PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH
Sunday, November 29, 2020 – 10:00 a.m.
First Sunday in Advent
+ AS WE GATHER +
The Church Year begins by taking us to the scene of our Lord’s final entry into Jerusalem that great and holy week. Yes, Christmas is at hand. Surely the preparations for the celebration of His incarnation, His earthly birth of the Virgin Mary, are already well under way. But wait a moment. We enter this new year already knowing why He became incarnate of the Holy Spirit for us and for our salvation, which is only by way of His passion, death, and resurrection. We begin by continuing to “wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ” on the Last Day (1 Corinthians 1:7), sustained by Him now in the forgiveness of our sins, guiltless and ready. In readiness, we boldly pray that our Lord comes to rescue and save us.
PRELUDE
WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS
INVOCATION
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION 1 John 1:8; John 3:16; Matthew 5:16
Pastor: As we begin a new Church Year, let us put behind us everything in the past that would disqualify us from a new life, and remembering our Baptism, we boldly petition our Savior Jesus Christ, seeking for our entry into His presence and His plan and future for us, saying, stir up Your power, O Lord, and come,
People: that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance.
Pastor: What are those threatening perils? I now ask you before God, who searches the heart, do you sincerely confess that you have sinned against God and deserved His wrath and punishment?
People: I do confess.
Pastor: So you should confess as Holy Scripture says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
Do you also repent of all your sins committed in thought, word, and deed?
People: I do repent.
Pastor: So you should repent as did King David, who prayed for a contrite heart; Peter, who wept bitterly; the sinful woman; the prodigal son; and others.
Do you sincerely believe that God, by grace, for Jesus’ sake, will forgive you all your sins?
People: I do believe.
Pastor: So you should believe as Holy Scripture declares, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Do you promise that with the aid of the Holy Spirit you will amend your sinful life?
People: I do promise.
Pastor: So you should promise for Christ the Lord says, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Finally, do you believe that through me, a called servant of God, you will receive the forgiveness of all your sins?
People: I do believe.
Pastor: As you believe, even so may it be to you. 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 T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
People: Amen.
Pastor: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come,
People: that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance. Amen.
LIGHTING THE ADVENT CANDLE
Pastor: Jesus Christ is the Light of the world,
People: the light no darkness can overcome.
Pastor: Let Your light scatter the darkness
People: and illumine Your Church.
+ 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 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.
C Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT READING Isaiah 64:1-9
1Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains might quake at your presence—
2 as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
3When you did awesome things that we did not look for,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
4From of old no one has heard
or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
who acts for those who wait for him.
5You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
those who remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;
in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?
6We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7There is no one who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.
8But now, O LORD, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
9Be not so terribly angry, O LORD,
and remember not iniquity forever.
Behold, please look, we are all your people.
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 1 Corinthians 1:3–9
3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— 6even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
A This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
ALLELUIA and VERSE (spoken in unison)
C Alleluia. Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Alleluia.
HOLY GOSPEL Mark 11:1–10
P The Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, the eleventh chapter.
C Glory to You, O Lord.
1Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’” 4And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go. 7And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it. 8And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. 9And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 10Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C Praise to You, O Christ.
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.
SERMON – “Our Lord Comes to Us in Unexpected Ways”
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.
By Your own great power, O Lord, we pray that You come to us to protect us by Your might from all evil, and deliver and save us from our sins; for You live and reign with the Father 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 T give you peace.
C Amen.
SENDING WORDS
P Go in Peace. Serve the Lord.
C Thanks be to God!
POSTLUDE
