The Season of Advent | 3rd Sunday 17 Dec 2023
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
O Lord Jesus Christ,
you sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance
and prepare the way for our salvation:
Grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise make ready your way,
by turning the hearts of the disobedient
toward the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world,
we may be found a people acceptable in your sight;
for with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
May the God who gives peace
make you holy in every way.
May he keep your whole being—spirit, soul, and body—
blameless when our Lord Jesus Christ comes.
(1 Thessalonians 5:23)
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God of Grace and God of Glory – [Concordia Publishing House 2011]
1 God of grace and God of glory,
on your people pour your pow’r;
crown your ancient Church’s story,
bring its bud to glorious flow’r.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage
for the facing of this hour,
for the facing of this hour.
2 Lo, the hosts of evil round us
scorn the Christ, assail his ways.
From the fears that long have bound us
free our hearts to faith and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage
for the living of these days,
for the living of these days.
3 Cure your children’s warring madness;
bend our pride to your control;
shame our wanton, selfish gladness,
rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage
lest we miss your kingdom’s goal,
lest we miss your kingdom’s goal.
4 Save us from weak resignation
to the evils we deplore;
let the gift of your salvation
be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage
serving you whom we adore,
serving you whom we adore.
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From the Old Testament: Isaiah 65:17-25 (GW)
65:17 I will create a new heaven and a new earth.
Past things will not be remembered.
They will not come to mind.
Be glad, and rejoice forever in what I’m going to create,
because I’m going to create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people to be a joy.
I will rejoice about Jerusalem and be glad about my people.
Screaming and crying will no longer be heard in the city.
There will no longer be an infant who lives for only a few days
or an old man who doesn’t live a long life.
Whoever lives to be a hundred years old will be thought of as young.
Whoever dies before he is a hundred years old will be cursed as a sinner.
They will build houses and live there.
They will plant vineyards and eat fruit from them.
They will not build homes and have others live there.
They will not plant and have others eat from it.
My people will live as long as trees,
and my chosen ones will enjoy what they’ve done.
They will never again work for nothing.
They will never again give birth to children who die young,
because they will be offspring blessed by the Lord.
The Lord will bless their descendants as well.
Before they call, I will answer.
While they’re still speaking, I will hear.
Wolves and lambs will feed together,
lions will eat straw like oxen,
and dust will be food for snakes.
“They will not hurt or destroy anyone anywhere on my holy mountain,”
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From Psalms: Psalm 126 – klengs channel
From the Epistles: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 (GW)
Paul Encourages the Thessalonians
5:12 Brothers and sisters, we ask you to show your appreciation for those leaders who work among you and instruct you. We ask you to love them and think very highly of them because of the work they are doing. Live in peace with each other.
We encourage you, brothers and sisters, to instruct those who are not living right, cheer up those who are discouraged, help the weak, and be patient with everyone. Make sure that no one ever pays back one wrong with another wrong. Instead, always try to do what is good for each other and everyone else.
Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Whatever happens, give thanks, because it is God’s will in Christ Jesus that you do this.
Don’t put out the Spirit’s fire. Don’t despise what God has revealed. Instead, test everything. Hold on to what is good. Keep away from every kind of evil.
Farewell
5:23 May the God who gives peace make you holy in every way. May he keep your whole being—spirit, soul, and body—blameless when our Lord Jesus Christ comes. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.
Brothers and sisters, pray for us.
Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss.
In the Lord’s name, I order you to read this letter to all the brothers and sisters.
The good will of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
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Blameless – Dara Macclean
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Gospel Reading: John 3:22-30 (GW)
John the Baptizer Talks about Christ
3:22 Later, Jesus and his disciples went to the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them and baptized people. John was baptizing in Aenon, near Salim. Water was plentiful there. (People came to John to be baptized, since John had not yet been put in prison.)
Some of John’s disciples had an argument with a Jew about purification ceremonies. So they went to John and asked him, “Rabbi, do you remember the man you spoke so favorably about when he was with you on the other side of the Jordan River? Well, he’s baptizing, and everyone is going to him!”
John answered, “People can’t receive anything unless it has been given to them from heaven. You are witnesses that I said, ‘I’m not the Messiah, but I’ve been sent ahead of him.’
“The groom is the person to whom the bride belongs. The best man, who stands and listens to him, is overjoyed when the groom speaks. This is the joy that I feel. He must increase in importance, while I must decrease in importance.
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Come Jesus, Prince of Peace | Sunday 7pm Choir
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+ Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.
+ Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who, in your great mercy, has promised forgiveness of sins to all those who sincerely repent and with true faith turn to you, have mercy upon us, pardon and deliver us from all our sins, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and bring us to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ Lord of Heaven’s Armies, we pray for swift and total victory over all evil in the Holy Land. Set free the hostages, and deliver from bondage every person captivated by the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East. And finally, grant heavenly wisdom to those guiding Israel militarily, politically, diplomatically and especially, those who will restore Israel spiritually through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ Hasten, O Father, the coming of your kingdom; and grant that we your servants, who now live by faith, may with joy behold your Son at his coming in glorious majesty; even Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
May the Lord, when he comes,
find us watching and waiting.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Which of the two sons did what the father wanted?”
I threw it all away in order to gain Christ and to have a relationship with him. This means that I didn’t receive God’s approval by obeying his laws. The opposite is true! I have God’s approval through faith in Christ. This is the approval that comes from God and is based on faith that knows Christ. Faith knows the power that his coming back to life gives and what it means to share his suffering. In this way I’m becoming like him in his death, with the confidence that I’ll come back to life from the dead.
Then, to the right of the incense altar, an angel of the Lord appeared to him. Zechariah was troubled and overcome with fear.
The Peanut Gallery 