Second Sunday of Advent Worship Bulletin

St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT  

12-04-2022          10:00AM Hybrid Worship                                          

+   Gathering   +

OPENING SONG    “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?
  •   O children, can’t you hold out your light?
  •   O preacher, can’t you hold out your light?
  •   O { name }, can’t you hold out your light?

GREETING, LIGHTING THE ADVENT WREATH, AND PRAYER:         

L   Grace to you and peace from (+) God, our life, our mercy, and our might;

C    And also with you.

L   For everything there is a season.

C    And now is the time to turn toward God.

L   Even now the voice cries in the wilderness to call us and warn us.

C    We are seeking to get ready, we are trying to prepare.

L   Even now the ax is ready to chop down, even now the fire is ready to burn up.

C    If I’m not ready soon, it will soon be too late.

L   The living Christ is coming to meet us! It’s time to get ready, it’s time to repent! 

C    Thank God for God’s mercy! Thank God for Jesus Christ! 

[Two candles are lit on the Advent wreath. Sometimes the first is called the Candle of Hope,

and the second is called the Candle of Peace.]

L   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!

+   Holy Word   +

FIRST READING:   Isaiah  11:1-10    [God’s great new ruler – a green shoot from a dead stump!]

11:1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

11:2 The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

11:3 His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;

11:4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

11:5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

11:6 The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.

11:7 The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

11:8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.

11:9 They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

11:10 On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

SONG SELECTION:           All Saints Choir           

SECOND READING:   Romans 15:4-13    [God’s great salvation – hope for the Gentiles!]

15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.

15:5 May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus,

15:6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

15:7 Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

15:8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,

15:9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name”;

15:10 and again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people”;

15:11 and again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him”;

15:12 and again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope.”

15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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:   Matthew 3:1-12   [God’s great unexpected coming – “Bear fruit… or else!”]

3:1 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming,

3:2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

3:3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'”

3:4 Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

3:5 Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan,

3:6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

3:8 Bear fruit worthy of repentance.

3:9 Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.

3:10 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

3:11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

3:12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

THE SERMON:      Pastor Gwen or Pastor Neil

SONG RESPONSE:       “Somebody’s Knockin’ 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, we open our hearts and our lives to your presence and your promises! Give us the spirit and the patience, we pray, to bear your light to all who sit in the shadows of despair and darkness.  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 BLESSINGSAll 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 troubles 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!

CLOSING SONG:    “It’s a Highway to Heaven”                                                       Tan #402

Look for places where the wolf and the lamb lie down together in peace, with no more hurt or destruction. Where do you see that peace in your personal relationships, in your family or friends, in the neighborhood and city and nation and world?

Do not let your babies play with poisonous snakes, whether they are vipers or cobras, in order to “prove” Isaiah’s prophecy. But do pass on to them the ember of abiding hope that has been stirred in you through your trust in Christ and sustained by God’s promises.