2nd Sunday in Advent (Populus Zion) ~ 2024

 

Today's Service Leader Rev. Brett Cornelius, Pastor Holy Cross Lutheran Church

 

 

Today's liturgy is the Divine Service, Setting Five, LSB pages 213ff.

 

337 The Night Will Soon Be Ending

Text: Jochen Klepper, 1903–42; tr. Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr., 1923–2007
Tune: Welsh
Text: © 1998 GIA Publications, Inc. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110001518
Tune: Public domain

 

Profession of Faith (For New Members)

P Beloved in the Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ said to His apostles: “Whoever confesses Me before men, I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” Lift up your hearts, therefore, to the God of all grace and joyfully give answer to what I now ask you in the name of the Lord.

P Do you this day in the presence of God and of this congregation acknowledge the gifts that God gave you in your Baptism?

R Yes, I do.

P Do you renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways?

R Yes, I renounce them.

P Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord, and in the Holy Spirit?

R Yes, I believe in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

P Do you hold all the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures to be the inspired Word of God and the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, drawn from them and confessed in the Small Catechism, to be faithful and true?

R I do.

P Do you intend to hear the Word of God and receive the Lord’s Supper faithfully?

R I do, by the grace of God.

P Do you intend to live according to the Word of God, and in faith, word, and deed to remain true to God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even to death?

R I do, by the grace of God.

P Do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it?

R I do, by the grace of God.

P Do you desire to become a member of this congregation?

R I do.

P Will you support the work our gracious Lord has given this congregation with your prayers and the gifts God has given you?

R I will, with the help of God.

P Upon this your confession of faith, I acknowledge publicly that you are [a member/members] of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and of this congregation. Receive the Lord’s Supper and participate with us in all the blessings of salvation that our Lord has given to His Church, in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

 

Stand

 

Collect

P Let us pray.

Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank and praise You for Your great goodness in bringing these Your sons and daughters to the knowledge of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, and enabling them both with the heart to believe and with the mouth to confess His saving name. Grant that by Your Word and Spirit they may continue steadfast in the one true faith in the fellowship of this congregation as together we await the day when all who have fought the good fight of faith shall receive the crown of righteousness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C Amen.

 

The pastor may extend the right hand of fellowship, greeting each by name. The rite concludes with the following blessing:

 

Blessing

P The grace of our T Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

C Amen.

 

The new members return to their places.

 

Stand

 

The sign of the cross may be made by all in remembrance of their Baptism.

 

Invocation

P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

 

Exhortation LSB 213

P Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to grant us forgiveness.

P Our help is in the name of the Lord,

C who made heaven and earth.

P I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord,

C and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

 

Kneel/Stand

 

Silence for reflection on God’s Word and for self-examination.

 

Confession of Sins LSB 213

P O almighty God, merciful Father,

C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.

 

Absolution LSB 213

P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C Amen.

 

Stand

 

Introit Psalm 80:1, 3, 14, 17; antiphon: Isaiah 62:11b; 30:30, 29

Say to the daughter of | Zion,*
“Behold, your sal- | vation comes.”
The Lord will cause his majestic voice | to be heard,*
and you shall have glad- | ness of heart.
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph | like a flock!*
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, | shine forth.
Restore us, | O God;*
let your face shine, that we | may be saved!
Turn again, O | God of hosts!*
Look down from | heaven, and see.
But let your hand be on the man of your | right hand,*
the son of man whom you have made strong | for yourself!
Glory be to the Father and | to the Son*
and to the Holy | Spirit;
as it was in the be- | ginning,*
is now, and will be forever. | Amen.
Say to the daughter of | Zion,*
“Behold, your sal- | vation comes.”
The Lord will cause his majestic voice | to be heard,*
and you shall have glad- | ness of heart.

 

942 Kyrie! God, Father

Text: German version, Ordenung der ceremonien, 1537/38, Naumburg; tr. W. Gustave Polack, 1890–1950, alt.
Text and tune: Latin, 9th cent.
Tune: adapt. Kirchen ampt Deutsch, 1525, Erfurt
Text: © 1941 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110001518
Tune: Public domain

 

Salutation and Collect of the Day

P The Lord be with you.

C And also with you.

P Let us pray.

Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C Amen.

 

Sit

 

Old Testament Reading Malachi 4:1–6

¹ “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. ²But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. ³And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.

⁴“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and just decrees that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

⁵“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. ⁶And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

 

Gradual Psalm 50:2–3a, 5

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God | shines forth.*
Our God comes; he does not keep | silence;
“Gather to me my | faithful ones,*
who made a covenant with me by | sacrifice!”

 

Epistle Romans 15:4–13

⁴Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ⁵May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, ⁶that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

⁸For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, ⁹and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name.”

¹⁰And again it is said,

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”

¹¹And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples extol him.”

¹²And again Isaiah says,

“The root of Jesse will come,
even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;
in him will the Gentiles hope.”

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

A This is the Word of the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

 

336 Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending

Text: Charles Wesley, 1707–88, alt.
Tune: Thomas Olivers, 1725–99
Text and tune: Public domain

 

Stand

 

Holy Gospel Luke 21:25–36

P The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, the twenty-first chapter.

C Glory to You, O Lord.

²⁵[Jesus said:] “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, ²⁶people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

²⁹And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. ³⁰As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. ³¹So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. ³²Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. ³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

³⁴“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. ³⁵For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

P This is the Gospel of the Lord.

C Praise to You, O Christ.

 

954 We All Believe in One True God

Text: Martin Luther, 1483–1546; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.
Tune: Latin, 14th cent., adapt.
Text and tune: Public domain

 

Sit

 

Sermon-"Words That Will Not Pass Away" - Rev. Brett Cornelius, Pastor Holy Cross Lutheran Church

 

Stand

 

Prayer of the Church

P Friends in Christ, I urge you all to lift up your hearts to God and pray with me as Christ our Lord has taught us and freely promised to hear us.

God, our Father in heaven, look with mercy on us, Your needy children on earth, and grant us grace that Your holy name be hallowed by us and all the world through the pure and true teaching of Your Word and the fervent love shown forth in our lives. Graciously turn from us all false doctrine and evil living whereby Your precious name is blasphemed and profaned. Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

P May Your kingdom come to us and expand. Bring all transgressors and those who are blinded and bound in the devil’s kingdom to know Jesus Christ, Your Son, by faith that the number of Christians may be increased. Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

P Strengthen us by Your Spirit according to Your will, both in life and in death, in the midst of both good and evil things, that our own wills may be crucified daily and sacrificed to Your good and gracious will. Into Your merciful hands we commend [name(s)] and all who are in need, praying for them at all times: Thy will be done. Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

P Grant us our daily bread, preserve us from greed and selfish cares, and help us trust in You to provide for all our needs. Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

P Forgive us our sins as we also forgive those who sin against us so that our hearts may be at peace and may rejoice in a good conscience before You, and that no sin may ever frighten or alarm us. Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

P Lead us not into temptation, O Lord, but help us by Your Spirit to subdue our flesh, to turn from the world and its ways, and to overcome the devil with all his wiles. Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

P And lastly, O heavenly Father, deliver us from all evil of both body and soul, now and forever. Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

P We trust, O Lord, in Your great mercy to hear and answer us; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

C Amen.

 

Sit

 

Offering

 

659 Lord of Our Life

Text: Matthäus Apelles von Löwenstern, 1594–1648; tr. Philip Pusey, 1799–1855, alt.
Tune: Antiphoner, 1746, Poitiers
Text and tune: Public domain

 

Stand

 

Preface LSB 216

P The Lord be with you.

C And also with you.

P Lift up your hearts.

C We lift them to the Lord.

P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

C It is right to give Him thanks and praise.

P It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, O Lord our God, king of all creation, for You have had mercy on us and given Your only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Grant us Your Spirit, gracious Father, that we may give heed to the testament of Your Son in true faith and, above all, firmly take to heart the words with which Christ gives to us His body and blood for our forgiveness. By Your grace, lead us to remember and give thanks for the boundless love which He manifested to us when, by pouring out His precious blood, He saved us from Your righteous wrath and from sin, death, and hell. Grant that we may receive the bread and wine, that is, His body and blood, as a gift, guarantee, and pledge of His salvation. Graciously receive our prayers; deliver and preserve us. To You alone, O Father, be all glory, honor, and worship, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C Amen.

 

Lord’s Prayer

C Our Father who art in heaven,

     hallowed be Thy name,

     Thy kingdom come,

     Thy will be done on earth

          as it is in heaven;

     give us this day our daily bread;

     and forgive us our trespasses

          as we forgive those

          who trespass against us;

     and lead us not into temptation,

     but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom

     and the power and the glory

     forever and ever. Amen.

 

The Words of Our Lord

P Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My T body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”

In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My T blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

 

960 Isaiah, Mighty Seer in Days of Old

Text: tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.
Text and tune: Martin Luther, 1483–1546
Text: © 1941 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110001518
Tune: Public domain

 

Pax Domini

P The peace of the Lord be with you always.

C Amen.

 

Agnus Dei LSB 198

 

Sit

 

Distribution Hymns

 

642 O Living Bread from Heaven

Text: Johann Rist, 1607–67; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827–78, alt.
Tune: Musae Sioniae, 1609, vol. 7, Wolfenbüttel, ed. Michael Praetorius
Text and tune: Public domain

 

523 O Word of God Incarnate

Text: William W. How, 1823–97, alt.
Tune: Neu-vermehrtes . . . Gesangbuch, 1693, 3rd ed., Meiningen
Text and tune: Public domain

 

527 O Savior, Precious Savior

Text: Frances R. Havergal, 1836–79
Tune: Arthur H. Mann, 1850–1929
Text and tune: Public domain

 

Stand

 

617 O Lord, We Praise Thee

Text: German, 14th cent.; tr. The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, alt.
Tune: Geystliche gesangk Buchleyn, 1524, Wittenberg, ed. Johann Walter
Text: © 1941 Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110001518
Tune: Public domain

 

Post-Communion Collect

A Let us pray.

We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

C Amen.

 

Benedicamus LSB 218

A Let us bless the Lord.

C Thanks be to God.

 

Benediction

P The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.

The Lord look upon you with favor and T give you peace.

C Amen.

 

924 Lord, Dismiss Us with Your Blessing

Text (sts. 1–2): attr. John Fawcett, 1740–1817, alt.; (st. 3): Godfrey Thring, 1823–1903, alt.
Tune: Henry T. Smart, 1813–79
Text and tune: Public domain

 

Acknowledgments

Divine Service, Setting Five from Lutheran Service Book

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2024 Concordia Publishing House.