First Sunday in Advent

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November 27, 2022

Advent Adverbs: Trustingly

Today you are in a most important waiting room—every church sanctuary or other holy space in which God’s people gather is, in its way, a waiting room. Together we are waiting for the greatest of all events—the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the mountain of the house of the Lord, where two or three are gathered in His name. Here God dwells and is enthroned and reveals Himself to His people. Here we keep alert, joyfully anticipating the advent of our King.

+ Preparation +

OPENING HYMN: #331 – The Advent of Our King

INVOCATION

Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.

People: Amen.

OPENING SENTENCES Psalm 25:1–2a, 4–5, 21; Proverbs 3:5–6

Pastor: To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in You I trust; let me not be put to shame.

People: Make me to know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths.

Pastor: Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day long.

People: May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You.

Pastor: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

People: In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

Pastor: 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, Your Son, our Lord.

People: Amen.

Pastor: Confident of receiving God’s great mercy, let us confess together that we by nature are sinful and that through our thoughts, words, and deeds we have sinned against our God and deserve His punishment now and eternally.

People: Almighty God, we repent of our sins and ask for Your forgiving grace in our lives. Be merciful to us and for the sake of Jesus grant us remission of our sins so that, as Your redeemed people, we may greet you in Advent hope and with trusting hearts serve You in time and in eternity.

Pastor: 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.

+ WORD +

INTROIT Psalm 118:25–28; antiphon: Zechariah 9:9b, alt.

Behold, your king is coming to you;
            righteous and having salvation.
Save us, we pray, O Lord!
            O Lord, we pray, give us success!
Blessèd is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
            We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us.
            Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!
You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
            you are my God; I will extol you.
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.
Behold, your king is coming to you;
            righteous and having salvation.

KYRIE

Pastor: In peace let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: For the peace from above and for our salvation let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: For the peace of the whole world, for the well-being of the Church of God, and for the unity of all let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: For this holy house and for all who offer here their worship and praise let us pray to the Lord.

People: Lord, have mercy.

Pastor: Help, save, comfort, and defend us, gracious Lord.

People: Amen.

SALUTATION and PRAYER OF THE DAY

Pastor: The Lord be with you.

People: And also with you.

Pastor: Let us pray.
Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come among us to bring the joy of Your salvation. Bid all shadows and darkness in our lives be gone that we may walk in the light of the Lord. Keep us faithful to the work that You have given us while it is day as we share the hope and the joy that we have within us as people of Your kingdom. This we ask in the name of Jesus, our bright and Morning Star.

People: Amen.

OLD TESTAMENT READING Isaiah 2:1–5

(Isaiah proclaims the peaceable kingdom of God.)

¹The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

²It shall come to pass in the latter days
     that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
     and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
     ³and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
     to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
     and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go the law,
     and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
⁴He shall judge between the nations,
     and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
     and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
     neither shall they learn war anymore.
⁵O house of Jacob,
     come, let us walk
     in the light of the Lord.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL Zechariah 9:9; Psalm 118:26

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem.

Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation.

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

From the house of the Lord we bless You.

EPISTLE Romans 13:8–14

(Put on the Lord Jesus Christ as you await His coming.)

⁸Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

¹¹Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. ¹²The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Lector: This is the Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God.

ALLELUIA and VERSE Psalm 24:7

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 Matthew 21:1–11

(Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem.)

Pastor: The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the twenty-first chapter.

People: Glory to You, O Lord.

¹Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” ⁴This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

⁵“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. ⁷They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. ⁸Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” ¹⁰And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Pastor: This is the Gospel of the Lord.

People: Praise to You, O Christ.

HYMN OF THE DAY: #332 – Savior of the Nations, Come (vs. 1-4)

SERMON

APOSTLES’ CREED The First Article

Pastor: As we begin a new Church Year and reflect on how Jesus’ coming fulfilled the Father’s plan for our salvation, we speak the First Article of the Apostles’ Creed and its meaning. It relates the loving work of God the Father for us. He has created and still preserves us, and in His grace, He has brought us to the beginning of a new Church Year.

People: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

Pastor: What does this mean?

People: I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them.

He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.

He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.

This is most certainly true.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH

After each petition:

Pastor: … Lord, in Your mercy:

People: hear our prayer.

At conclusion:

Pastor: Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray, trusting in Your mercy through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

People: Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER Matthew 6:9–13

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 PRAYER

Pastor: 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 be saved by Your mighty deliverance; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People: Amen.

BENEDICTION Numbers 6:24–26

Pastor: 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.

People: Amen.

DISMISSAL

Pastor: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!

People: Thanks be to God.

First Sunday in Advent – Online Church at Home Service Bulletin