PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH
Sunday, December 6, 2020
Second Sunday in Advent
+ AS WE GATHER +
This year, the holy evangelist St. Mark greets us to lead us through a new Church Year. He does not, however, greet us as we might expect. For one thing, he seems to have forgotten all about Christmas! At least Matthew and Luke tell of Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger and of angels and shepherds. But Mark? While Christmas is the earthly “beginning” of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, this preacher means that his entire Gospel, the whole biblical story, is but “the beginning of the Gospel.” It is as if he means to say that the Baptist’s call to repentance comes to us In Medias Res, that is, in the middle of everything else, in the middle of the biblical story and in the middle of our lives and activities, right now. He is saying, “Stop what you’re doing. Repent again and welcome the Greater One, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The Christian faith and life is one of continual repentance and faith. Watch and listen as our Lord comes to us again, now, by His Spirit in His Word and Sacraments.
WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS
OPENING HYMN: #344 – On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry
INVOCATION, CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION, & READINGS
INVOCATION
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
Pastor: Prepare the way of the Lord. Recalling our Baptism into Christ, we confess our sins to God in the full assurance of the gift of forgiveness by the mighty sacrifice of His Son.
People: O God, from the wilderness of lives disfigured and crushed by the devil, our own sin, and the sins of others, we cry out to You for the forgiveness of our sins, those that trouble us as well as those of which we are not aware. Restore our life and faith by Your own command for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Pastor: Upon this, your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God to 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 X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
+ SERVICE OF THE WORD +
PSALM (spoken responsively by verse) Psalm 80:1-7
1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
2Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
stir up your might and come to save us!
3Restore us, O God;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
4O LORD God of hosts,
how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
5You have fed them with the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,
and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
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.
KYRIE
C Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
SALUTATION and COLLECT OF THE DAY
P The Lord be with you.
C And also with you.
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.
OLD TESTAMENT READING Isaiah 40:1-11
1Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2Speak 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.
3A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4Every 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.
5And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
6A 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.
7The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the LORD blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
8The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
9Get you 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!”
10Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11He 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.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
GRADUAL (spoken in unison) Zech. 9:9; Ps. 118:26, alt.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion.
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem.
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation.
Blessèd is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
EPISTLE 2 Peter 3:8-14
8But 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. 9The 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. 10But 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.
11Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12waiting 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! 13But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
14Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
ALLELUIA and VERSE (spoken in unison)
C Alleluia. Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight; all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Alleluia.
HOLY GOSPEL Mark 1:1–8
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the first chapter.
C Glory to You, O Lord.
1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
3the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
4John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And 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. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7And 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. 8I 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.
HYMN OF THE DAY: #347 – Comfort, Comfort Ye My People
HYMN OF THE DAY: #347 – Comfort, Comfort Ye My People
“Comfort, comfort ye My people,
Speak ye peace,” thus saith our God;
“Comfort those who sit in darkness,
Mourning ’neath their sorrows’ load.
Speak ye to Jerusalem
Of the peace that waits for them;
Tell her that her sins I cover
And her warfare now is over.”
Hark, the herald’s voice is crying
In the desert far and near,
Calling sinners to repentance,
Since the Kingdom now is here.
O that warning cry obey!
Now prepare for God a way;
Let the valleys rise to meet Him
And the hills bow down to greet Him.
Make ye straight what long was crooked;
Make the rougher places plain.
Let your hearts be true and humble,
As befits His holy reign.
For the glory of the Lord
Now o’er earth is shed abroad,
And all flesh shall see the token
That His Word is never broken.
Text: Public domain
SERMON – “This is Comfort?”
APOSTLES’ CREED
C 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 T everlasting. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
After each petition: At conclusion:
P … Lord, in Your mercy: P … one God, now and forever.
C hear our prayer. C Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
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.
CLOSING COLLECT
P Let us pray.
Stir up our hearts by Your mighty Word and Spirit, O Lord, that we may be prepared to receive Your gifts of life and salvation through the forgiveness of our sins; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
BENEDICAMUS and BENEDICTION
P Let us bless the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
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 HYMN: #384 – Of the Father’s Love Begotten
