December 3, 2023
First Sunday in Advent.
Service With Guest Pastor Mark Griesse
As We Gather
Welcome to the season of waiting! Not only is Advent a period of preparation for Jesus' first coming at Christmas, but this sacred season readies our hearts for Jesus' ultimate coming: when He, as King of kings and Lord of lords, returns in power on the Last Day, when every knee will bow before Him and every eye will see Him as the One who reigns in sovereign majesty over all things. Until the arrival of that glorious Day, we wait for Him in confident faith, strengthened by His Word and Meal, trusting that He has redeemed us by His cross and resurrection. With the expectant people of old, may our worship together leads us to say: "Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield" (Psalm 33:20)
PREPARATION
LSB 331 "The Advent of Our King"
Invocation
P: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
Opening Sentences Psalm 33: 20-22
P: Our Soul waits for the Lord;
C: He is our help and our shield.
P: For our heart is glad in Him,
C: because we trust in His holy name.
P: Let Your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
C: even as we hope in You.
Confession and Absolution
P: Confident in His Steadfast love, let us confess our sins to God our Father.
C: Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we do and by what we fail to do. Instead of waiting on You and clinging to Your promises, we impatiently go our own way. Instead of loving our neighbors as ourselves, we put our wants first and serve our interests instead of Yours, O God. For the sake of our Savior and King, have mercy on us. Forgive us and restore us. Guide us and renew us. Help us to walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.
P: "You are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1: 7-8). Our faithful God hears our prayers and answers them, taking away our guilt and giving us His righteousness. As a Called and ordained servant of Christ, our Savior and King, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen
Word
Introit Psalm 25: 1-3
P: Behold, your king is coming to you;
C: righteous and having salvation.
P: To You, O LORD,
C: I lift up my soul.
P: O my God, in You I trust; let me not be put to shame;
C: let not my enemies exult over me.
P: Indeed, none who wait for You shall be put to shame;
C: they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous
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.
P: Behold, your king is coming to you;
C: righteous and having salvation.
Salutation
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
Prayer of the Day
P: Let us pray. Stir up Your Power, O Lord, and come to us
C: as we wait for Your arrival.
P: Protect us by Your hand that we may rescued from the threatening perils of our sins
C: and saved by Your mighty deliverance;
P: 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
Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence-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! When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. Form the old no one had heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. You 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? We 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. There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take a hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Be not so terribly angry, O LORD, and remember not iniquity forever. Behold, please look, we are all your people.
R: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Psalm Psalm 80: 1-7
R: Restore us, O God of hosts;
C: let Your face shine, that we may be saved!
R: Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock!
C: you who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
R: Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
C: stir up Your might and come to save us!
R: Restore us, O God;
C: let Your face shine, that we may be saved!
R: O LORD God of host,
C: how long will You be angry with Your people's prayers?
R: You have fed them with the bread of tear
C: and given them tears to drink in full measure.
R: You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,
C: and our enemies laugh among themselves.
R: Restor us, O God of hosts;
C: 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
R: Restore us, O God of hosts;
C: let Your face shine, that we may be saved!
Epistle 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge- even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you-so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you where called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
R: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Verse Psalm 24:7
P: Alleluia. Lift up your heads, O gates!
C: 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.
When they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples and 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 have ever sat. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.' "And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. And some of those standing there said to them, " what are you doing, untying the cold?" And they told themn wehat Jesus had said, and they let them go. And they brought the cold to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he ssat on it. And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. And those who went before and those who followed where shouting ,"Hossanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed 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.
Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and 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 the 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 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
LSB 332 "Savior of the Nations, Come"
Sermon "Ready and Waiting....Waiting and Ready" 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
We're trying to get ready for Christmas-there's so much to do!-and we're trying to wait. But sometimes, we have to admit that we can't wait untiol the commotion is over. I'll dare to affirm that we could be more childlike in our Advent waiting and preparing. Children don't sweat the details; they simply long for Christmas to be here, to receive and open and celebrate and share the Gifts that brings joy to all the world. They know, they believe, they never worry about the fact that everything will be ready when it's time. In our text this morning, St. Paul assures us that we are just as ready for Christ's coming-and that can enable us to do the thing we're not so great at: wait.
THE ADVENT PEOPLE OF GOD
ARE CALLED TO BE READY AND WAITING-
CONFIDENT BECAUSE WE ARE READY IN CHRIST.
I. We are ready because of all that God had done for us (vv 4-7).
A. The Corinthians Lacked Nothing
1. They were enriched in every way with all speech and knowledge.
2. But the apostle says, "Look beyond the present day and your present gifts to the Last Day and the Lord's greater gifts."
B. We also lack nothing.
1. Our Challenge is this: we want to focus on Christmas Day and its gifts (all the presents in stockings and under the tree and ,yes, especially the Gift in the manger).
2. Much better, we have our Lord's fullest gifts: salvation completed, Christ revealed, and eternity experienced.
II. Yet we are waiting.
A. We are waiting for "the day" (V7).
1. Yes, indeed, we're waiting for the day-count 'em down: twenty-two days until the day!
2. We can hardly wait for the day to Celebrate the revealing of Jesus Christ, God's Son born in the manger in Bethlehem.
B. But we actually waiting for two days(vv 7b-8).
1. It isn't really Christmas Day about which Paul is writing. Even for him and for the Corinthians, that had already happened.
2. They/you/we wait for the Christmas festival, that annual celebration, yes, but we also wait for the Great(er) Day. Just as the incarnation revealed our Lord and his mission, just as the crucifixion revealed our Lord and his mission, so the Great Day will reveal him as the glorious Judge and King.
3. So we wait as resident aliens, as strangers in a strange land that is not our ultimate home.
C. And Advent also calls us to wait for the third day, the day of our physical death, the day on which our soul's are taken into our Lord's presence.
1. "The day of death is for each person the day of the Lord's coming"
2. Funerals that we attend make this point as we lay the loved one into the Lord's presence.
III. And Still, for each of these days we are ready (vv 8-9)
A. Because though we are guilty, we are guiltless. "Jesus has cleansed His church by removing the sins of believers through His own blood on the cross. This cleansing has been applied to Christians through Holy Baptism (Eph 5:26). When Jesus returns the church will be blameless, because God who is faithful keeps her in the cleansing flow of His grace"
B. Because though we are faithless, God is faithful (2 Tim 2:13a).
C. Because though we are loveless loners and runaway rebels, we are given fellowship with his Son.
The Church waits... made ready by the testimony of and about Christ.
The Church waits...ready because we are gifted in every necessary way.
The Chruch waits... trusting that Christ sustains his Bride ready to end .
The Chruch waits...ready because she is guiltless (unaccusable!) through the imputed righteousness of Christ.
The Church waits...rejoicing that we are ready because God is faithful.
The Church waits... eager and ready to celebrate the full fellowship of and with Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Offering
Offertory : LSB 357 "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" VS 1&2
Prayer of the Church.
P: As we wait in hope for the coming of our Lord, let us together, as His Advent people, bring our prayers before Him.
Gracious Father, we give You thanks and praise for Your goodness and mercy that follow us all the days of our lives. You are our God; we are Your people. You have purchased and won us from sin and death by the sacrifice of Your Son upon the cross and by His rising from the grave. As He now sits at Your right hand, exalted over all things, we wait expectantly for the Day of His revealing. We wait in hope for the Lord!
C: He is our help and our shield.
P: Mighty King and loving Savior, we thank You for the authority You have over all things in heaven and on earth. To a world in disarray and for a people filled with despair, You alone offer hope, peace, and certainty that all things are in Your hands. Help us to trust in You, Lord Jesus, even as we wait for the redemption You will provide on the Day You come again to judge the living and the dead. Bless the land in which we live and all those who serve for the benefit of us all. Be present in our homes, our schools, and our workplaces that Your provision be known to all. We wait in hope for the Lord!
C: He is our help and our shield.
P: Healer of the broken and sustainer of the weary, grant the comfort of Your Holy Spirt to all who are suffering in heart, body, mind, and spirit. Remind those who are downtrodden that they are never alone, and use us as Your people to reach out in care and compassion to those in our family, our community, and withing this congregation who need Your healing mercies, [especially...] We wait in hope for the Lord!
C: He is our help and our shield.
P: Lord Jesus, we are Your waiting, expectant, hope-filled people. We anticipate the Day of Your revealing when Your saving work will be fully complete and when You renew and restore all things in heaven and on earth. until that glorious Day, help us rely upon Your grace alone, which declares us guiltless in Your sight through faith in Your promises. Stir up our hearts to make known to all the wonders You have done, so that more souls may be brought to saving faith and many would join with us in saying "We wait in hope for the Lord!"
C: He is our help and our shield.
P: Confident in our coming King and Savior, we entrust our prayers into Your merciful hands, for You, O Father, live and reign with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God , now and forever.
C: Amen.
Sacrament
Preface
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Lift up your hearts.
C: We lift them to the Lord.
P: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
C: It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
Proper Preface
P: It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, for whose arrival we expectantly wait. With the crowds who cry, "Hosanna!" we humble ourselves before Him as the King who comes to save us from sin and redeem our lives for eternity. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
Sanctus LSB 208
Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Sabaoth adored Heaven and Earth will full acclaim shout the glory of your name Sing Hosanna in the highest sing Hosanna to the Lord Truly blest is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
P: Blessed are You, O Lord our God, for the mercy You show us isn Jesus Christ, Your Son our King. As we remember His death and resurrection and await His final coming, prepare our hearts to receive the redemption He provides through His body that is given and His blood that is shed for the forgiveness of sins.
P: For our heart is glad in Him.
C: because we trust in His holy name.
P: Hear us as we pray in His holy name and in the timeless words He has taught us:
THE 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.
The Words of Our Lord.
Pax Domini
P: Let us proclaim the mystery of our faith:
C: Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.
P: The peace of the Lord be with you always.
C: Amen.
Agnus Dei LSB 210
1: O Jesus Christ, true Lamb of God, You take the sin of the world away; O Jesus Christ, true Lamb of God Have mercy on us, Lord, we pray.
2. O Jesus Christ, true Lamb of God, You take the sin of the world away; Have mercy on us, Jesus Christ, And grant us peace, O Lord, we pray.
Distribution Hymns
LSB 333 "Once He Cane in Blessing"
LSB 338 "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
LSB 350 "Come, Thou Precious Ransom, Come"
Nunc Dimittis
1: O Lord, now let Your servant Depart in heav'nly peace, For I have seen the glory Of Your redeeming grace: A light to lead the Gentiles Unto Your holy Hill, The glory of Your people, Your chosen Israel.
2: All glory to the Father, All glory to the Son, All glory to the Spirit, Forever Three in One; Is now ,shall ever be, God's triune name resounding Through all eternity.
Post -Communion Thanksgiving
P: Let us Pray. Gracious God, our heavenly Father, You have given us a foretaste of the feast to come in the Holy Supper of Your Son's body and blood.
C: Keep us firm in the true faith throughout our days of waiting that, on the Day of His arrival, we may rejoice forever as those You have redeemed;
P: through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, on God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
Benediction Psalm 33:22
P: Let Your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
C: even as we hope in You.
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.
LSB 341 "Life Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates" VS 1&5
creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish, Series B, Quarter 1. Copyright 2023 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Acknowledgments
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministy of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Created by Lutheran Service Builder 2023 Concordia Publishing House.
Sermon from Pastor Mark Griesse