesus, who was born for us, suffered for us, died for us and lives for us. In Christ’s name we are forgiven and cleansed in His blood.
People: Amen.
PRAISE SONG “Angels We Have Heard on High”
James Chadwick; Kurtis Parks; Words: Public Domain ; Music: 2013 Songs of 714 (Admin. by Moon & Musky Music)
Angels we have heard on high,
Sweetly singing o’er the plains,
And the mountains in reply,
Echoing their joyous strains.
Chorus: Gloria in excelsis Deo;
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Shepherds why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song?
Chorus
Come to Bethlehem and see
Christ whose birth the angels sing
Come adore on bended knee
Christ the Lord the newborn King
Chorus
See Him in a manger laid
Whom the choirs of angels praise
Mary Joseph lend your aid
While our hearts in love we raise
THE SCRIPTURE LESSONS
The First Lesson: Isaiah 11:1-10
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
2 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.
3 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,
4 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.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
6 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.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
10 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.
Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
The Second Lesson: Romans 12:1-2
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Reader: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
The Gospel Lesson: Matthew 3:1-12
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
3 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.’ ”
4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 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 for Abraham.
10 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.
11 “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 fire.
12 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.”
Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to You O Christ.
SERMON SONG: “Hark the Herald Angel Sing”
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn king;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.”
Joyful, all you nations, rise;
Join the triumph of the skies;
With angelic hosts proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn king.”
.
Christ, by highest heav’n adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
Late in time behold him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the God-head see!
Hail, incarnate deity!
Pleased as man with us to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel!
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn king.”
.
Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the sun of righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Ris’n with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that we no more may die,
Born to raise each child of earth,
Born to give us second birth.
Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn king.
SERMON
“Everyday Acts of Worship”
People: 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 again 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.
Leader: Heavenly Father, You stir the hearts of Your faithful to prepare us for the advent of Your Son. We ask You, to keep us close to You as we look for His return. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Leader: Almighty God, You preserved Jesse’s faithful line by the incarnation of Your Son. Give families and individuals strength to faithfully fulfill their vocations to love and forgive one another, that we may be trained up in Your fear, love and trust. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Leader: Lord God, Your Son rules over creation with justice and righteousness. Give those in authority with the desire and ability to protect the innocent, punish the wicked and work for the common welfare. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Leader: Compassionate Lord, as we await the day when the wolf will dwell alongside the lamb and pain and destruction are no more, grant us patience, comfort and healing, according to Your will. Hear our prayers for all the sick, [especially _____________,] and give wisdom and skill to all medical professionals who care for them. Lord, in Your mercy,
People: hear our prayer.
Leader: Heavenly Father, grant that we may be kept in joy and sustained in hope through every trouble and trial of this life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
People: Amen.
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
DISTRIBUTION HYMNS “What a Friend”
Joseph Scriven; Charles C. Converse
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 anywhere?
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.
Leader: The Lord is my light and my salvation—
People: Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?
CLOSING SONG: “Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise”
Carl Gotthelf Glaser; Charles Wesley; Words: Public Domain ; Music: Public Domain
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious,
the Ancient of Days, Almighty,
victorious, thy great name we praise!
.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.
.
To all, life thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish like leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish, but naught changeth thee.
.
Thou reignest in glory; thou dwellest in light;
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render; oh, help us to see
‘Tis only the splendor of light hideth thee!
Leader: Go in Peace! Serve the Lord!
People: Thanks be to God!
Announcements
Advent Midweek Services. The Advent Midweek services continue on December 7, and December 14 at 5:00pm. We will be following the Holden Evening Prayer format. You are very welcome to attend.
Decorating the Christmas Tree. We will be decorating the Christmas in the sanctuary today after worship service. This will be part of the fellowship time and pizza and other goodies will be provided. Please stay a few minutes after the service to help decorate the tree.
Vina Moses. The Vina Moses Center provides relief and builds resilience in underserved communities in Benton County. We have placed the Vina Moses tags on the side windows of the front door that contain the Christmas gift wishes of children from financially challenged families in Benton County. We hope that you will take a tag or two.
The gifts are due today. Nicholas Abele will collect them in the Narthex. If you were unable to bring the toy to the service, please contact George Abele at 541-730-0476 or [email protected] to make arrangements to pick up the toy.
