Divine Service December 6th

Advent Reading 

 

Opening Music

 

Please stand.

 

Invocation

 

Confession and Absolution (1 John 1:8-9, John 20:22-23)  

 

P: As we prepare for this great gift, let us confess our sins and hear the promise of forgiveness. 

 

*moment of silent reflection

 

P: Most merciful God,

C: we confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen.

P: Almighty God, in his mercy, has given his Son to die for us and, for his sake, forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the Church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

C: Amen.

 

Please be seated.

 

P: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

C: And also with you.

 

Prayer of the Day (2 Timothy 4:22)

 

P: 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.

 

C: Amen.

 

 

 

First Reading…………………………………..…..…Isaiah 40:1-11

 

1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. 3 A voice cries:“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” 6 A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. 9 Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not;

say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” 10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

 

P:  This is the Word of the Lord.

C:  Thanks be to God.

 

Psalm 85

 

1 Lord, you were favorable to your land;

     you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

2  You forgave the iniquity of your people;

     you covered all their sin. Selah

3  You withdrew all your wrath;

     you turned from your hot anger.

4  Restore us again, O God of our salvation,

      and put away your indignation toward us!

5  Will you be angry with us forever?

     Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

6  Will you not revive us again,

     that your people may rejoice in you?

7  Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,

     and grant us your salvation.

8  Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,

     for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;

     but let them not turn back to folly.

9  Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,

     that glory may dwell in our land.

 

10  Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;

     righteousness and peace kiss each other.

11  Faithfulness springs up from the ground,

     and righteousness looks down from the sky.

12  Yes, the Lord will give what is good,

     and our land will yield its increase.

13  Righteousness will go before him

     and make his footsteps a way.

 

Second Reading………………………………………2 Peter 3:8-14

 

8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

 

P:  This is the Word of the Lord.

C:  Thanks be to God.

 

Please stand.

 

Holy Gospel       

 

P:The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the first chapter, verses 1-8 

C:Glory to You, O Lord

 

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” 4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

P:  This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C:  Praise to You, O Christ.

 

Please be seated.

 

Sermon

Please stand.

 

Nicene Creed

 

C: I believe in one God,

  the Father Almighty,

  maker of heaven and earth

      and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,

  the only-begotten Son of God,

  begotten of His Father before all worlds,

  God of God, Light of Light,

  very God of very God,

  begotten, not made,

  being of one substance with the Father,

  by whom all things were made;

  who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven

  and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary

  and was made man;

  and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.

  He suffered and was buried.

  And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures

      and ascended into heaven

  and sits at the right hand of the Father.

  And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead,

  whose kingdom will have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit,

  the Lord and giver of life,

  who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

  who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,

  who spoke by the prophets.

  And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church,

  I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,

  and I look for the resurrection of the dead

  and the life  of the world to come. Amen.

 

 

 

 

The Prayers of the Church (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

 

P: Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus, and for all people according to their needs.

After each petition:

 

      P: Lord, in Your mercy,      or       P: let us pray to the Lord

      C: hear our prayer                      C: Lord have mercy.

 

Please stand.

 

Service of the Sacrament (2 Timothy 4:22)

 

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

C: And also with you.

 

P: In the night in which he was betrayed,

our Lord Jesus took bread, and gave thanks;

broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:

Take and eat; this is my body, given for you.

Do this for the remembrance of me.

 

Again, after supper, he took the cup.

gave thanks, and gave it for all to drink, saying:

This cup is the new covenant in my blood,

shed for you and for all people

for the forgiveness of sin.

Do this for the remembrance of me.

C: Amen.

 

Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)

 

C. 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. 

 

Please be seated.

 

Distribution

 

(The usher will direct family groups up for communion. Please stand behind the line of tape marked on the floor until Pastor motions for you to come up for communion.)

 

P: The body of Christ, given for you.

The blood of Christ, shed for you.

 

Closing Prayer

 

P: Let us pray. Almighty God, you provide the true bread from heaven, your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Grant that we who have received the Sacrament of His body and blood may abide in Him and He in us, that we may be filled with the power of His endless life, now and forever.

C: Amen.

 

The Benediction (Numbers 6:22-27)  

 

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.

 

Closing Music  

 

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Parts of the service from Creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish, Series B, Quarter 3.  Copyright 2017 Concordia Publishing House.  All rights reserved.  Used by permission.