Second Sunday of Advent Worship Service | 12-8-24
12-08-2024 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. As wild as the lonely desert wilderness he appears in, John the Baptist calls for repentance so that God’s Kingdom will come. Repentance is a bold turnaround in our orientation to life, to values, to relationships, to God. Without God in our lives, our lives are barren, lost, and without hope. But when God comes into our lives, we are born anew. The invitation is right in front of you. But the decision is yours. And Christ is coming soon. Prepare the way of the Lord inside the wilderness of yourself. CHRIST IS COMING!
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?
OPENING VERSES, LIGHTING THE ADVENT WREATH, AND PRAYER:
L John comes out of the wilderness to preach repentance and to change lives.
And he preaches to us still:
C Make straight the paths we now walk,
and prepare the way for God’s justice and love.
L For everything there is a season.
C And now is the time to turn toward God.
L My friends, it begins in our own hearts;
And I am confident of this – If we repent, God will forgive us.
C The One who began a new way within us will complete the job,
and we will overflow with the love we received as a gift.
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.
[Two candles are lit on the Advent wreath. Sometimes the first is called the Candle of Hope.]
L The second Advent candle is sometimes called the Candle of Peace.
In spite of so much conflict and anxiety, hurt and hate, God offers us a new day and way. And we 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 for Jesus and make others ready.
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: Malachi 3:1-4
[“Who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?”]
3:1 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight–indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
3:2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like washers’ soap;
3:3 he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.
3:4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD, as in the days of old and as in former years.
SONG SELECTION ALL SAINTS CHOIR
SECOND READING: Philippians 1:3-11
[“… so that in the day of Jesus Christ you may be pure and blameless”]
1:3 I thank my God for every remembrance of you,
1:4 always in every one of my prayers for all of you, praying with joy
1:5 for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
1:6 I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
1:7 It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart, for all of you are my partners in God’s grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
1:8 For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the tender affection of Christ Jesus.
1:9 And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight
1:10 to help you to determine what really matters, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless,
1:11 having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
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: Luke 3:1-6
[“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”]
3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene,
3:2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
3:3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
3:4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.
3:5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth,
3:6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'”
THE SERMON: Pastor Neil or Pastor Gwen
SONG RESPONSE: “Somebody’s Knockin’ at Your Door” Tan #348
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 +
OFFERING OF TITHES (10% giving) AND GIFTS… We bring our gifts each week, we offer our lives each day!
Those in the Sanctuary can put their offering in the offering plate to share their gratitude and their generosity in response to Christ’s love. Those who are farther away might: mail a check or money order to St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2169 74th Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19138… contribute online through bit.ly/stpetersgiving and set up a one-time donation or a recurring weekly gift to selected categories… or text Give+ at 833-914-0896 and follow the instructions to register and record your contribution. God has blessed us to be a blessing!
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 BLESSINGS… All believers in Christ are welcome at the Lord’s Table! The wine may be received from the pouring chalice; we also have grape juice on the tray. 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! Troubles, turmoil, and temptations surround and threaten us. 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