Second Sunday of Advent | 12-10-23
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
12-10-2023 10:00AM Hybrid Worship
+ Gathering +
INTRODUCTORY WORDS TO TODAY’S WORSHIP:
Brothers and sisters, welcome in the mighty name of God, in the saving name of (+) Jesus, and in the strong name of the Spirit – Hallelujah! As wild as the lonely desert wilderness he appears in, John the Baptist stands by the waters of baptism and calls people to repent. Repentance is a bold turnaround in our orientation to life, to values, to relationships, to God. Without God in our lives, our lives are both barren and anxious. But when God comes into our lives, we are born anew. The invitation to turn to God is right in front of you. The decision is yours. But don’t wait too long. CHRIST IS COMING! Don’t let your life be detoured or reach a dead end. Prepare the way of the Lord inside the wilderness of yourself. Help get others ready!
OPENING SONG: “Comfort, Comfort Now My People” Green #29
LIGHTING THE ADVENT WREATH AND PRAYER:
L For everything there is a season…
and now is the time to turn toward God.
C Even now the voice cries in the wilderness to both comfort and warn us.
We are seeking to get ready, we are trying to prepare.
L Even now God is ready to be gentle, God is ready to judge.
If I’m not ready soon, it will soon be too late.
C Lift up every valley, lower every mountain…
It’s time to get ready, it’s time to repent.
L As we remember the Candle of Hope and add the Candle of Peace, let us pray…
C O Lord, bless us as we light two candles of this Advent wreath.
Baptize us with your Spirit’s fire, that we might be right and do right, that we might be ready and
make others ready for Jesus.
We renounce evil; we claim your love; we choose to be set free and made whole.
Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly! Hallelujah!
[Two candle are lit on the Advent wreath. Sometimes the first is called the Candle of Hope,
the second the Candle of Peace.]
+ Holy Word +
FIRST READING: Isaiah 40:1-11
[Repentance that is encouraged by blessed assurance.]
40:1 Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.
40:2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
40:3 A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
40:4 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.
40:5 Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
40:6 A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field.
40:7 The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass.
40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.
40:9 Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”
40:10 See, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
40:11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.
SECOND READING: 2 Peter 3:8-15a
[Repentance that is motivated by holy fear.]
3:8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.
3:9 The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.
3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.
3:11 Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness,
3:12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire?
3:13 But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.
3:14 Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish;
3:15a and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him.
GOSPEL VERSE:
“We need to hear from You, we need a word from You.
If we don’t hear from You, what will we do?
Wanting You more each day, show us Your perfect way.
There is no other way that we can live.”
GOSPEL: Mark 1:1-8
[Repentance that is generated by fiery preaching.]
1:1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
1:2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way;
1:3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'”
1:4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
1:5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
1:6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
1:7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.
1:8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
SONG SELECTION: ALL SAINTS CHOIR
THE SERMON: Pastor Neil or Pastor Gwen
SONG RESPONSE: “Somebody’s Knocking at Your Door” Brown #44
THE PRAYERS… We pray for the world to be redeemed, the Church reformed, and all people restored!
(sung at beginning and end) “Oh… hear us. Oh, hear us. Oh… hear us, Lord. Hear us, Lord… hear us.”
(sung after each intercession) “Hear us, Lord… hear us.”
+ Holy Meal +
TITHES (10% giving) AND GIFTS… We faithfully undertake GOD’S MISSION with our money and our lives!
SONG SELECTION: ALL SAINTS CHOIR
OFFERTORY:
“Come by here, my Lord, come by here; come by here, my Lord, come by here;
Come by here, my Lord, come by here. O LORD, COME BY HERE!
(2) Someone needs You, Lord, come by here…
(3) Send a blessing, Lord, come by here… ”
OFFERING PRAYER by the Communion Assistant:
O Lord Jesus, we open our hearts and our lives to your presence, your power, and your promises!
We want to be part of what you are doing in the world even now.
Give us the spirit to do what is right with our offerings, time, and talents.
May we bear your light to all who sit in the shadows of darkness and despair. AMEN
THE PREFACE:
L Sisters and brothers, the Lord be with you! C AND ALSO WITH YOU!
L Lift up your hearts! C WE LIFT THEM UP IN LOVE FOR GOD!
L Let us give thanks to the Lord our God! C IT IS RIGHT TO GIVE GOD OUR THANKS AND PRAISE!
THE EUCHARISTIC WORDS by the Celebrant, who recalls and re-enacts Jesus’ Holy Meal.
THE LORD’S PRAYER (spoken)
COMMUNION AND BLESSINGS… All believers in Christ are welcome at the Lord’s Table! We will have “continuous distribution” with wafers and either wine or grape juice. CHRIST COMES TO US IN BREAD AND WINE AND BLESSING, BRINGING US PEACE, UNITY, STRENGTH, AND HOPE!
[During the Advent Season we will not have any Communion Songs. Instead, we invite you to spend the time in quiet reflection and prayer. Without God our lives are empty and barren, without hope! Sometimes trouble surround us and turmoil makes our hearts shudder and grow weary. And sometimes temptation leads us astray. Can we recognize our deep need and look for those signs of God’s saving grace?]
THE COMMUNION BLESSING by the Celebrant after all have communed.
POST-COMMUNION PRAYER by the Communion Assistant.
+ Sending +
BENEDICTION by the Pastor… God sends us TO SHINE with the Light of Jesus Christ in a shadowy world!
SONG RESPONSE: “Hold Out Your Light”
Hold out your light, you heav’n bound soldier! Hold out your light, you heav’n bound soldier!
Hold out your light, you heav’n bound soldier! Let your light shine around the world!
- O brother, can’t you hold out your light? (3X) Let your light shine around the world!
- O sister, can’t you hold out your light? (4) O preacher, can’t you hold out your light?
- O children, can’t you hold out your light? (5) O (name), can’t you hold out your light?
What ways must you and our faith community change to be prepared for the Son of God?