Second Sunday of Advent 12/5/21
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
DECEMBER 5, 2021
ST. PAUL’S LUTHERAN CHURCH, FALLS CHURCH, VA
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PRELUDE Hark the Glad Sound Setting: Jacob B. Weber
WELCOME
ENTRANCE HYMN (Stand) #349 Hark the Glad Sound
1 Hark the glad sound! The Savior comes,
The Savior promised long;
Let ev’ry heart prepare a throne
And ev’ry voice a song.
2 He comes the pris’ners to release,
In Satan’s bondage held.
The gates of brass before Him burst,
The iron fetters yield.
3 He comes the broken heart to bind,
The bleeding soul to cure,
And with the treasures of His grace
To enrich the humble poor.
4 Our glad hosannas, Prince of Peace,
Thy welcome shall proclaim,
And heav’n’s eternal arches ring
With Thy belovèd name.
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
In the name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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 inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You, and worthily magnify Your Holy Name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sin, be our advocate in heaven, and bring us to eternal life. Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith, resolved to keep God’s commandments and to live in love and peace with all.
(Silence for reflection)
Almighty God, our heavenly Father,
we confess that we have sinned against You and against our neighbor in thought, word and deed; through negligence, through weakness, and through our own deliberate fault. We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins. For the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us on the cross, forgive us all that is past, and grant that we may serve You in newness of life, to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.
Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
KYRIE (Kyrie eleison means “Lord have mercy”) (LSB #943)
Kyrie, Kyrie eleison. Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
For peace in our hearts as we gather for worship, and for the peace of the whole world and the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord:
Kyrie, Kyrie eleison. Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
For the proclamation of the Gospel in this and every place and for the calling of all to faith, let us pray to the Lord:
Kyrie, Kyrie eleison. Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
For grace to await our Lord’s coming again in glory, and for the joyful anticipation of his coming into our hearts today, let us pray to the Lord:
Kyrie, Kyrie eleison. Kyrie, Kyrie eleison.
HYMN OF PRAISE (omitted during this penitential season)
THE PRAYER OF THE DAY
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray. 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.
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THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
FIRST LESSON (Be seated) Malachi 3:1-7b
“Behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them.”
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
PSALM 66:1-12 (Read responsively)
Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.”
Come and see what God has done:
he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
let not the rebellious exalt themselves.
Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept our soul among the living
and has not let our feet slip.
For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
You brought us into the net;
you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
you let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
SECOND LESSON Philippians 1:2-11
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
10:30 GOSPEL VERSE (stand) # 338 Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
1 Come, Thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art,
Dear desire of ev’ry nation,
Joy of ev’ry longing heart.
GOSPEL Luke 3:1-18
The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke the 3rd chapter
Glory to You, O Lord.
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall become straight,
and the rough places shall become level ways,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin 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. 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.”
And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”
As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to You, O Christ.
SERMON
Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus. Amen. Dear friends in Christ:
All four Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus spend significant time at their beginning telling us about John the Baptist. And all four include a reference to Isaiah chapter 40 as a means of describing what John was doing. In the words of the prophet, John was “preparing the way of the Lord.”
Our season of Advent leads us today in this same work. We, too, are to prepare the way for the Lord. We are to prepare for him to come into our community – like we do in our great celebration of Christmas. And we are to prepare for him to come into our own hearts and bless us according to our need.
On this second Sunday of Advent, the church directs us to do some thinking about what this preparing looks like. And in this, John serves not only as our encourager but also our model, for we can learn much about preparing by examining his words and actions.
This year we are reading about John as presented in Luke’s Gospel. While all of the Gospels tell the same story, each does so in its own particular way, with its own particular emphases. Today’s sermon will speak to six ways in which Luke draws out the meaning of John’s methods and message. Examining these ways will equip us in our preparation tasks and bless us by focusing us upon God’s grace.
The first thing we notice about Luke’s presentation is how he grounds his account of John in history. He tells us that this happened: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea,” etc. etc. By listing these leaders of the people, Luke gets very specific about the time of John’s appearance.
And the effect of this is to remind us that the events described here all really happened. They aren’t a part of some fairly tale that took place “once upon a time.” John appeared at a specific moment in history, to do specific things.
Certainly the message of God’s love for us in Jesus is timeless. God comes to his people, loves them, forgives them and encourages them every day. But what God was doing at that particular moment in history was critical. God at that time was accomplishing something that needed to be done. And he was doing it with real people, involving them in his purposes, altering their courses, and altering the world’s as well.
By naming the leaders of the time – Tiberius, Pilate, Herod, etc. – Luke signals that John and his message are every bit as important as they are. Indeed, history may remember those leaders
because of their high positions and their impact on that time, but history should remember John even more. As it has.
Secondly, Luke emphasizes that John’s message was received from God and not just a product of John’s own thoughts. Luke says very directly and succinctly: “the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.”
The other Gospels make this point by describing John’s appearance – telling how he was “clothed with camel’s hair and wearing a leather belt around his waist” – the clothing of the prophet Elijah. When people saw John dressed like this, they knew they were hearing from God through a prophet.
Luke skips this description and tells us directly how John’s message was to be understood. His message was “the word of God” – given to him by God himself. We don’t know how the word came to him – perhaps in a vision, perhaps through an angel, perhaps in a dream. But this simple yet strongly worded statement makes clear that the message was God’s message, come through John his prophet.
As such, this message carried a much greater weight than the ones people normally give and receive. And we see how it compelled John to preach and to endure the wilderness. And how it drew many people to hear it.
Luke had hinted at this special giving from God to John in the previous chapter, where an angel had appeared to John’s father. The angel said of John: “he will be great before the Lord” and “he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit fills and leads people to do many different things. In John’s case, the Spirit filled and led him to proclaim a message given by God.
And here we should note something very important for our own preparing of the Lord’s way. We are to do this by sharing the Word of God and not the words that we think we hear, or the words that we come up with in our moments of seeming inspiration, or the words that grab people’s attention. We are to share the words that have been given by God directly and recorded for us by the Holy Spirit – the words of the Holy Scriptures.
Thirdly, Luke emphasizes in his telling that salvation is for all people. Yes, this is an emphasis that can be found in all four of the Gospels, but not necessarily in their account about John. Luke makes sure we see it clearly in John’s ministry, before we even hear from Jesus, setting the tone for the entire Gospel.
We see this emphasis in Luke’s quoting of Isaiah 40. While the other Gospels stop the quote after a sentence or two, Luke goes on to the point where Isaiah says: “all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” That line, in fact, is the final line quoted, making it stand out as a promise and stating it as a goal for the church’s preparing work.
Luke definitely wants this line to stand out. We can tell because here he takes a bit of editorial license. Isaiah had actually said: “all flesh will see it together.” If Luke had left the quote as is, people might wonder what the “it” was referring to. Instead, Luke substitutes the phrase: “the salvation of God.” The edit is in no way problematic, for it accurately reflects what God was saying through Isaiah. Isaiah’s prophecy was all about God’s salvation. Luke clarifies this. And focuses our attention.
This clarified and focused attention then leads to a fourth emphasis in Luke’s telling about John. This is the fact that all people need salvation. It is for everyone because they all need it.
Luke conveys this emphasis in a very dramatic and blunt way – telling how John calls the people a “brood of vipers.” The name makes it abundantly clear that the people have a problem.
Unlike Matthew’s Gospel, where John directs the name to the Pharisees, as Jesus also once did, Luke directs the name at the whole crowd. All those who came to hear his preaching were challenged by these hard words.
Note, too, that the words are more than just an insult. Rather, they invoke deep meaning. They are obviously meant to recall the Bible’s opening chapters, where Satan is pictured as a snake. God said to that snake: “I will put enmity between your seed and her seed.” Seed means offspring, which is what a brood is. Calling the people a brood of vipers was like saying they were children of the devil. Jesus himself once said this to another crowd, as recorded in John 8, where he says: “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.”
Those who follow the desires of Satan need salvation. And sadly, that means all of us. All of us are under Satan’s influence, for we have all been born into sin. We show this in our choices. And it’s clearly evident in our thoughts.
Once he has declared their need for salvation, John then calls the people to repentance. And here, as in Matthew’s Gospel, John explains that this involves more than just saying “I’m sorry.” John instructs the people to also “bear fruits in keeping with repentance.”
The fruits, or good works, do not save a person. And yet they are a sign of true repentance – just as the people’s submitting to John’s baptism was.
Moreover, John also explained to the people that their family lineage was not sufficient either. “And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’” he instructed. “For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
Repentance is a true turning to God. We turn to him in sorrow over our sins. And we turn to him for help in doing better.
This then leads us to a fifth unique emphasis of Luke’s telling. Luke also goes on to give examples of true repentance.
And in his choices of examples, John makes it seem like he might be living with us right here in Norther Virginia! For his examples involve soldiers, tax collectors and people with abundant possessions.
“Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none.” As we are blessed, we are to share with others.
Tax Collectors “should collect no more than [they] are authorized to.” They, and all who have the opportunity to exploit their positions for personal gain, should not do to.
Soldiers “should not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation. And be content with their wages.” Those who have been given the power of the sword and its authority should not misuse it, nor complain that they are deserving of more.
Note that these examples include both things we should do and things we should not do. God has outlined the kind of life he wants his people to lead. We are to examine ourselves regularly to see how we are doing in this. And repent when we fail.
Sixthly, and finally, Luke explains in his telling of John that John “evangelized” the people. He didn’t just preach (kyrusso) or witness (martyria) or confess (homologein) – those all being good words and ones that other Gospel writers used to describe what John was doing. John, according to Luke, did even more than these. He shared the Gospel – the good news of salvation in Jesus.
Luke uses this special word as a verb – “preached good news” as our translation puts it. And this is told us at the end of Luke’s introduction of John – given as a fitting summary of what John was doing.
Looking back, we understand why this word is so fitting as a summary. It recalls the conversation about whether John was the Christ – the promised one of God. And it recalls John’s answer when he said: “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
I know the part about being burned with unquenchable fire may not sound like good news. But it is good in that it reminds us of God’s judgment against evil and his promise to eliminate it someday.
Even more, John’s words here are good news in that they tell of the one who will baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire. His baptism will be a washing away of our sins. And his fire will separate from us those who insist on the path of sin instead.
Concluding this introduction of John with a mention of his evangelizing reminds us that God’s plan in Jesus, revealed as his story unfolds, is all about saving the world from its sin. Jesus is coming to bring salvation. And he will accomplish it. Reading on, we discover how he does this via the cross.
On this second Sunday in Advent, John speaks to us about preparing the way of the Lord. We prepare his way as we call people to repentance – ourselves included. And we prepare his way as we share the Gospel – the good news of God’s salvation in Christ.
We prepare the way as best we can. Thankfully, we also know that God is not dependent on our preparations. He comes to us in our weakness. And he comes to us in surprising ways.
Our God is a God of grace. And he works to prepare his people – doing it through his word; doing it through people like John.
That is the point the angel wanted people to know about John back in chapter one: “he would make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” Those are, in fact, the concluding words of his to John’s father. And if they were suitable for a conclusion on that day, then they are certainly suitable for our conclusion today.
God is making us a people prepared. For this, we give him our thanks and praise. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
HYMN OF THE DAY (Stand) #344 On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry
1 On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Awake and hearken, for he brings
Glad tidings of the King of kings!
2 Then cleansed be ev’ry life from sin;
Make straight the way for God within,
And let us all our hearts prepare
For Christ to come and enter there.
3 We hail Thee as our Savior, Lord,
Our refuge and our great reward;
Without Thy grace we waste away
Like flow’rs that wither and decay.
4 Lay on the sick Thy healing hand
And make the fallen strong to stand;
Show us the glory of Thy face
Till beauty springs in ev’ry place.
5 All praise, eternal Son, to Thee
Whose advent sets Thy people free,
Whom with the Father we adore
And Holy Spirit evermore.
NICENE CREED
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
OFFERING (Be Seated)
PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH (Stand)
In peace, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
That the Lord who was once long-suffering toward Israel, calling them to repentance, would open our hearts to hear His Word, receive His gifts and gladly submit to His will, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For pastors and all who lead in the church, that God, who called Isaiah and John the Baptist to prepare the way of the Lord, would bless them with every good gift as they prepare His people for Christ’s coming in glory, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For our life together as God’s people, that the Lord who cleanses and gathers us would cause our love to abound more and more, give us knowledge and discernment of what is excellent, and preserve us blameless for the day of Christ, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For families, that our Father who gathers us into His household would bless the households of this congregation; and that He would bless all within them so that their love may abound with knowledge, discernment and the righteousness of Christ, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For our nation, and for those who serve in the military, that the Lord of hosts, who through John the Baptist counseled soldiers to conduct themselves according to His Word, would remember, protect and guide them to serve honorably, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For those in need of healing, comfort and rescue, [especially ____________,] that for the sake of Christ, who is mightier than all, God would deliver them according to His will and assure them of His faithfulness, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
For all who partake of the Sacrament of the Altar, that as John prepared all flesh to see the Lord’s salvation, so God would prepare our hearts to worthily receive Christ’s body and blood for the forgiveness of sins, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.
Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
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THE LITURGY OF HOLY COMMUNION
PREFACE TO HOLY COMMUNION p. 160
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
It is truly good right and salutary…evermore praising You and saying:
SANCTUS
Holy, holy, holy Lord God of pow’r and might:
Heaven and earth are full of Your glory.
Hosanna. Hosanna.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
Holy God, mighty Lord, gracious Father:
Endless is Your mercy and eternal your reign.
You have filled all creation with light and life;
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Through Abraham you promised to bless all nations.
You rescued Israel, your chosen people.
Through the prophets you renewed your promise;
And, at this the end of all ages, you sent your Son,
Who in words and deeds proclaimed your kingdom
and was obedient to your will, even to giving his life.
THE WORDS OF OUR LORD
PROCLAMATION OF CHRIST
As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Therefore, gracious Father; with this bread and cup
We remember the life our Lord offered for us.
And believing the witness of his resurrection,
We await his coming in power to share with us
The great and promised feast.
Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
Join our prayers with those of your servants of every time and place,
And unite them with the ceaseless petitions of our great high priest
Until he comes as victorious Lord of all.
Amen.
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.
PAX DOMINI
The peace of the Lord be with you always.
Amen.
AGNUS DEI
Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, You take away the sin of the world; grant us peace.
DISTRIBUTION (Be seated)
The Communion Assistant will come forward to receive first, then those from the pulpit side – by order of pew, front to back. Communicants will come up the center aisle and return via the side aisle. When all from the pulpit side have communed, the baptismal font side will commune in the same manner. Distancing must be maintained between all communicants. We ask that the wine be consumed away from the tray table. Empty cups should be dropped into the baskets.
COMMUNION MUSIC Nun komm’ der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659 Setting: J. S. Bach
POST-COMMUNION COLLECT (Stand)
BENEDICTION
SENDING HYMN #343 Prepare the Royal Highway
1 Prepare the royal highway;
The King of kings is near!
Let ev’ry hill and valley
A level road appear!
Then greet the King of Glory
Foretold in sacred story: Refrain
Refrain
Hosanna to the Lord,
For He fulfills God’s Word!
2 God’s people, see Him coming:
Your own eternal king!
Palm branches strew before Him!
Spread garments! Shout and sing!
God’s promise will not fail you!
No more shall doubt assail you! Refrain
3 Then fling the gates wide open
To greet your promised king!
Your king, yet ev’ry nation
Its tribute too should bring.
All lands, bow down before Him!
All nations, now adore Him! Refrain
4 His is no earthly kingdom;
It comes from heav’n above.
His rule is peace and freedom
And justice, truth, and love.
So let your praise be sounding
For kindness so abounding: Refrain
ANNOUNCEMENTS (Be seated)
DISMISSAL
POSTLUDE Prepare the Royal Highway Setting: Paul Manz
Those serving:
Sunday, December 5, 8:30 a.m.:
Greeter: Steve Berg
Comm. assist: Dede Dixon
Reader: Aaron Siebrass
10:30 a.m.:
Greeter: Michael Chamberlain
Comm. assist: Jill Hecht
Reader: Charles Fisher
Worship Notes
Thank you for worshiping with us at St. Paul’s! In worship Christ is present among His gathered people and the Holy Spirit is poured out through Word and Sacrament.
If you have a need or concern that you would like us to lift up in prayer, you may fill out a yellow Prayer Request Card and give it to the greeter or pastor. Restrooms can be found both downstairs and near the parking lot entrance. Parents can take their children to the Cry Room as needed, but we love to have them with us in worship. Before you leave, we ask that you fill out a Fellowship Card and place it in the offering box at the sanctuary entrance.
In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus gives us his true body and blood. This meal forgives our sins and strengthens our faith. The Supper is for baptized Christians who have been taught the faith, examined themselves and share with us in confession. If you are not communing, you may still come forward for a blessing (bow your head or cross your arms). If you’re not sure whether you should commune, please speak first to one of our pastors.
We pray that God’s love and care be evident to you in our gathering, and that He gladden your heart and give peace to you this day!
Acknowledgements
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2021 Concordia Publishing House.
Hark the Glad Sound Text & Tune: Public domain
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus Text and tune: Public domain
Prepare the Royal Highway Tune: Public domain Text: © 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110005326
