The traditional Christian church calendar is comprised of seasons beginning with the Advent season. This is a four-week period looking forward to the birth of a human who most perfectly exemplified the essence of God in human form. At the same time the church looks forward to a time with no pain or conflict, when all will live in peace.
Brief Order For Confession and Forgiveness
Music to accompany this worship is on Spotify at:
Entrance Hymn
Savior of the Nations Come
Kyrie
Hymn of Praise
Prayer of the Day
Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come. With your abundant grace and might, free us from the sin that binds us, that we may receive you in joy and serve you always, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
The First Lesson
Micah 5:2-5a
2 But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth;
5a and he shall be the one of peace.
Psalm
Luke 1:46b-55 (52)
46b”My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
The Second Lesson
Hebrews 10:5-10
5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me;
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, “See, God, I have come to do your will, O God’ (in the scroll of the book it is written of me).”
8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law),
9 then he added, “See, I have come to do your will.” He abolishes the first in order to establish the second.
10 And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
The Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia. Here I am, the servant | of the Lord;
let it be with me according | to your word. Alleluia. (Luke 1:38)
The Gospel
Luke 1:39-45
39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country,
40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit
42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?
44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.
45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
The Sermon
Peace comes by looking to the future, not the past
The Hymn of the Day
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
The Creed
The Peace
Canticle of the Turning
The Prayers
The Offering
Communion
The Lord’s Prayer
Communion Hymns
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
Communal Blessing
Dismissal
The Bible readings are from the New Revised Standard Version. I thank the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, ELCA, and its predecessor bodies for all their teaching throughout the years. I’ve used the Lectionary published on the ELCA website at elca.org in preparation for this worship.